Sunday, August 23, 2009

From my Journal:

"OMG! I'm in London! Finally, able to take a break from lugging my luggage everywhere. It's quite early here at Lee Abbey. Only the faint sounds of wind, the morning birds singing their song, and the beautiful paradise continuing as it is always here in earl's court.

Where to begin...I arrived here to London on Friday the 21st. I caught a glimpse of a gorgeous rainbow just before we landed. upon landing, i was filled with such a peace and calm...that lasted about a whole 20 minutes. I landed at exactly 1:17 pm and disembarked the plane at 1:31 pm. After immigration, I gathered my luggage and noticed that London security was much scarier with it's machine gun operating guards! After a quick shock, I was please to find that I indeed would be able to carry all of my baggage around town...for a while...until FAIL. I began to panic as soon as i realized in the airport how incredibly lost i was and felt. No map, no phone, simply the address to my hostel which I had planned to meet Scott, Scott, Aubrey and Anne...Oh boy...lol. So, I quickly composed myself and wiped the sweat off my forehead and I got in line for the train tickets! the gentleman helped me find the place which was located VERY far away...FML. SOOO, I got my luggage and I got in the "Lift" and realized..OMG! I left one of my bags...my main bag...at the ticket counter, which, though only 50 meters away, I worried that someone might suspect something weird. So...I pushed my way through the people and grabbed my luggage.

"Okay John, you need to relax so that you don't make a huge mistake again!"

I got on the lift and upon arriving to the Underground, I stepped off and it was then that i actually felt like i was in London. Thoughout my passage, I asked several people for directions and after changing trains about 4 times, I arrived in Woolwhich prounounced by locals as "Woolich". Sooo, I found my way to the exit and located a taxi.

"Please sir, can you get me to Wellington Street?"
"It's a waste of my time. There. Cross the park and you're at Wellington."
"But sir, i'm tired and i have my bags"
"I need money, and it's just a complete waste of my time! really...just cross through the park"

Very irritated, I gathered my things and made my way through the small but sketchy park. "Wellington, Wellington, Wellington", i thought tiredly, mind you I had carried my crap up SEVERAL flights of stairs, when racing to catch the Tube.

"Excuse me? Do you know where I might find 118 Wellington Street?" I asked an older woman. "Well, sign says Wellington there, so we know you're in the right area. Here's #16, so keep going up this hill for 118!"

After a thank you, I was off up the hill, with 118 Wellington Street no where to be found. I had landed in Heathrow at exactly 1:17pm...It was now 5:14 pm and I was about to break down when Wellington street came to an end. I asked a man walking toward me

"PLEASE SIR!!!!! where is the rest of Wellington Street?"
"Well this is it! that's all"
"But i'm looking for a 118 Wellington Street"
"Well what are you looking for?"
"Jouney Queen Victoria's or something like that."
"Oh! Cross the street here and it's the double chimney there!"
"THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!"

I quickly waited for the crosswalk to turn green then pulled my luggage to the place. I rang the doorbell and got situated. Only 9 pounds was a great deal! I was litterally dripping sweat onto the owner's counter.

"please...do you have water that i can purchase?"
"No, i don't. Sorry, you can go down the to the gas station a couple of blocks over"
"Oh okay...you don't have tap water or anything?"

He went to his fridge and poured a small glass of mango nectar. I offered to pay, but he said no, it was his personal mango nectar that i could have for free. What a nice guy! It was so wonderfully delicious. After getting to my room, I went up to shower and about 15 minutes later, the guys showed up because they'd gotten lost and therefore showed up as late as I. After a few miutes of amazing stories, Aubrey left for the airport to pick up Anne. Scott K fell asleep, and Scott L had left his suitcase in a hostel in london and was going to venture off alone. But how could I allow him to do so! Though I was tired, I was anxious to see a bit more of the new city I was in. So we got on a few different tube lines and made our way to the hostel that he'd stayed at. Worried that his bag had been stolen or thrown out, he hurried to access the luggage room. He forund it! And to his surprise, it was untouched! So, we made our way out and saw a kabab place and decided to stop for a bite to eat. We know Kabab's as meat on a stick. Here, they have the meat on a skewer but they have it rotating and people kinda slice off meat into a thick Pita. It was glorious and they added garlic sauce! So good! So after a fine dinner, we walked out of the store and what should I find? 10 whole pounds! It was very thrilling! Excited we talked and decided to go to Kings Cross! Catching the tube, we got off at King's Cross and found a help thingy. I putshed the button and the train opporator answered. We asked for directions to platform 9 3/4's and made our way to the famous place. We walked for about 20 minutes and finally found our beloved 9 3/4's. We took pictures with the cart sticking out of the wall as though we were walking through. What a wonderful night it was. We made our way back to the Hostel and eventually, we went to bed, though because the girls were hungry, we went to a small place where a fight almost broke out between a worker and a man outside on the street. oh! and Scott and I got on the night bus because we'd missed our train. Saturday came and the gang and I left our little hostel. We traveled with little stress and it was fun being able to get where we needed to be traveling with the group. It took a bit to get to Lee Abbey, but sure enough we arrived. It wasn't to long before we saw sean, Eugene, Brittney, Kristin, Megs and everyone else! We soon moved into our rooms and thus began OUR journey. Sunday we began our day by attending sunday service at Westminster Abbey. How Beautiful it was both inside and out. The outside reflected beauty and upon entering the room was filled with the highest ceilings i've ever seen, tombs, gold, and windows painted to reflect the colors of the rainbows as the sun shown throught them. The details were unbelievable and amazing. During the service, we sang with the organ. The organ was incredibly eerie, yet indescribably beautiful. Following our service, we spent the day relaxing at the park. Dana, Megs, Sean, Scatch, Gabby, and I went to a local Park where we laid down, heard scott play his guitar from spain, and read and enjoyed eachother's company. Soon, we headed back the the Abbey and departed to Shakespear's Globe where we watched Romeo and Juliet, the last performance. We did as the poor did back in the day and watched standing up for 3 hours. We were dying! FML. My legs were in such pain and though the play was enjoyable, much of my focus was on my throbbing feet. The following Day, we ventured to the national Museum and saw hundred's of beautiful paintings, one's which some only dream of seeing. Tuesday, Wednesday and today was spent at various museum's and nights were filled with Uno games and Gin Rummy. Tonight it's Les Miserable the musical where we're dressing up and being FANCY. hehe.