I am a disappointment to myself and
to all other semi-experienced travelers.
Why am I so disappointing? Because, already within less than three weeks
of being in London, I have broken my Rule No. 1 and found myself inside a
Starbucks. This is where I am writing
from now. My parents will be so
disappointed in me.
Now, I will say that this did not
happen because I craved a Starbucks Coffee to crave my inner-American need for
caffeine and sugar, but rather because I found myself in a tight situation in
an unfamiliar part of London.
Instead of being vague, I should probably give up all the details of how
this tragic incident happened.
A few weeks ago, my flatmate,
Nicole, joined a welsh choir. I
used to do choir in high school and seeing as they were taking a free trip to
Wales to compete, I thought this would be a great way for me to sing again
while also maybe meet some locals.
Well, after a few set backs, I finally committed to the choir and
decided to attend a rehearsal, which is tonight. I looked up directions from my work and decided to give
myself plenty of time to get there and maybe grab some dinner since I got off
work at 4 and rehearsal is not until 7.
Well, after being dropped off by the bus at the proper station, every
map and backup plan failed me to find this church where we rehearse. It was now getting dark and starting to
rain. Thankfully, I used my
American charm into getting directions to the underground station I knew Nicole
used to get to the church. Once I
got there I was cold, hungry and just wanted to look at a map to figure out
what in God’s name went wrong. And
there she was, the Starbuck’s, leaking with WiFi and the potential for hot food
(they have more hot food options at their Starbuck’s here). And it is right across the street of
the station, so Nicole can find me easily to guide me to this mysterious
church.
So that is how I ended up
here. I’m sorry for flocking to
the familiar in my time of need.
We can’t all be Rick Steves.
While I’m parked here, I might as
well continue my own observations and tips that I have come up with the past
week. Maybe these tips, I will actually keep to.
Two Sundays ago, all of the Mizzou
student’s took a trip to Stonehenge and Bath. Now since it had snowed quite at bit in the country that
week, Stonehenge was actually closed, so we had to be very creative in taking
photos from beyond a fence. Even
though it was a bummer that I was unable to see Stonehenge close up, seeing it
in the snow was a real delight. I
really think it was actually a privilege. The countryside was absolutely gorgeous. Every thing was so white and serene that it made me just
want to move to a cottage in the countryside and spend my days tending to my
farm and knitting sweaters while drinking tea. Actually that’s been my dream all along….
I will reiterate that Bath was
beautiful, even in the snow and cold.
The entire city is picturesque and looks like something from a Jane
Austen Novel (a few of her novels do take place in Bath). The trip did however remind me one more
tip, and probably my parent’s No. 1 travel rule.
No. 3 NEVER PASS UP A
TOILET
The
old saying, “I don’t have to go now” no longer applies while traveling. We are at a toilet now, so USE IT. If you don’t, you will normally need
one ten minutes down the road. In
this case you either delay the trip because we have to stop again, or suffer in
discomfort for the majority of the journey. If you are traveling with my family, it’s usually the latter. Don’t go through life thinking you have
some special super bladder. If you
are traveling you should be staying hydrated, therefore, you should NEVER pass
up a toilet. You have only
yourself to blame if you do.
Ok
this was a longer post than I meant for it to be. Again, I'm sorry for writing from a Starbucks.
Cheers,
Janelle
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