London Calling
By 9:45am: Arrive at Gatwick. Have never suffered as much turbulence in one flight as the flight from Detroit. On the upside, won the aircraft trivia game three times.
10:00am: Deal with snarky, irritating entry agent. We saved your ass in World War II!!!
11:00am: Arrive at London Victoria.
11:10am: Give directions to clueless looking trio. Lord knows where they ended up.
11:40am: Arrive hostel. Clerk is pleasant young American woman.
12:00pm: Face imminent crash. 23 hours since last sleep.
12:10pm: Drink enormous cup of coffee. Purpose dramatically renewed.
12:30pm: Arrive at Imperial War Museum. “Kid in a candy store” does not begin to express my mood. They have a T-34/85. Will post pictures.
1:45pm: Note that London weather very much resembles Seattle weather.
2:00pm: Crash at hostel.
2:10pm: Renew struggle. Off to see the HMS Belfast, then the Tower.
2:40pm: Arrive at HMS Belfast. Study. Take pictures. London is cold and rainy.
3:30pm: Face imminent loss of all bodily function. No sleep for 27 hours. No food for 7 hours. Give up quest for Tower.
3:35pm: Pass sports betting parlour on way back to hostel. Consider putting down some money on some team in some sport that I don’t understand. Decide that my inability to determine winner would prove embarassing.
3:45pm: Clueless looking trio asks “Where is the London Bridge?” I respond by pointing in random direction.
4:00pm: Return to hostel. Note that I forgot to bring an alarm clock and an outlet converter. Pray that I’ll be able to get up in the morning.
4:05pm: Crash.
5:30pm: Arise. Food now takes precedence.
7:00pm: Eat roast beef and fried camembert. Converse with pair of Kiwi rugbiers. Grow increasingly incoherent.