What a week!

I finally got back to Edmonton last night around 1 AM. We were supposed to return just before 11 PM, but our flight leaving London was severely delayed after four passengers didn’t show up. Somehow their bags were onboard the plane however, so they had to find them and take them off (and they apparently removed the wrong ones the first time). As a result, we missed our connection in Toronto and had to take the later flight.

I walked out of the airport and just about died…I forgot it was minus 22 degrees here! Edmonton is pretty dry, so waking up in London with a bit of humidity (or a lot when raining) was a nice change.

The rest of the week in London was more of the same – work followed by drinking. I made the trip sound kind of boring in my last post, but it wasn’t that bad. I saw a side of London that you wouldn’t normally see as a visitor. The small pubs that the locals go to, for instance. They are all unique and unlike anything we have here in Edmonton. I was quite glad to find all of them served cold beer!

On Thursday we went to the, um, "sports bar". Essentially they put a TV in the place that no one watches and they can call it a sports bar! The guy who took us called it "cultural exchange" heh. He always makes fun of the few similar places we have here, and now I know why. Friday morning sure was rough though!

Friday night we went to another pub, then to a "kebab place" for a quick dinner. Seems they are quite popular with the night crowd, and I was quite impressed with how much food we got for so little. It was quite tasty too! After that we went to another venue that had a live band. It was interesting as the crowd seemed very young compared to everywhere else I had been.

Saturday was mostly traveling, but I managed to stop in at a souvenir shop on the way to the airport. It was raining when we left, just like it was when we arrived.

Some observations:

• I think the tube kicks ass, but the locals think it sucks. Perspective I guess 🙂
• The power outlets are massive in the UK. They take up so much more space than ours do here, and I think ours are pretty big as it is.
• The area we were in, Camden, was pretty much empty during the week, but so busy on weekends that it was hard to walk! And the tube station became mostly exit-only, with only one way in.
• Also in Camden, you can’t walk for more than a minute in the evenings without being asked if you want to buy weed. I wonder if they are selling Canadian stuff?
• Wireless Internet access is hard to find and expensive, at least in my experience.

I’d love to go back and explore more of London. Hopefully I’ll be traveling there again for work, and I’ll be sure to take some extra time to do so. For now though, on to New York!