We love to travel, and one of the trips we have always wanted to take was to London, England. We didn’t really think we’d be able to anytime soon, since it has a reputation as a very expensive destination. But when the U.K. voted for Brexit, the Dollar and Pound became much closer together in value, and we jumped on the opportunity for a reasonably priced trip to the U.K.
The photo above is one of the first I took on our trip, and it’s not of London, it’s of Ireland as we passed over. As much as we wanted to visit England, Ireland will alway be special to us, and it’s difficult to be so close to it and not visit. Ever since our week in Dublin, I’ve said my heart yearns for Ireland, and I don’t believe that will ever not be true.
The first day, we landed in Heathrow (late, of course). It was a massive airport, and fairly confusing, even on our third trip to Europe. At least our checked luggage made it, unlike our trip to Stockholm. The only way we could find out was by 3 elevators, with an incredibly long line (queue?). You can imagine how many people land in Heathrow, and only 3 elevators? I’m sure there was another way, but we couldn’t find it. It was a bit crazy. They say the English are legendary for their queuing ability, but we honestly didn’t find that to be true in London.
Eventually, we made our way to the central bus station and boarded the X26, the longest bus route in London. We rode for nearly the entire route, which took quite a while, but we were able to enjoy the ride from the (very!) warm, dry bus. It would rain for 5 minutes, then the sun would come out, then it would rain again. Yup, we were in London all right.
Amazingly the 2+ hour bus ride was something like a Pound fifty, by far the cheapest airport ride in Europe. London’s public transportation is something the city is, and should be, proud of. The enormous mass of people moved everyday in a city as large as London seems impossible, but they handle it with aplomb. (even when there’s a bomb on the Tube during your trip)
After a long ride, we made it to our hotel in Croydon, a southern borough. First days are tough, we’ve usually been traveling for 24 hours or more, and we don’t sleep well on the plane (does anyone?).
We were starving, and found a restaurant near our hotel called Scrumpchinos. We had Shepard’s Pie (I was in England, and determined to fit in) and a chicken dish that I can’t recall the name of (but was the recommendation of staff). Our food was quite good for a little diner. Admittedly, we were starving, so anything would have been good, even so, we wanted to go back (but never made it, there’s never enough time!).
After our late lunch we explored the neighborhood for a bit. It was mid afternoon local time (but nearly bed time back home), so we always try and stay up for as long as possible. Croydon was fairly working class, but certainly felt safe, and had a lot of affordable options for food. Eventually, we made our way back to the hotel for a solid night of rest, to truly start exploring London the next day.
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