Last night my mom cried to me. I felt bad. She cried because she knows how much I love to travel and go to concerts. After the scare in London’s tube recently and the horrifying ordeal in Las Vegas, she cried telling me how much she prays for me and my brother's safety. I cannot imagine a mother having to worry about such incidents. I confessed that I am not going to stop doing the things I love because of terrorists but I know it’s not the words she wanted to hear.
London is not immune to terrorism as are other large cities. I know from experience that my mom does not like me traveling solo, but for me, I NEED this. I need these experiences for ME, for my personal growth, to toughen me up and to learn from. I may not be traveling down the road to motherhood (or marriage for that matter) but in the meantime I NEED to go out and LIVE.
I flew out on Monday on September 11th . I even went to work that day to get my mind off of flying. My anxiety was in full swing that Sunday getting my suitcase in order, but as usual, I forgot to bring my European converter plug. Trust me I write this stuff down but I was more concerned about having my chargers for my iphone and BlueTooth ready. HELPFUL TIP: My mom advised me for future travel to leave the converters in my empty suitcase and not store them away in some drawer. Good tip mom!
My flight was late in the evening at 10:30pm. I had time to go home from work, shower up and head out via blue line on the CTA. I’m not far from the airport so I don’t mind at all. But my nerves kicked in BIG TIME. I knew I had to have my glass of red wine while I waited. Unfortunately, I did not see the foreign currency exchange since I was flying out of a different terminal. I hate it because it meant I would have to do this in London’s Heathrow airport. Hey I’m a city girl at heart and I always think the worse. I don’t want anyone following me out of the airport (anxiety worries) knowing I was carrying cash.
Since technically I was flying into the future (landing in London at 12:30pm) I knew half my day was going to consist of finding my hotel with limited wifi. I ALWAYS print out my Google maps and although I do purchase travel packages through my phone carrier, I use my data for emergency only. Most of the time I search for hotspots like Starbucks and McDonalds to help me out along the way.
I figured out the tube (London’s metro train) and found my hotel. I knew immediately by the length of the tube how much London was bigger in comparison to Chicago. Close to 9 million people in population! Holy cow!
I checked in and quickly freshened up. I purposely chose my hotel near Earl’s Court station which consisted of the Piccadilly line and the District line. These Underground lines helped me get to my points of interest. First stop- Victoria and Albert museum!
I thankfully made it in the museum around 3:30pm. Most of the museums closed at 5:30pm, so I knew right away this was going to be it for me today. I enjoyed this museum very much and even had time to charge up my phone a bit before it closed. I couldn’t help myself! I took a ton of pictures inside.
Once the museum closed up I went to a nearby café. I normally take 2 cups of coffee a day, and had one earlier on flight. But I was already feeling sluggish. I knew from my Google maps that Harrods luxury department store was nearby and wanted to see for myself this iconic retail shop.
Never in a million years did I imagine such a department store! I must have seen every designer’s full collection! I also was surprised by the number of visitors shopping inside. I wanted to get some souvenirs for friends and family and decided on tea from Harrods own line.
Afterwards it was close to 7:30pm. I decided to head back to the hotel to take a nap. I knew I wanted to go out for a cocktail later on, but since it was a Tuesday night, my options were limited. I decided to head to Sky Garden around 9:30pm.
By this time it was pouring raining! I ran back to the hotel to grab my umbrella. I had read about London’s infamous showers but this was a sight to see! Most people on the streets were barely carrying an umbrella. I assumed they must be used to it.
I had to ask around but luckily found Sky Garden and headed up to their rooftop terrace. I LOVED the view, I just wish it wasn’t raining so much. Regardless I made some friends right away and they showed me to the other bars that were in Sky Garden. The space was impressive. So far, London was sweet!
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