Day 2 - Off to Glasto

I want to first off apologize for the lack of pictures and formatting in this post. I am typing from my phone and will be doing so until Sunday. Regular blogs will return from my laptop on Monday.

We left our first hotel at 6:45am enroute to Paddington station. The two of us grabbed some quick breakfast and boarded the GWR 7:15 service to Castle Cary station. After a 90 minute ride we joined the queue for a shuttle bus to Glasto. There were major delays and traffic problems due to the weather on site. After about two hours, we were on our way. Upon getting off the bus we quickly realized why there were delays. The mud was a couple inches deep and being made worse with drizzle. After the lengthy walk through the mud, we decided to camp a lot closer to the gate. We chose to camp in pylon ground and rested after the long trip. For dinner Sonia and I shared a pepperoni and jalapeno pizza. It was getting late, so we went back to camp.

Day 0 into Day 1

The time finally came. I am now in England sitting in a very small hotel room writing this blog. The internet is very bad, but I'll try my best. Let's start with Day 0.

The day started out with me making a quick trip to the bank to pick up my £ from the bank. I ventured out into the very humid and hot London, Ontario and walked down to my bank and No Frills to pick up some last minute stuff. I got back in plenty of time to rest up before venturing out. Sonia and I left home at 2pm and headed downtown. We stopped by Arby's™for some lunch in the Citi Plaza.

Bags packed and ready to go!

Our next stop was the train station. Upon arriving we learned that the train was about and hour behind due to an earlier incident in Toronto. This made us worry a little bit as our schedule was already pretty tight. Our flight was scheduled for 10:05 and we like to arrive three hours prior to departure. The delayed train didn't arrive in Toronto until five after seven.

Hour late train made us a little nervous.

Next step, the Union-Pearson Express. With trains running every fifteen minutes, we caught the 7:15 departure. The train was comfortable and journey time was 25 minutes to the airport. Arriving at 7:40, we quickly found a kiosk and checked in. Next we waited in line to drop our bags. After the bags were dropped we proceeded to the CATSA screening point and were through in ten minutes.

View from the Union Pearson Express.

We got to the gate (Terminal 3 - C35) and waited for approximately an hour for boarding. The take off was a little rough, to be expected with the storms in the area, and we were airborne at about 10:20pm EST. In enjoyed the view out the window as we passed directly over downtown Toronto and over the lake. With thunderstorms in the area, there was a spectacular display of almost constant nocturnal lighting over the lake. The overall flight was mostly smooth with some moderate turbulence in small pockets.

The wing somewhere over the North Atlantic.

The landing at Gatwick was a little rough as the aircraft had a massive headwind. Once down we proceeded through the long halls of Gatwick to passport control and were in nice and easy. We were through customs at about 11:00am BST. We decided to grab some drinks and hang at the airport for a bit as our hotel check-in wasn't until 2pm. Sonia and I took the 12:52 Southern train to London Victoria; a trip that took about 45 minutes. Our next step was to find bus stop H in the maze that is London Victoria during the multiple construction projects underway. We found it and boarded bus 436 towards Paddington station, which took about fifteen minutes. Sonia and I checked into the hotel and relaxed a bit until heading out again for more supplies for Glastonbury.

Our small room.

I needed a water bottle and Sonia needed a bed sheet for her air mattress. We walked down Edgware road a bit until we found a Tesco Metro. Unfortunately the location only carried food. I used my phone to search for a Tesco Superstore. The closest location was Earl's Court. I next used what I've discovered to be a very useful app: City Mapper. You just type in a destination and it'll give you multiple options and costs on how to get there.

An amazing app!

The best option the app gave us, was to walk down to Marble Arch and catch a route 74 bus towards Putney. We did exactly that and found ourselves at Tesco shopping away. I used the app again to get back to the hotel and it suggested the District line tube from Earl's Court to Paddington. We were at the hotel fifteen minutes later. To get around London, Sonia and I have been using Oyster Cards. They are contactless cards that can be used on Tubes, Trams, Buses, Trains and more in London. The cards are capped at a set daily limit, so you won't use your entire balance in a day. Hope you enjoyed my long and rambling blog, it's 12:35am so I'm heading to bed. I'll try to blog from Worthy Farm daily, but no promises. Internet will likely be spotty.

Off to England in FIVE DAYS!

Five days. A work week. That is all that remains before I depart on my next adventure. A years worth of planning is about to come to an end. I am about to embark on another trip to England. The last time I was this excited for travel was three years ago, our last trip to England. Just as we did three years ago, we are heading to the largest greenfield music festival in the world. Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts. At the time of me typing this, gates open in 7 days 1 hour and 30 minutes.

The poster!

UK Trip 2016: Biggest Purchase DONE!

I am writing this blog today with great excitement, for I have just spent $3747.21 in one go. So, you ask, what does $3747.21 get me? I just purchased the flight and hotel package for my sister and I. It includes two round trip flights and eleven nights in a four-star hotel. The trip itself lasts from June 20th till July 8th. Wait a minute. That's longer than eleven nights. I know, and there's good reason for it.

A little pricer than 2013, but worth it!

Our plan is expanded from what we did in 2013. The flight on the twentieth is overnight and doesn't arrive in London till the next morning. Next plan is to go to a reasonably priced hotel near Paddington Station and stay one night. In 2013 we stayed at the Days Inn for £89. The next morning (June 22nd) is when the real fun begins! If things go like they did in the past, we'll be hopping on the 7:06am train from London Paddington to Castle Cary. You may be thinking to yourself, what is there to do around the rural station of Castle Cary? Answer, The World's Biggest and Greatest Festival, Glastonbury!

The Famous Glastonbury sign

I first heard about Glastonbury Festival in the spring of 2012. The olympics were getting closer and closer and I was learning more about UK culture. I proposed the idea to my sister that we should try and save up and go to the festival in 2013. We did, and it was one of the greatest things I have ever done.

On the hill above The Park 

So, back to 2016. The plan is to camp at Glastonbury for five nights from June 22-26, just like in 2013. Some pretty big acts are strongly rumoured for the gig and it should be amazing. The first act was officially confirmed yesterday as being Jeff Lynne's ELO. The rest of the lineup is usually revealed closer to ticket day. Tickets were purchase on a £50 deposit scheme back in October. They sold out in thirty minutes. The balance £183 per ticket is due in April.

The Hives on the Other Stage in 2013

After Glastonbury is over, we make our way back to our eleven night hotel in the London neighbourhood of Cricklewood. We'll likely need a refresher day and then it'll be straight out to the tourist attractions! To help with the costs of all the tourist attractions, we have decided to purchase a London Pass for the second time. We were happy with how the pass worked in 2013 and will be getting ten day passes with travel this time around. The pass allows free access to many attractions for ten days, along with unlimited tube, bus and train travel in the capital.

The Elizabeth Clock Tower

The trip is sure to be a lot of fun. Check back here for regular updates. I've also thought about doing a daily VLOG while overseas. We'll have to see how it goes.