Lollygagging in London with Brandon Love

We got off the plain all dreary eyed and still covered with day old egg and two week old stench. We gathered our bags and ourselves at the baggage claim and then went off to find an ATM machine and a bus. Brandon had written to us that he was staying at the Smart Hyde Park View hostel. We figured we could just ride the bus into the city center and hoof our way there, asking directions along the way. We found a bus from Luton to the city. It was about an hour to London from the London Luton airport.

We were dropped in the center of the city with no clue as to which direction we needed to be walking in. we looked at a few tunnel maps along our way to get a general idea of which direction we needed to be headed in and continued to walk. Once we were past Hyde Park and in the Notting Hill district we knew that we were way off. We were hungry and very tired. We had been walking for over an hour already and had no clue where we needed to turn off for the Smart Hyde Park View hostel. We asked a few people who pointed us back in the direction we had came from. We took off our packs for a little bit for a well deserved break but continued onward to find our destination. We were excited to see Bandon again as well.

We eventually found our destination and luckily they had rooms available. Brandon had mentioned that they would possibly be full if we didn’t show up before 10am. There was nobody there when we showed up besides the woman at the front desk. She showed the three of us to our room on the top floor. We were sharing a dorm with 5 other people. I felt sorry for them considering how back we probably stunk. We stripped down right away and jumped in to the shower.

Brandon wasn’t anywhere to be found so we went for a walk to find some food. We had passed a pizza place that advertised an all you can eat buffet. We had salad and our fair share of pizza and then headed back to wait for Brandon’s arrival. There was internet at hostel which was a bonus so we were able to Skype and email. We contacted the McCarthy’s to let them know we were in London and that we would be coming to Rossendale tomorrow. There was also plenty of new pop and rap songs playing in the social area on a big flat screen TV that I had never heard before. I got caught up watching for a bit and then noticed Brandon walking down the street back to the hostel. I ran out and threw a giant hug on him. He looked so different. He got a haircut, new jeans, and had a goatee. Not to mention, he was clean! Something that was very rare for us these days.

He told us a bit about his last week in Normandy and London. It sounded like he had an amazing time. I am still jealous that he got to see Normandy beach. I can’t imagine. We walked with him through Hyde Park and decided we would go to Piccadilly to see what all of the hype was about. It was like a time square with a giant fountain to loiter at. I wish we would have had more time in London to learn more about the history of the city but we were on too tight of a schedule. We took a metro train to the parliament building to see the river attractions and Big Ben. It was an amazing sight at night. There was a giant Ferris wheel you could have taken to get a good view of the city but being that we have all turned into cheapskates that was out of the question. We popped a squat right next to some Dali statues and chatted for a while before Brandon had to part with us to go to the airport. He had to catch a flight to Paris late that night. We took the metro back to the hostel and said farewell to Brandon for the last time. It was a strange feeling to think that we would not be seeing him again but he was determined to get back home and start working again. He will be missed dearly.

We went to bed right after Brandon left for his flight. In the morning we decided to try and make it to the Tower Bridge before we had to leave for Rossendale. There was a megabus that we reserved seat for at 2 pm which would take us to Manchester where the McCarthy’s agreed to meet us. There was enough time for a quick jaunt to see the Tower Bridge with a stop to watch the changing of the guard along the way. The changing o the guard was madness. It was the largest gathering of tourists I had seen yet. I am glad I went and experienced it but it was pretty anti-climactic. After that we headed on the metro for the Tower Bridge where we walked half way across and then realized that we only had about an hour to get back to the hostel and get our bags and then get our butts to the bus station.

With just our luck, the train we were on had some sort of mechanical difficulties and we had to get off and wait for another one to come along. The seconds ticked by like minutes. We thought for sure we would be late. Once we got to Bayswater we all took off on a dead sprint. Ramsey and Lindy got stuck behind due to Lindsey’s ticket getting jammed into the exit machine. I ran ahead and gathered all of the bags. By the time I got the front desk girl to help get the bags out of the storage room and into the lobby, Ramsey and Lindsey were there ready to go. We ran back to the metro to catch a train near the bus station and then ran to the bus station. It was 10 minutes passed when we were supposed to depart but luckily our bus was still sitting there. The bus driver had informed us that he had already given our seats away and wasn’t sure if there were any more available. We couldn’t believe it! Luckily he made room for us and we were on our way to Manchester on schedule. We were lucky that we didn’t have to make Mac wait for us for several hours. It would not have been a good impression on our hosts who we would e staying with for the next month.