March 2012 - London...the multicultural city I fell in love with Part 1
A trip to UK was a dream that for some reason, never seemed to come true. March 2012, and along with major changes in my life, air tickets for London were finally booked!
I was determined to make this trip for myself and nobody or nothing would spoil it.
Friday, March 23rd, 13:00 pm, arrival at Athens International Airport. Nervousness for the flight was beyond words. Grabbed something to eat, took a few deep breaths and boarded on the plane. Weather was sunny and hot, so the trip was expected to be great. 14:45, take off.
Almost 3 hours and 15 mins later, we were stepping on English land.
Train to Victoria station and after 30 mins we were like two villagers in the city..lol Amazed by the rhythm of this town. Everyone was ruuuuuunning!! :)
Took the tube (no, we didn't see any mice and it wasn't thaaaat hot) and after 3 stops we reached Gloucester Rd. Checked in Holiday Inn Kensington Forum. Lovely hotel, clean, spacious rooms (for London at least), and the friendliest staff I've met. The middle Eastern male receptionist, whose name I forget, was a total charm! :)
Took a shower, changed clothes and hit the road..Our bellies had started complaining a long time ago.
Ate at Nando's. Some kind of Mexican chicken restaurant. Food was spicy (I personally loved it) and delicious.
Calm and relaxed we took the road back to our hotel to get prepared for the first meeting of our trip.
Waiting at the lobby with anticipation, my heart was certainly skipping beats. :)
Was looking forward to that particular meeting...And then...he entered...Looking radiant, with the air of the man who knows he is handsome and desired. A pair of beautiful deep blue eyes, in perfect match with a fair complexion, and a smile that you could look at for hours.. An OMG hooooot body and a posture that could easily make you think that he jumped out of the pages of a fashion magazine. A warm hug was all it took to melt my heart and demolish the barriers of my nervousness..I stick on details, so the more I got to know him, the more fond of him I was.. S. is a multi-talented, charismatic man, with a soothing voice that any woman could fall for. The sure thing is that I will keep these two first nights in London in my heart and mind always..
So, here we go to Saturday, March 24th. Woke up reaaaally early.. With my cousin still sleeping, I got dressed, took my camera and left for my adventure. I love a city early in the morning.You can feel it and see it in a totally different way. I wandered along the streets with no particular destination, just observing... The architecture, the landscape, the smells, the people.. The city was just starting to wake up..
Destination No1: Westminster. Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Victoria Gardens, Parliament. The sun was shining, the weather was unexpectedly hot and the Londoners were lying on the grass. Beautiful view towards London Eye.
Walked around, crossed Westminster Bridge and reached Waterloo station. Next stop, Covent Garden. It was almost 14.00 and for some strange reason the pubs were packed with men, drinking beer, being loud and laughing their arses off!!! lol We got sth to eat and continued walking and walking and walking.. :) Lots of kms in this trip.
Oxford Circus. Afternoon already and time for our next meetings in London with two very very dear friends of mine. I've known M. for years, but it was the first time we were actually in the same city and could meet in person. He is truly an English gentleman!! There is no better expression to describe him than that. Truly kind, helpful with a wonderful sense of humour that could even make my cousin laugh..now, that's hard!! hahaha
And what can I say about A.? A gorgeous woman, with a wonderful smile, that opens her heart and lets you in unconditionally. We had a cup of coffee alltogether, while chatting and laughing. We even went for a walk, down Regent Str. to Piccadilly Circus, then to Trafalgar Square, then to the mall, all the way down to Buckingham Palace (yes, the Queen was home :p) into Green Park.
The walk was great, apart from the fact that they both look like giants and made us feel like pure hobbits!!! lol
A. continued hanging out with us and joined us for dinner, where we had the chance to talk a little more and get to know each other a little better.
It was an honour to meet you my friends and spend such a great time with you!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making my stay in London so pleasant! You'll be in my heart forever. You're already missed dearly and I can't wait to be with you again. No need to say that you are all welcome in Greece. My house will always be open for you!! Just book tickets and tell me you're coming! :)
(to be continued...)
