Adventures in Africa
After a nice dinner with about 18 friends at my favourite Indian restaurant, I head to the airport with tears in my eyes. Luckily, once I was checked in I found something to distract me. I still had Alla's keys! Alla had been letting me stay at her place for my last couple of days and when we all met up for dinner I forgot to give her the apartment keys! Panic! Luckily, my friend Sophie was dropping off her boyfriend at the airport (same flight as me) and I managed to go back through security and find them and give them to her to give to Alla.
Then I flew to London. The weather really makes it seem like another world. The cold makes me forget that I was ever warm and that Nairobi and Kenya was just a few days ago. I checked my big huge heavy suitcase into a luggage storage service at the airport (saved me from taking a taxi and was CHEAPER than a taxi - only 30pounds for 6 days storage... and took the tube to meet up with Dave!
I am a bit in shock here over everything... all the white people, all the nice clothes people wear, the traffic lights, the crisp air, the sidewalks without things sticking out of them (or open sewers waiting for you to fall into them), the beautiful architecture everywhere, how organized everything seems, how on time everything seems, safe drivers, mothers pushing their babies in carts instead of strapping to their bodies using colourful fabrics. Most people here are dressed in black.
I have managed to find ways to do London cheaply! A 7-day subway (for 2 zones) pass is only 21 pounds. There are tons of museums and galleries that are free to the public (fees were dropped after the London bombings to encourage tourism) so I have been to the National Gallery and will go to 2 or 3 others. Most of my days are spent walking around the city. Tomorrow I head to Cambridge to check it out and visit a friend. Tonight we got 10 pound front row tickets to see Kathleen Turner in Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe. On Saturday Dave got us free tickets to the Opera.
Last night was VERY fun. Dave and I went with one of his co-workers to her local pub and played in a TRIVIA competition! It is a very British thing and was very fun despite our lack of ability in answering the questions that focused on Britain (which was about 60% of them). But we did come 5th. And ate fish and chips.
My face and lips are peeling because the cold is cracking my skin and all the tanned bits are falling off. NOOOOO! I am still dark compared to all the brits, but that doesn't take much.
Then I flew to London. The weather really makes it seem like another world. The cold makes me forget that I was ever warm and that Nairobi and Kenya was just a few days ago. I checked my big huge heavy suitcase into a luggage storage service at the airport (saved me from taking a taxi and was CHEAPER than a taxi - only 30pounds for 6 days storage... and took the tube to meet up with Dave!
I am a bit in shock here over everything... all the white people, all the nice clothes people wear, the traffic lights, the crisp air, the sidewalks without things sticking out of them (or open sewers waiting for you to fall into them), the beautiful architecture everywhere, how organized everything seems, how on time everything seems, safe drivers, mothers pushing their babies in carts instead of strapping to their bodies using colourful fabrics. Most people here are dressed in black.
I have managed to find ways to do London cheaply! A 7-day subway (for 2 zones) pass is only 21 pounds. There are tons of museums and galleries that are free to the public (fees were dropped after the London bombings to encourage tourism) so I have been to the National Gallery and will go to 2 or 3 others. Most of my days are spent walking around the city. Tomorrow I head to Cambridge to check it out and visit a friend. Tonight we got 10 pound front row tickets to see Kathleen Turner in Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe. On Saturday Dave got us free tickets to the Opera.
Last night was VERY fun. Dave and I went with one of his co-workers to her local pub and played in a TRIVIA competition! It is a very British thing and was very fun despite our lack of ability in answering the questions that focused on Britain (which was about 60% of them). But we did come 5th. And ate fish and chips.
My face and lips are peeling because the cold is cracking my skin and all the tanned bits are falling off. NOOOOO! I am still dark compared to all the brits, but that doesn't take much.
It's even colder here.