London Towne - Day 1

WE ARE HERE!


Image from Google, not taken by me.

This post might not make much sense, seeing as I'm a bit jet-lagged, but since I have access to a computer/internet I thought I'd start the actual blogging off on day one. We're currently ensconced in a lovely house in a gorgeous neighbourhood just outside of downtown London, feeling very lucky to have a great contact in this city. Our flight was uneventful - we both got a bit of sleep and landed right on time at Gatwick airport. Thanks to clear signage we got our dazed selves on the Gatwick Express train to Victoria Station, and from there we somehow stumbled onto the Tube and emerged blinking in the sunlight at the correct stop. The temperature right now is around 20 degrees Celsius and there isn't a cloud in the perfectly blue sky - most definitely a glorious welcome for two intrepid travelers!

Our neighbourhood here is, as I said up there, absolutely amazing. The streets are lined with architecturally stunning row houses and plane trees, their bark mottled and their branches knobbed. It was actually kind of funny - to get into the house we're staying at we met up with our host's friend and guess where we met? Starbucks. Yes, really. Our first act in London after getting off the tube was to get an iced coffee (chai latte in my case) at the oh-so-American Starbucks. Lame? Maybe, but it really wasn't our fault, since it was the easiest place to meet in the area.

Now that we're here we plan to relax for the afternoon, then take a stroll around the sweet streets - Little Venice (where the canal/all the river boats reside) is only a few blocks away, and there seem to be a number of cute little restaurants (plus a Tesco - hooray!) right outside our door. Tomorrow we're heading downtown to the Tate Modern, then wandering around for the afternoon before we meet a friend of mine for a night on the town. Then it's off on an early flight to Istanbul, where the trip really, truly begins.

I think I'll go relax in the living room and listen to Jeff Buckley (followed by Radiohead's latest - the CD collection here is fantastic!) while making the first entry in my sketchbook/paper journal.

Hopefully I'll have time for one more entry about our London explorations before we head Turkey-wards. Which is a strange, strange attempt at at word now that I look at it.

[End of Part One]