All in all, it was a fairly undramatic travel day(s), which is just the way I like it. I hadn’t slept well the couple of days before leaving, and then didn’t sleep much at all on either flight, so it also ended up being a ‘dealing with bouts of woozy’ couple of days; but that’s why I planned to get in a few days early. Catching up via naps!
Dallas Fort Worth airport. I mean, if your airport doesn’t have a crazy-castle-thing, is it even real?
Dramatic lighting. Thanks, crazy castle thing!
View from the waiting area. (Nothing clever to say.)
I was just struck by how much the clouds looked like dirty cotton candy.
Made it to London, found the Heathrow Express. Did I mention my suitcase handle broke at the very top of the trip? Because it did. And it was a pain.
Did a pretty good job of matching the decor on the train.
Another pan chocolate, this one marginally better and totally British. Chillin’ (literally, it was cold) outside the Hyde Park Chapel on Exhibition Street. They had agreed to let me stash my luggage there until I could check in to my AirBnb. It was nice - I freshened up, stored all my stuff, and tried not to think about hiding in a classroom and sleeping on the floor.
I walked the neighborhood (honestly, to keep awake) and found the three places the study abroad students in our group will be staying. Also found this random display of restored cars in one of the mews that included this Bentley.
Spent a minute in Hyde Park (the actual park) sitting on a bench near a group of schoolgirls practicing four-way cricket (I KNOW. For real.) and catching up on a few Marco Polos. Walked past the Albert Memorial, which is not dramatic or elaborate AT ALL.
Wanted to get out of the chilly-ish air and keep sitting (while hopefully not falling asleep), so I headed for the Victoria & Albert Museum because it is free and full of interesting things. Didn’t help - I kept trying to doze off standing up. Was surveyed by an employee on my experience, which I totally went along with even though I had nothing substantial to offer because talking to someone kept me awake and I still had an hour before I could head to my AirBnb. Will go back to the V&A, hopefully on the regular, and take things in a bite at a time.
Not a bad view to wake up to, eh? I held out as long as I could, meaning I fully planned to stay awake until 8-ish and then pop a (prescribed!) sleeping pill, but I made it to about 2:30. I met the Airbnb hosts, vaguely thought about showering or finding some food for later, washed my face, and lay down for a nap. Five hours later I got up, had a snack, puttered around a little, tried to read, (did not leave my room - it has an en-suite bathroom! Woo!), took my pill (to keep me asleep during jet lag turnover) and went back to bed.
It is currently 9AM - I decided to go to Oxford today, then decided that was too much work; I think I’ll go to Kew Gardens instead. If I can get myself up and showered and past wanting to take a nap, that is.
This is a weird mental place; I’d like to blame some of it on the jet lag, and I will, but I’m fighting between holing up and hermitting, and getting out to see and do. Thinking about the walking is exhausting (got my 12,000 steps and 5 miles yesterday!), but I know I need to get out and stop missing things. The battle is between “rest up” and “sleep when you’re dead”, and the winner has traditionally/overwhelmingly been “rest up/be lazy”, but I will drag myself out for breakfast. And if I keep on going from there I just might do something new AND take along some reading to prep for class.
Gotta have goals, right?
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