Arrival Day: Tourist/Pack Mule

It was an odd and somewhat disorienting arrival day, unlike any other I've had in London. The night flight from Hartford is certainly more convenient than flying out of Boston, but the pre-dawn stop in Dublin means about two hours of sleep max in the way over. Dazed and stupid, I stumbled off the plane in Heathrow at about 8 in the morning. For some reason, I kept expecting my Fitbit to reset the time zone on its own, but it didn't and so I walked around all day looking at EST on the watch. (Much, much later I realized that the time setting happens through the app and, as I had no internet connectivity in flight, it couldn't happen. Note to self: Change the time zone via the app before take off next time.) 

On all my past journeys to London, I've gone straight to my accommodation — Roger's flat or my previous AirBnB — but my host in Tufnell Park was not expecting me until 5 pm. So, with my laptop/camera bag on my back and dragging my carryon wheelie bag behind me, I hopped on the Tube and headed into town with a plan to get some errands out of the way, see a few things and try to stay on my feet for the day. The best way to do this, I reckoned, was to stick to known places and avoid having to do too much critical thinking. It's been a full two years since I was last in London, and although so much is familiar that I don't feel the need to pre-rehearse my routes in my head, little things have changed and that knocks me for a loop a bit. I was sure I could change from the PIccadilly to the District line at Earl's Court via a steps-free route, but I took the wrong exit and faced a set of steps rather than the lift and then found myself on the platform, clueless as to which train I was waiting for. Thankfully I wasn't the only confused passenger and there was a nice member of staff who pointed me to the right train for Paddington, where I DID find the exit with the lift, which I knew would bring me up to the concourse level with some food options, a free toilet and a magic money machine.

Next stop was the fruit and veg shop where I was stashing my carryon for the day. I'd booked that through Stasher.com a month ago and chose a spot only four blocks from the station. With a giant leap of faith, I surrendered my bag and set out to get a UK sim card for my stupid phone. There are a couple of phone stores in Queensway and, sticking to the familiar, I went into the one I'd used two years ago. While the clerk was installing the card, I mentioned that my previous experience with getting a EE sim card was a bit frustrating as I discovered a block from the store that the internet didn't work and had to go back for some tweaking of the settings. This time, when the clerk assured me that she had the internet working, I executed another leap of faith, put the phone in my bag and headed to the Lancaster Gate entrance to Hyde Park, near the Italian Gardens.

And there I was, sat on a bench looking at the lovely fountains, when I pulled out my phone thinking I'd post something to Facebook, and discovered — you knew this was coming, didn't you? — that I had no internet connectivity. Bloody hell. I was going to need to go back to Queensway to get it fixed. Couldn't even look up the location of another EE store closer to where I was at the time. I took some snaps of the fountains and headed south to the Serpentine Gallery, where I had some lunch at this year's pavilion and collected my wits. 

Long story short, I got the phone fixed, picked up my bag at the Nisa Local in Craven Road, and headed to the bus stop on Praed Street. But Praed Street is all dug up and buses were on diversion. Made my way to the next stop down the road and hopped the 205 for Euston Station. From there, I walked across the Euston Road to the Wellcome Collection, a welcome sight indeed. Checked my bag in the cloak room (free), spent some time in the library in a comfy chair, looked at some of the exhibitions, used the loo, ate a snack in the caff, and generally started feeling more grounded and less like a tourist or a pack mule. 

The 390 bus took me up York Road towards Tufnell Park and my AirBnB, which is roomy, comfortable and will be a great base for the next two weeks. My friend Jen walked the 15 minutes down the hill from where she lives, met me at my gaff and walked me back to hers for a tasty and filling dinner, washed down with a bit too much wine. Feeling much more like a human being, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I'm out the door now to do Open House — as a temporary Londoner, not a tourist or a pack mule. 

20,792 steps
Expenses (they were many):
3 Euros for tea on the plane (highway robbery!)
£6 to Stasher
55p for water at Paddington
£15 for sim card
£10 to top up my Oyster until I buy a travel card
£5.95 for sandwich at Serpentine Pavilion (more than a Deal Meal, but worth it)
£2.85 for banana bread at the Wellcome Collection caff
£11.20 for groceries and bottle of wine from Sainsbury's Local in Tufnell Park