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The boat trip to London


Home -> City trips -> London -> Travelogue London -> 24 December 2001

Monday 24 December, the boat trip to London

Our ferry boat Waiting...We leave for London, exactly a month after our trip to Barcelona. In fact it is a bit too soon, our feet haven't recovered yet from the large distances we have walked there. But what has to be done, must be done... The bus and the trains are all on schedule, which is rare in Holland, but we are lucky and even an hour early at the harbor of Hoek van Holland. But soon we can enter the boat, the Discovery of Stena Line.
On the boat Elisabeth on the boatThere is much wind, at sea they have predicted a wind-force 9, but we don't notice as long as we are in the harbor. And suddenly we hit open water, the boat goes up and down and all cutlery and service falls onto the floor. Especially the first few waves hit the ship hard, but afterwards it recovers it's balance and we can sit quietly with a coffee and a beer during the 3.5 hour trip.
Smoking secretly Our roomIn Harwich the train is waiting to bring us to London, but no place were smoking is allowed, which we don't like, but we can endure it for an hour and a half. So, no moaning, we will have a smoke in our hotelroom. That is what we think...
Because of the high prices of hotels in London we have booked in a youth's hotel, The Generator in Bloomsbury. And they make it very clear throughout the hotel that smoking (and drinking!) is strictly prohibited in the rooms. Sabotaging the smoke detectors is liable to penalty, so that is not an option. Only one solution remains: sneaky take a cigarette and a drink for the open window.
It makes our arrival less comfortable than we had imagined. We like to be able to behave like we do at home, to enjoy (even from our vices) and we can't do that here.
The bunk beds are too low for Elisabeth's head and the heater doesn't work, although it is in the middle of the winter. Maybe that's how they try to prevent us from smoking with the window open.
For half an hour we have a vision of four long days having a hard time, but we are quite tired from the trip at that moment and we decide to walk a bit through London to better our mood. And so we can make at least a bit use of our travel-card for three days. The travel agency has made a mistake and let the card start today. But we will use it only one or two times today, and on Christmas day there will be no public transport at all in London. So, another disappointment.
Piccadilly Circus Piccadilly CircusWe take the subway (we are near Russell Square) to Piccadilly Circus (compulsory for tourists) and from there we walk to Leicester Square where a tiny fair took place. Wandering about we eventually come to Trafalgar Square and before we know it we have been walking for an hour and a half.
London by nightLondon has a lot of old and often nice buildings and we will show you the pictures. But we didn't always write down what buildings they exactly are, so we can't tell you all about them.
But first it is time to return to the hotel and fall into a smoke-free sleep.

 


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