London: Day 1

I arrived in London at around 12:30 pm (London Time) today after two long flights and one very cold  and dark layover in Iceland.

I didn't see much in Iceland as I didn't stray far from my gates (which luckily for me were right next to each other).  I was tired and have not really slept much since I woke up in Denver on the 4th at 10:30 am.  It's now the 5th in Denver and 3:23 pm... Let's just say I'm exhausted.

Now back to Iceland.  They had really cool bathrooms (I know, I know, I'm focusing on something weird).  You got your own little room with had a sink and everything.  Privacy, I like it.  Then I had to get on this bus to get to our plane.  Okay, alright, not that weird.  Except it was freezing cold and the doors were open until they filled it up. Did I mention freezing, bitter cold?  Then, and this is a first for me, we got dropped off right outside of our airplane and I had to walk up these stairs directly into the plane.  Let's not forget about the cold.  Not sure what the temperature was, but the wind had a bite to it.  Also, it was almost 8:30 am and it was pitch black out.  Apparently there isn't much daylight in Iceland.

I also learned the hard way with Icelandair that it is difficult to understand your Icelandic pilot who is speaking over the intercom with a thick accent.  I am pretty sure I understood about 30% of what he and she were saying on my flights.

London was gloomy when we landed, but I kind of expected that.  The gloominess doesn't bother me anyways.  The airport was very empty.  For some reason, I really expected that it would be very busy like DIA.  It wasn't anywhere near that, but it did take me about 30 minutes to get through the UK Border where they check my passport and ask me about my plans for London.  I got a stamp.  I can't see the stamp on my page...

We took a taxi to get from the airport to the apartment.  I don't regret this.  I did pay £25 for the trip, when split up between three of us.  It was a long ride and my bags were heavy.  I don't regret not taking the tube to get to our apartments.

The apartment is pretty nice and is decently big.  We definitely do not have to worry about having space here.  It's in a decently busy section of the city in Fitzrovia (not sure what that means) and I believe I'm pretty close to Regents Park.  I'm a hop, skip, and jump away from a Sainsbury's and Tesco Express, lots of food, a Starbucks right next door, and an ATM.  I am nervous that I'm going to end up almost run over by a car here because the driving is a bit crazy.  Not to mention, I have to get used to their flow of traffic which is different from what I am used to.

I'll share some photos of what the apartment looks like and then more pictures to come tomorrow.

Entry Way

Main Hallway

Kitchen

Living Room

Living Room

View From Living Room

My Room

Bathroom with the most awkward tub

I think this card helps me get around London.