Around the Flat | Part IV of Driving to London

The original plan had been for me to land at Heathrow at 6am, speed through customs, then hope the Tube to attend church at the Hyde Park chapel... but landing an hour late and then spending two hours in a line at customs kinna shot that plan in the foot. So I headed straight to the flat in Covent Garden, instead.

I love London — I'd say I love England, but I've only ever seen London, so I don't want to jump ahead of myself — but I must say that their building habits are a little, um, odd... things like having the light switches to rooms outside of the room, or having the door knob in the center of the door (which makes leveraging the door closed or open really really awkward). Anyway, I was reminded, upon my arrival at the flat, just how odd things were to my American sensibilities.

But it's okay... I eventually figured out how to enter the building, unlock the flat door, and turn on the light to the bathroom. Eventually.

Once inside, I debated with myself whether I should power through the day until bed time (a really good plan to defeat jet lag quickly), or take a short nap... I opted for the nap. My feet hurt, I was a little smelly from the trip... so a nap was in order. About an hour later, I got up and rang Mihaela, and we made plans to meet-up a little later. So I had a bite to eat, got familiar with the computer, internet, and television set-up, then headed around the block to the Covent Garden market to get my bearings.

I had been here a number of times in the past, so I was eager to reacquaint myself with its nooks and crannies. I had a blast... and when Mihaela joined me, I showed her all around. She joked that she should be showing me around, since this was her home... but I can't help myself. I'm a born tour guide.

We spent the next few hours wandering the streets, and I did my best to not buy stuff (it was, after all, Sunday) — but I did take note of where the Tin Tin shop was for later perusal. At the end of the day, she and I headed back around the corner to the little pasta shop across the street from my flat for dinner.

It was the perfect first day in London (thanks Mihaela!).

Next Stop: Charing Cross Road!
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Photos from this leg of the trip can be found at my flickr account... starting with this photo I took from the flat's livingroom window.