Day 1 - Arrived in London

Day one of the trip kind of included last night in Toronto. We left Pearson enroute to London Gatwick at 9:55pm Toronto time. Here are a couple of shots from the on-board map system:

In the middle of the North Atlantic

Wow it was cold outside! The plane's ground speed got as high as 1029 km/h.

We arrived in London very tired at 9:55am London time, or 4:55am Toronto time. We discovered that the walk to customs was a long one. Gatwick is under renovation, making the journey from the gate long. Here is the the landing card you're supposed to fill out on the plane: 

The landing card required to enter the UK.


We made our way on the Southern Railway to London Victoria Station. We had time to kill, so we grabbed a drink from a cafe in the station. It was the first time I got to use my pounds and the first time I ever had someone say to me: "What can I get you love?" Here is a picture from inside the beautiful Victoria Station:

London's Victoria station during lunch.

Our next mode of transportation was the London Underground. I was completely surprised with how busy it was. We took the Circle Line from Victoria to Paddington Station. We still had an hour till check in at the hotel, so we went to McDonald's to sit and kill time. We later checked into our hotel and had a nap, being completely tired. It didn't really bother us that there was no power in the room, we just needed sleep. Flash forward to 7pm, still without power in the room we decided to go exploring in the neighbourhood and find somewhere to eat. Here is a shot of the phone booth outside the hotel.

Phone booth on Sussex Garden in Hyde Park.

We found a place called Garfunkels near the hotel which had reasonable prices. The food ended up being great. I had the Grilled Chicken Burger and Sonia had the Fish and Chips.

My delicious chicken burger!

Sonia's Fish & Chips.

When we got back to the hotel, I decided to inquire about the electricity in the room. Apparently in order for the room to have power, you have to insert your room key into a slot in the wall. Sure enough, on came the lights when I did as I was instructed. That was our crazy day one. It's midnight here now, so I better get some sleep so I can catch the train tomorrow at 7:06am to GLASTONBURY!!!!!! I'll be back tomorrow with another update!