ARRIVE!!!!!

ARRIVAL!




We were circling the runway for our final descent. My Snuggie was curled and tethered. My ankle was re-wrapped with athletic bandage tape. I was ready!

Before we landed, I had a nice chat with my ankle. It was not to give me any problems. It could hurt if it wanted, but not when I needed it to be functional. By my calculations, it was Monday in London, my class starts on Wednesday. It had a day and a half to get rid of its issues. 

I filled out my immigration slip and tried not to hobble my way to the border.

I answered the questions, why are you here, how long are you visiting, where are you staying, yadda, yadda. I picked up my carry on bag from the carousel and splurged on a Heathrow Express ticket into town.

Russell Square Station

I arrived at Euston station. Found the map walked up and down at least 200 steps and finally departed at Russell Square. I knew I was in the right general area, but I wasn't quite sure where to go.


By this time it was a little after 4pm in London, and the sun was starting to set. Yes, it was cold. I was happy to have on a nice warm coat. My ankle was screaming, it was chilly and I needed a break from my aimless wandering.

Friend At Hand

There was a cute pub on the side street, so I took myself and my bags into it.  It was called the Friend at Hand. It was cutely decorated and nice and warm inside. 

Christmas Decorations and Patrons inside

There was a chalk board advertising the specials of the day. One which happened to be Mulled Wine. I'd never had mulled wine, so I went ahead and ordered that. There was also a menu for pub food. Real pub food. Never had that before either, so I got the safest
looking weird thing I could. That happened to be the Scotch Egg. 
The mulled wine was warm and sweet and oddly comforting. Red wine with cloves, cinnamon and orange peels and probably some other stuff thrown in, all heated up some kind of way. Not being a big red wine fan, I didn't think I'd like it, but I did. The word 'hearty' comes to mind. For some reason the spices in the wine give it a heavier feel. Quite interesting.

Weird Egg with a cold yolk.

The Scotch Egg was a different story. I'd also never had one of these things. I'd heard of them and in theory it sounds fantastic. The jury is still out for me as far as this goes and I'll tell you why. I think what's going on here is that there is a soft-boiled egg surrounded by sausage, breaded and deep fried. Sounds good, right? I got the thing, took the pic and dug in. It was tasty on the outside. How could deep-fried sausage not be? The egg, however... well, the yolk was cold. I don't think that's supposed to happen. I get it. You boil the eggs early in the day and put them in the fridge until you need them, then you whip up the coating. Maybe this egg spent a long time at the back of the fridge. Maybe the yolk was actually frozen when it got dunked. Either way, it was strange. I'm not quite sure what the sauce was, but I'm guessing it was that old English standard HP. I wasn't too grossed out not to give a Scotch Egg another chance, but not this day.








Refreshed by my snack and warmed inside by the wine, I asked directions from the bartender on where to go. It wasn't all that far away, so I set out to find my accommodation for the next 6 days.

SMART RUSSELL SQUARE

A door in the middle of the block. Next door is massive construction. Okay, I can handle this. No problems. After all, I'd stayed in hostels in London before and it was a pleasant experience. So in I go.

Press pic for Smart.

I go inside and check in. I'm in a 6 bed all female dorm. On the second floor. Which is the third floor for my US friends. The showers are in the basement and co-ed restrooms on every other landing. So let's take stock. To shower, I have to go down 3 then up 4 flights. To use the bathroom, I either have to go up or down one flight. All of this without a lift. And a bad ankle.

It's ok. I can turn off the well-deserved diva in me and handle this. I spent time in China, I can handle anything.

                                    

I dragged my bag up to my room. It was empty. Thank God! I chose the bed closest to the radiator. I don't really know how to work the things, so I figured it would be the safest bet.

My bed.

At least they gave us sheets, pillowcase and blanket... I guess.

A few minutes after, a nice girl from Hungry came in. I didn't catch her name.

 "Looks like a prison. I have one night here and I think that's enough." Was our only exchange. She was right.  This place makes the accommodation in Orange Is The New Black look like a quite at the Four Seasons.  Here are some more pics.

This is the sink in the room.




                                          And here is the radiator.

On top of all that, there was one outlet to service six people. ONE!

Just out of a perverse curiosity, I took a walk down to the basement to check out the showers. When I was swimming I had to take a shower in the gym that looked better than this. Thank God I packed my chemical arsenal. Still, I was here to advance my career. I shall soldier on!

By this time, the sun had gone down and it was dinner time. I knew I had a few purchases to make, so I locked up my bag, trekked down the three flights and headed out into the city.

I hit up Waitrose first. I knew I would need decaf tea and non-dairy creamer, so I got those. I also got some biscuits. Mmmm.

From there, I set out letting the lights lead me. I turned here, I turned there, not knowing or caring where they take me. I ended up at a place that said it was the Best Indian in London. How could I resist?
If you've ever had masala, which is a tomato sauce with spices, you might agree that you tend to crave it for a few days. So I gave in. According to Richard, Indian places in London are like Mexican places in LA. That is to say they're all good. I really couldn't go wrong. 

To that I added some garlic naan. And because I was thinking how grossed out Edie Baby would be, I threw in a Diet Coke. 

 After dinner, I followed the lights for a few more hours not knowing where I was going. Shops shut down earlier in London than LA, so I knew I wouldn't be out at all hours unless I hit up a pub. I wasn't in the mood for a pub crawl, so I made my way back to the prison for hopefully a good night's sleep.  Or so I thought.

This ends the Arrival Day.