I was expecting 18 degrees (from the weather app) which would be a nice welcome fresh day after months in the sun and heat but it turned out to only be 6 degrees early in the morning which was a bit cold.
It was great to be back in Europe. Everything was so organized but also so expensive. I went to ATM at the Airport to get a couple of pounds for the train but saw that the exchange rate ridiculous and wanted to cancel the transaction but it gave out the money anyway.
Turned out that I could have just used the credit card in the ticket machine instead. Anyway, I had money and a ticket now... and the train ride into town was nice. It still is great to let the new city go by past the windows of a train or bus in a "new" place (well, London isn't a new place but it is always exciting to be here).
Just after we crossed the Thames going north a couple of Spanish business guys left the train and forgot to bring their laptop bag, so I jumped up and called them back - my good deed done for the day.
Very soon we arrived at St Pancras station... in theory I could jump on the Eurostar to Paris and then take a train to Kleinenbroich ... Europe is great.
But I didn't do that. Instead I went over to my hostel near Russell Square. It was a nice little hostel, in a great location for good money (small money I mean).
Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) it was only 10 am, so I couldn't check in yet. I could however store my bag and go for a stroll.
I went over to Moorgate to meet up with my former colleague Billal and (as I nearly always do in London) had some Wagamama - the Ginger chicken Udon. I haven't had any sort of Asian food since New Zealand in January.
To soak up more of the great London Atmosphere, I went for a long walk ticking all the usual London attractions: Southbank, St Pauls, the tower and its namesake bridge, where I had a bit of rest on the grass, enjoying the weather (it was now warm t-shirt weather), Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly circus and then back to the hostel.
Walking through London got me thinking, to see so much consumption everywhere, from coffee to go to ridiculously expensive cars, buying things of very limited use just for the sake of it. Being able to do anything you want at drop of a hat, travel anywhere you'd like: it was all possible here. I liked and appropriated that after Cuba - the free world we luckily live in.
Back at the hostel I charged my own and my phones batteries before I went out to finish off my excursion to London with a typical culinary delight. A curry from brick lane. I have actually never made it to brick lane but have heard a lot about it so, this time I had to use my chance.
It was a bit of a walk and when I got there I just started looking around in order to select the best from the plentiful choice of Indian Restaurants.
But then the second restaurant I looked at the man at the door tried to lure me in. I said, I'd keep looking and he said, he'd buy me a beer. The restaurant was pretty busy (with Indian looking guests) and buying me a beer is a relatively safe way to get me into a restaurant, so I thought I might as well eat here. There was no way I was going to be able to know a better restaurant from the choices, so I just went in there.
I had a nice chicken Vindaloo and the service (and the free beer) was good.
This was my last dinner on this trip. It is all coming to a close now.
It was a sad though on one hand, but now I am mainly excited to go home.
After walking back to the hostel, I wanted to go to bed but there was a bunch of loud French people in the room. There was no point in trying to sleep in there and no point in going to bed early on my last day away. So I started to drink wine with the French guys and played Jenga.
This was a proper European city hostel, like it should be, full of young travellers wanting to party. Just like me 10 years ago. At 1 am I decided this was enough for now... I couldn't and didn't want to keep up with their drinking and went to bed.
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