So now, where was I? That's right: Saturday. This was my last full day in London, and I definitely lived it up. Kim and I got a little bit later of a start (let's just say that pubbing the night before doesn't lead to early mornings), but we still did so much. We took the tube to some of the other major sites in London: Covent Garden and Picadilly Circus to name some specifics. Once again, we took our time and basically toured at our own leisure. Chocolate waffle? Let's eat it. Book store? Let's peruse it. So all in all, we were having a great day. Later, we ate at a cute, little restaurant called The Breakfast Club in an area called Angel. Tucked in the colorfully cozy corner, we chowed down since it was our first legitimate meal of the day. I'm finally getting used to the whole no-tip policy in European restaurants. It was strange at first to walk away from a meal bill with only a few cents left in most cases (with exceptional service, the tipping is more normal), but now it's not only cost effective but more on par with the cultural practices here as well.
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| Gorgeous scene in Hyde Park. |
On a whim, we decided to go to Hyde Park after we ate. Best decision ever. Hyde Park at sunset is incredibly beautiful, and I'm sure that if I lived in London, I would spend a large amount of my free time there. You can find a little bit of everything there: from secluded reading spots to more crowded jogging paths. It's also quite a large park, so I don't think that we saw even half of it. It was probably my favorite spot in London, and it was a great finishing touch to my visit.
Spoiler alert: here's where things start getting crazy.
I didn't realize that when I booked my flight back to Alicante that the airport was an hour and a half away from where I was staying. The other catch about my cheap flight: it was at 7am. This meant that I would have to leave around 4:30am-ish so that I could make my flight. It was somewhat complicated to get to the airport since not a lot of bus/train/tube drivers are available at such a time in the morning. However, Kim and I figured it out, so all I had to do was execute the plan. Or so I thought.
I ended up pulling an all-nighter: we got to talking, eating Nutella toast, and drinking honey mint tea so it was pointless to go to bed. About 3:30am, I said goodbye to Kim so that I could embark on the next leg of my adventure. I had no problem catching the bus that was supposed to drop me off near the train station that I needed. I thought it would be easy to see it from the stop, but it wasn't. So with the help of a random bus driver, a few drunk clubbers, and a security guard, I finally made it to the station (which wasn't far but just hidden among the buildings). I bought my ticket and was excited because I thought that I was actually going to get to the airport early. They told me that there was going to be a bus replacement, but that didn't phase me. I just stood waiting on Platform 10 with my fellow cheap-travelling companions, many of whom didn't speak English or Spanish. The bus was supposed to leave at 4:10am, so I only had a few minutes to wait.
But then it was 4:20am, and the bus hadn't come. And then it was 4:30am, and the bus still hadn't come. And then it was 4:40am, and the bus still hadn't come. And people were starting to freak out. By this point, a pretty large crowd had gathered, and people with even earlier boarding times than me were almost guaranteed to miss their flights. I was able to push my way to the front, and I talked to one of the men in charge. What a stroke of luck! He told me that there was a more reliable bus that I could probably still catch, and it was cheaper. But it would take much longer, so there was no time to waste. After dealing with all of the panicking and stressed people-- of whom I was one-- I made it onto the other bus. The bus driver literally had to pull away because people kept trying to crowd on. Stressful situations turn people into animals. At this point it was 5am, and I was a little scared that I wasn't going to have enough time for the 1.5 hour drive, plus security, plus getting to my gate in time.
I'll save any more of the nitty gritty details and just tell you that I made it in time. By some miracle, I even had time to get a bite to eat. I also made a friend on the bus with whom I could commiserate about this horrible situation. I seriously never fail to make great, temporary travelling buddies. This whole overwhelming trek had left me incredibly tired, so I fell asleep on the plane instantly. And I mean instantly. Seriously. I don't even remember taking off, and that's pretty strange for me since I usually have a hard time sleeping on planes.
I can't even describe the happiness that I felt when I made it back to Alicante. It made Alicante truly feel like home. I had a great time in London, but my big adventure definitely made me appreciate Alicante even more. There really is no place like home. Even if your current home is in a foreign country thousands of miles away from anything you've ever known before.
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