Back in London!! Day 1

Writing this post, you would think I would be able to stop smiling stupidly at my screen while typing this, but I guess that’s just the effect London has on me. I was only there for 3 days, but I feel like I made the most of it. It hasn’t even been that long since I was last there (May 2022), but I couldn’t help myself when an opportunity presented itself. One of my friends, Jordan, had told me he bought tickets to London during Halloween around May. It was in the back of my mind because I knew Luxembourg doesn’t celebrate Halloween, and I’ve never seen London in the fall. Plus, why wouldn’t I want to go back to London??? Jordan is one of my closest friends from my restaurant job in Chicago, so I knew that it wouldn’t matter if it was just the two of us hanging out together. I thought his twin brother was coming too, but that ended up not being the case; I’ll meet him eventually, lol.

My flight was set to depart at 12:30 ish, so I made sure to get to the airport at 10 AM. It turns out, this was a massive mistake because they didn’t even open check-in until an hour before the flight. In America, this is extremely uncommon, and I feel like I was stressed from the moment I left my dorm up until I got to the budget hotel in London. As I was waiting to complete the security check, it was getting increasingly close to my boarding time at 11:40, so I was trying to muster up the courage to ask people to let me through. Thankfully, it didn’t come to this because an airport employee called London Stanstead and I was able to go through. Somehow, I was the only person in the line that needed to go ahead. Typically, you can get your boarding pass ahead of time and add it to your Apple Wallet, but I had to go to the desk with a document given to me in place of the boarding pass to exchange. Many other people had to do this too though, so I was more reassured that I wouldn’t be the only one rushing. Once I finally got to the gate, I had about 10 minutes until boarding…or so I thought. We didn’t actually start checking people in for boarding until 12:45, and everyone had to wait for a shuttle to the plane, so we didn’t end up all getting to the plane until around 1:30 PM. We finally took off around 20 minutes later. The flight was ridiculously short, which I couldn’t have been more grateful for. I typically love short flights, but this one felt particularly long because the second we all got seated, 5 different infants around the plane started having fits that didn’t stop a single time until we landed. My flight was also soured because I didn’t realize I had to pay for a drink when the flight attendants came by, and I was too tired/shy to tell them never mind.

Once we got off, we didn’t have to take another shuttle. I couldn’t wait to get through customs that I was almost willing to walk there instead of taking the tram. I was so grateful that the E-gates accepted my American passport. It took me less than 2 minutes to get in line and pass through to finally get some food. I was tempted to get something at Costa, but I always go there, and I wanted to try something new. I ended up getting my lunch at Leon, a “fast food” place with some rice bowls and wraps. I got a chicken stay rice bowl, which unfortunately had tons of cilantro that I didn’t know about, but it was really delicious. I haven’t had that sweet peanut satay sauce in so long. The Australian woman in line with me for the bus even commented on how good it smelled. Little did I know that this wouldn’t be the first/only Australian couple I would meet in Europe haha! It was a smooth ride to the budget hotel, but I had to walk a decent amount. Thankfully, I was only allowed a personal item, so I only had my backpack with me.

When I finally arrived, I couldn’t figure out how to get the key. I put the numbers in the lockbox, and it didn’t open. A younger guy who seemed my age came shortly after I arrived and held the door a bit after he passed to let me in, so I kind of sat in the stairwell thinking of what to do while I waited for a text back from the owner of the place. I walked up just to check that this was in fact the right place, and a man living there asked me what I was looking for. I felt bad that I may have seemed suspicious, but I’m sure he was just being friendly. When the owner responded, they told me I had to pull towards me and not slide anything down, which worked like magic. I was so happy to finally have the key and went straight to the room. It was definitely a “budget” place, but it was perfect for 3 nights.

After I finished putting all of my stuff away and looked up a place to go to find my embroidery stuff. One of the other main reasons I wanted to come is because embroidery floss is supposedly cheaper in the UK. Back in the US, it’s only 67 cents for a skein, but the ones I have seen in Luxembourg are a whopping 1.75-2 euros!! Why????? DMC is literally a French brand, so I thought it would be cheaper without the long export distance. When I looked this up, I found that apparently the DMC floss here uses better quality cotton, which is what hikes up the price. Big oof. I first went to this cute place in Victoria called _____. They had DMC floss, but only in bundles that cost 20 pounds. No thanks. I did, however, get fabric for my next project. It was only 3 pounds for 50x50 cm! They had 26x26 cm, but unfortunately my project is meant to be that exact size, so that wouldn’t have worked out. I couldn’t believe how freaking cheap that was—so much that I was almost tempted to buy more! They also had some really cool cards in the store that were made using old fashioned printing, so I knew I had to snag one as well.

As I went to my next place, I came across a thrift store with INCREDIBLE prices!!! I tried a ton of things of, but I knew I didn’t have much room in my bag, so I settled for one item. I felt bad that they were closing, but they were really nice, and I walked away with a gorgeous dress that I know I can wear for any fancier occasion. Plus, it was only THREE pounds!!! How could I say no to that?? The next art store I went to seemed to be a chain, but the entire basement level—where all of the sewing crafts stuff was meant to be--was closed off. I walked around and just enjoyed the store, then set off to find something to eat.

I looked up cheap eats and was sifting through the familiar locations, like McDonald’s and Chipotle, to find something good. Bombay burrito caught my eye, and it had amazing reviews. Easy decision. Getting the food wasn’t the same. On the way, I made a stop in a TESCO Express and got some cool instant coffee packets to take home with me. I also grabbed 2 free newspapers to entertain myself.

After my little pit stop, I quickly got to where I thought the location was, but it was around the corner. I walked back and forth so many times because Apple Maps kept saying I was there. When I finally turned the corner, I discovered that the place was completely shut down. The inside was totally abandoned and I was sad I wouldn’t be getting Indian food for dinner. I ended up turning around the corner and going inside a Southeast Asian place, where I had some delicious laksa. The couple next to me was even speaking Mandarin, and I got to use it when I asked them to pass me some chopsticks from their holder since my table didn’t have one. The laksa was amaaaazing, but it was already super spicy. I wanted to finish it, but I needed breaks, so I took out one of the newspapers. I felt bad when a waitress asked if I was done and I had to say I was still working on it. I didn’t want to seem rude, but I also knew I couldn’t have another spoonful for at least 2 minutes.

When I finally finished my meal, it was time to meet Jordan in Shoreditch. I found this awesome place called Shoreditch Balls, which was a bar with a mini golf course!!! I reaaalllyyy wanted to play, but when we got there, we didn’t end up doing it. I was surprised how many people were in costume and then grew self-conscious that I wasn’t. While I waited for him, I got my funny blue IV bag drink and found a high-top within view of the entrance. I was sooooo happy when I heard my name and saw Jordan walking towards me! He was wearing his rainbow teddy bear “I am Kenough” hoodie and it was one of the softest hugs ever. I got to meet the friend he was visiting, and her partner as well! They were very nice, but not as keen on partying as Jordan and I are. I could tell he was really grateful to have someone to explore London’s nightlife with.