A London Adventure

Life is never dull. Yesterday I headed to London for an afternoon appointment. Getting there involved getting a train. I learnt that if you have a certain railcard, your travelling companion has to have the same type of ticket as you - they can't have an underground pass if you don't.

The train journey up was relatively relaxed. Yes, the train was crowded but I had a seat and was able to read most of I Am Spartapuss by Robin price (to be reviewed on Tuesday). Every time I get to Waterloo station I forget how big it is, and just how many people commute to London. Barely saw any pigeons, which was unusual. The taxi queue was inevitably long but it moved forward at a fast rate. The two guys in front of me had matching rucksacks. I guess they worked at the same company. The writer in me hoped they were members of a secret organisation which had funny handshakes.

Traffic to get to Selfridge was a little crazy, but the taxi driver was very kind and explained he was turning around to avoid some of the major traffic snarlups. I proceeded to Starbucks, where I had a skinny toffee nut latte without cream. It is delicious!!! I love their winter range of drinks (and love their normal range of drinks). I also got a chocolate cream frappuccino - I was devouring books while family went shopping. I wasn't alone at my table with my comfy chair - two girls (on separate occasions) came and ate lunch while I was there. One had sushi, so I approved.

I took a break for a yummy lunch, which was also eventful. I waited for a wrap filled with falafel, hummus and salad. A girl my age was next to me, also waiting, also having exactly the same filling (with a different sauce). I asked her if she'd had it before, and she hadn't. I said it was yummy and I was very happy to have it again. That wasn't the end of the girl - I saw her later on in the loos! We walked out and chatted a bit, it was her last time up in London before her baby was due (in December). She was so petite I hadn't really noticed her bump. Methinks I'll be storing my encounter with her away for future wips.

2nd round of Starbucks saw me sipping on water, and reading. Once again two more girls came along (separately) to eat their meal. Space is at a premium at lunch time.

Journey to my place of appointment was a worry. The traffic was absolutely diabolical. It wasn't even rush hour! However, I'm thinking London rush hour starts at 3pm. It took best part of 40 minutes to get to my final destination. I was worried I would be late. I nearly was - I'd only been there once before, and thought it was the 1st floor. It wasn't, it was the 3rd! Then I got called by a different person - I insisted on seeing the person I was supposed to see. It worked out ok, I just had to wait around a bit longer. No problem.

On the drive back to the station it was much quieter - although the station was a lot busier. Finding a seat was a bit tougher. I was wedged between two ladies, one eating a croissant (I think) the other eating MacDonalds. Lady on the left had a large card filled with lots of signatures. When she switched seats later I realised she was heavily pregnant -I'm guessing she was reading a temporary goodbye card from work. Opposite us were 2 men reading newspapers, then a third joined. All the newspapers were different (no, I didn't catch the titles, I just saw the back pages were different). One ended up doing the crossword.

Oh - I did spot one girl in Starbucks reading a Percy Jackson novel - I recognised the back cover!

When I got home I discovered a few book parcels, which made a great end to a long day. Today I'm resting up from the trip, and trying to fight off what could be the start of a cold. I've scheduled 6 reviews, I'm about to bake a lemon and poppyseed cake, and a sponge cake for family celebration on Sunday. Yummy. Then I can write!!! Determined to try and write 3k today.

I shall report on my writing progress later on. Have a great day!