After a bit of a flight delay, I landed in London around 2:30pm….and, after the long customs line, arrived at the apartment I’d rented around 5:00pm. I had dinner plans with my cousin, Beth, and her husband, Paul, the birthday boy, who happened to be staying in London on their way back to the states. Beth had made reservations at the coolest place, The Booking Room at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel to celebrate Paul’s birthday…and Christmas Eve. It was such a cool venue…an old train station turned into a hotel, with restaurants and bar…and the train still operating right outside. We had a leisurely dinner in the historic venue and then headed our separate ways around 9:45.
My place was only 2 stops on the tube and I navigated that part beautifully….and then I exited the station. I turned on my cell phone gps to navigate me towards my apartment, and, thinking I was going in the right direction, turned it off to conserve the very low battery. I just instinctively turned the wrong way out of the train station. After walking 10 minutes it just didn’t feel like the same route I took when I went to dinner?? I looked at the gps, turned around and tried to follow the screen map…..and then I ran out of battery…IN THE MIDDLE OF LONDON!!! UGH!! My apartment was on Crondall Ct…and I knew there was also a Crondall Street. To make a long story short, I asked at least 5 people where Crondall Ct was and nobody knew and, after roaming around thinking I was SOOOOO close I finally unlocked the door to my apartment at 11:35….WTF!!
my cute apartment
It was a bit reminiscent of my Montreal trip…arriving late, no idea where you are and need to get in touch with someone RIGHT NOW!! For this excursion I knew my phone would be charged and I’d have no problems…..uh, NO! I have three phone chargers scattered about my house and just grabbed one….the one that doesn’t really charge very well! I tried to charge it on the plane to no avail.….but had a little sense of relief knowing I had an external charger….which wasn’t charged! Basically both didn’t work very well and I was screwed….
The moral of the story…make sure the place you stay in a foreign country is in a safe neighborhood, in case you need to wander a bit after dark…and don’t panic..you’ll get to your place eventually! …OH, and make sure your phone is charged or you have an external charger that you can use as a backup. I knew in London and Montreal that I’d be fine walking around, but it can still be a bit stressful at 11pm!
You cannot direct the wind, but you can adjust the sails!
