Afternoon with Miss Josephine

The day got significantly better.

The train thing worked out okay, it just took a bit longer to get where I wanted to go. Today was the first time I got to see London. It's very cosmopolitan. Lots of different people, doing different things. I don't really know how to describe what it looks like. I guess different parts look different. The photos will tell the story.

It started raining. Hard. (Ummm... the statement "the day got significantly better" isn't describing this bit). Good thing Rachel lent me an umbrella, cos the wind killed mine in Scotland last week. (Wow, only last week? I actually had to check a calendar. It feels like so long ago, I've been doing so much).

So yes, after Greenwich, it was time to collect my London Pass from the Visitor Centre, about a 5 minute walk away from Picadilly Circus. Because of the train debacle, I was running a bit late, so instead of taking one train and walking (the original plan), I took 3 trains (the original plan got broken into 2 trips because of the engineering work, then I took another train where initially I had planned to walk). And I STILL got lost getting off the train and walking down the road to the Visitor Centre. Why can't they just have straight roads *OCD*

Kudos to the train system though, despite that little hiccup. They come so frequently and they're so fast. I was due to meet Jo, who I know from church, at 2.30. When I was running late at the Visitor Centre at about 2.20, I told her that I would probably be about 15 minutes late. Estimated with expectations from experience of train services a la Metro. But I was at Covent Garden by 2.31. Pretty good. Basically, you don't wait for a train. Generally when you get to a station, the train is already there waiting. I like.

We wandered around the city a little bit. Started off at Covent Garden, uhhh I don't really know exactly what route we took and where we went. We literally just wandered aimlessly for the first bit, and I got to see a bit of the streets and shops. Then we tried to go to Leceister Square, but when we got there the Square was all bordered up with some works or something going on inside. Then uhhh. We took the tube to... oh gosh... somewhere. Oxford Circus! Then we walked down the famous Oxford Street, walked into House of Fraser.

Then Harrods. Oh my gosh Harrods. The decor is stunning. Like the outside isn't great looking, but the inside is beautiful. To be honest we went to Harrod's because we were hungry and Jo suggested chocolate waffles. The signage at Harrod's is actually pretty bad, so we walked for a good half hour around the place before we actually found the chocolate bar. It was pretty crowded, as you would expect on a weekend. There was a massive line, but luckily the people in front of us all wanted to wait for tables, and we were happy to squeeze at the bar, so the wait wasn't too long.

Jo treated me to £14.50 chocolate waffles with ice cream, cream and strawberries, garnished with little bits of rolled up chocolate. Actually on the menu it was £14.50, which didn't include the strawberries, but when the bill came they still only charged us £14.50. Free strawberries!

They were amazing. The waffles were freshly made, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and the chocolate sauce wasn't too rich. The strawberries were sweet, too. OMGOSH YUM. Thank you so much, Jo!

(Dad, I know you're jealous. It's okay. One day I'll pay for you to go to London and you can have £14.50 chocolate waffles, too. Oh and Happy Father's Day.)

It was good having someone to talk to while walking. It made the time go quicker, and it was less about doing stuff and going places, and more about just enjoying walking and chatting. Little bit hard to do that when you're by yourself.

I've decided that I've got to get a handbag. In my attempt to pack light, I'd decided that I didn't really need a proper handbag, and I packed a little pouch instead. Now I wish I'd brought my entire collection of bags so I can use whatever I need to use, because I have needed my pouch, but now I also need a handbag. UMMMM ANYWAY. I actually feel like an idiot walking around with a backpack. I would like to look like a normal person walking down the street, not a lame unfashionable freaky tourist person with her backpack, asking for her stuff to get stolen because she's a tourist.