Adventure at the Airport

Despite loading the plane before the scheduled departure time, my Bergen to London flight left the gate late resulting in a late arrival in London. My layover in London was supposed to be an hour, but after I deplaned, I had a bit less than that.  

I was met outside the plane by a British Airways representative holding an iPad displaying "SFO." He handed me an orange card that was supposed to act as a fast pass. With this pass, I could bypass some of the waiting in line.

I breezed by all the people waiting in line to go through passport control. If I had waited in that line, I most definitely would have missed my flight. I rushed from passport control to security. I was ushered into a separate, shorter line for the security process as well.  Although shorter, the line was not short.

By this time, I had also become aware that I had to be at my designated gate a minimum of 20 minutes before departure. Apparently, all gates close 20 minutes before plane departure. This fact was quite unfortunate, especially since once I passed through security I realized that I wasn't even in the same terminal as my gate and I would need to take the shuttle. The in-flight magazine I read on my first flight from Bergen to London mentioned that a person should allow at least an hour to get from one terminal to another. I had less than an hour, and even with the help of the orange pass, I was rather stressed.

I boarded the shuttle to the correct terminal; I only had to ride for two stops. Unfortunately, the shuttle was completely packed and when it stopped at my terminal, I was on the opposite side from the door. Even more unfortunately, a gentleman dropped a shopping bag in front of the door and was bending over to pick it up. Because of the number of people in the car and the poorly placed floor-to-ceiling hand bars, I was unable to exit the shuttle.

Terrified that the train would leave with me still on it - there would be no way to make my flight on time if it did - I raised my voice to the gentleman demanding he let me off. He was still in my way, but another way opened up and I rushed off the train car and into the terminal seconds before the doors closed.

I basically ran-walked to the gate, which of course, was at the end of the terminal. I actually made my flight on time with only one minute to spare before the gate closed. The flight from London to San Francisco was without incident and Greg was waiting there for me when I exited the SFO baggage claim.

It turns out that although I made my London to San Francisco flight on time, my bag didn't. I was told I would have to wait a day or two, but the bag would be delivered to my house. By that point, I was actually perfectly fine with waiting a day or two for my bag, especially when that meant that I didn't have to stand around the airport for another 20 or 30 minutes waiting for it.

Greg said I was the first one from my flight to make it to the arrivals area. And fortunately, I was also the first to start the final leg of the journey home.

Finally, I am home, and I am glad to be here.

Back to London

Today, I went to see As You Like It at the Globe here in London. The play was absolutely fantastic! The actors were fabulous and really made the play come alive. I bought a 5 pound standing yard ticket. Although my feet hurt after standing for 2 1/2 hours, the pain was worth it.

The story: Rosalind's father has been exiled. Her uncle has taken over. She and her cousin are inseparable. Unfortunately, the uncle hates her and tells her she must leave. Not wanting to separate from her cousin, Rosalind dresses as a man and her cousin dresses as a common woman. The two steal away in the night taking the court jester with them. All this time, Rosalind is pining for Orlando, a boy she saw win a wrestling match. And of course, he's been pining for her too, writing her bad poetry. Rosalind's manly state causes some problems, but everything works out (Orlando happens to love her either way).
In the end, everybody gets married. Orlando and Rosalind, the jester and a local woman, Phoebe and a shepherd boy (a troubled couple the two girls meet in the forest), and Rosalind's cousin and Orlando's brother.

This is a simplified version of the story, but you get the idea. It's actually quite a good story.After the play, I walked next door to Tate Modern and stayed until closing time.

London

23 April 2009, 4.00 am
Yesterday was pleasant. I ended up going to the British Library, shopping a bit (only buying a half-price scarf), and then going to the British Museum. I really thought I had never been to the British Museum. But guess what? I had. Since my feet were already tired, I didn’t bother revisiting the museum. I spent a few minutes with the Assyrian relics, and then left. The weather really was too nice to spend the day indoors.

The British Library was great. There is a column of antique books on bookshelves in the center surrounded by glass. I should know the significance of these books - I read it on a plaque yesterday, but I cannot remember. The main attractions at the library are located in a large room off to the left after you ascend the first set of stairs. Here you will find “Yesterday” handwritten on the back of a greeting card, a handwritten copy of Jane Eyre, Lewis Carroll’s journal, and many other treasures. I must admit that it’s one thing to see, play, or hear any Mozart piece, but a very different experience to see the handwritten composition for a concerto. And by the way, those illuminated manuscripts are fabulous. They should really be considered art as opposed to history/historical documents. I was completely taken aback by how intricate and careful the details were in the designs and pictures. By the way, there is another library also next to Kings Cross tube station. I walked into this library thinking it was THE British Library. Turns out it was just an ordinary British library. I walked around for a few minutes pretending to peruse the books.



I ended the day by taking the tube to Westminster and taking some of those iconic London photograph shots with my new(ish) camera. Of course I have pictures of London Eye and Big Ben and Parliament and all of that, but I didn’t have any of those shots taken with a nice camera. Besides, I was meeting a friend in a pub near Westminster. Unfortunately, I was late to meet my friend. I gave myself plenty of time, BUT I did not factor in walking 15 minutes in the wrong direction. I (stupidly) chose to take the tube (rather than trying to find myself on the map and figure it out from there - I knew I was at least 15 minutes away). Twenty-five minutes later, I ended up at the Slug and Lettuce on Artillery Road (15 minutes late). I relaxed, ordered a drink, and talked to my friend for quite a while. If you ever find yourself at a Slug and Lettuce, the butternut squash lasagna is interestingly yummy.



This morning, I awoke about 1.30 unable to get back to sleep. I blame the girl who could not stop coughing. I got dressed in the dark, tried to repack my bag, and came downstairs to the pub. The pub looks as if it would be a cool place to hang out. I thought about it last night - it was packed - but I was exhausted after almost 36 hours of anti-sleep. I’ll leave in a few minutes to head for the Easybus stop.

Today’s plan:
1. Take the bus to London Luton Airport.
2. Fly to Pisa.
3. Take some photos of the leaning tower. I haven’t decided yet whether or not I will actually climb the tower, but as of now, I’m thinking no. I am absolutely exhausted and I’m not sure my body can handle the stairs/apprehension.
4. Take the train to Florence.
5. Check in at the hostel.
6. Try to post this (complete with pictures if possible).

London

So I've made it to London and I'm not dead (huge fear of flying and death occurring during flight). At the moment, I am taking advantage of free internet at the British Library. In a minute, I will check out the Magna Carta and some illuminated manuscripts.

Later today, I plan to visit the British Museum and Tate Modern (one of my all-time favorite art museums, probably only behind the Rodin Museum in Paris).

Well, I'm off!