Planes....

Having packed almost everything the evening before, I awoke at 4am Monday morning to an e-mail confirming Antonia’s address a little last minute, but in time none the less.  Saying goodbye to the children was rather amusing, Patrick and Paula were mostly just dazed, but Sarah and Jason both seemed to think I was some sort of attacker. 

Dad and I made it to the airport without a hitch and indeed quite a bit earlier than I had expected.  After a picture, I departed for my grand adventure.  Checking in and making my way to my flight was uneventful.  The only notable experience was watching three orthodox Jewish men pray in the airport – it was a bit of an inspiration actually and I took the opportunity to say MP.   

The flight was also generally unremarkable – I wrote some of this post as well as watched “The King’s Speech” and “No Strings Attached” – both were absolutely wonderful.  I touched down at Heathrow on time and exited to the tube station.  I did notice as I was flying in over London that the city is rather small – especially compared to the western sprawl I have become accustomed to.

I did have a brief adventure after exiting the tube station I had been directed to by Antonia.  I was given directions to her flat by the station manager, but misinterpreted them and as a result spent about 30 minutes wandering from bus route map to bus route map and asking several more people for assistance.  One thing I do love about England though is that it is so well labeled.  I daresay the bus maps were quite a bit more helpful than they would have been in America.  Also, Britain being so far north was quite light at 10pm when I finally found the right building (whereupon I had to ring every flat to figure out which one was hers).  I hope I did not cause too much trouble for the neighbors.

When I arrived Antonia was actually out looking for me at the tube station I had mistakenly told her I would be at. Her lovely boyfriend let me in and called her to let her know I was there.  She came back from the tube (which was literally 5 minutes from her flat) and we had a delicious “tea” (supper).  Antonia is quite a good cook.  There was much chatting and catching up, and after some brief technical issues Antonia and her boyfriend helped me figure out the best way for me to get to St. Pancras in the morning.  The best way involved getting up at 4am again – I suppose this will help me beat the jetlag!