Back in London: Long Walks, Heavy Bags

What's a trip to London without fish and chips? (photo by TravellingFool.com)

Neither my brother nor I got much if any sleep on the plane. Crammed in there like sausages there wasn't much comfort to be found either. Before I knew it we had landed and I knew I would regret the unfortunate circumstances of my flight.

It was my first time flying into Gatwick. I'm not sure I would recommend it. That extra train to get to the city, and the massive crowds of people, turned a straightforward commute into a never ending journey.

We made our way to Paddington, like the bear, and found our hostel. I immediately felt like something wasn't right. We left our bags unattended in the hall and left until the check-in time when the owner (an older Greek woman from the sound of her on the phone) would return. I found it especially odd that the front desk would be unmanned for most of the day.

To pass the time we went to a pub with "award winning" fish and chips. I almost fell asleep on the table I was so exhausted from the trip. Finally it was time to check in so we walked back to the hostel. It was already past the check-in time but there was no one there. We stood in the cold for 20 minutes before someone buzzed us in. A mysterious figure who we never saw because in the time it took to get back in the building was enough for me to say screw this and book a room in a hostel nearby that I stayed in on my last trip.

Off dragging our luggage again we made it to the second hostel. 10 flights of stairs later we were hot and sweaty in our new room, talking to Brian from South Africa. I had to change my shirt I was so sweaty.

We rested for a bit. The room was so cold that I was curled under the covers in my jeans and t-shirt. For some reason the heat didn't work either. Finally we got going and went for a long walk, found a pub and had an amazing meal.

Now I am sitting in the kitchen of the hostel, listening to a girl from New Jersey talking about how her boyfriend is in an honor society fraternity and it's the same as regular Greek life (um no it's not at all).