I went to London with the Girlfriend last week end. Arrived Friday night and went home on Sunday. It was nice. We did things like visiting the huge bookshop Watersone’s at Picadilly, the Biritish Library, Lonely Planet, and going down Oxford Street at night. Not to mention pubs, and the lovely cupcake heaven Peggy Porschen Cakes. I never get enough time in London!

I was very happy that the Girlfriend wanted to go to the British Library. There’s currently an exhibition on children’s books illustrations there, which I loved. That, along with the original Alice in Wonderland and Jane Austen manuscripts were my personal favourites. The Girlfriend’s were “the old books” (her words).

The only letdown was the hotel. We had booked a room at the Holly House Hotel in Victoria. The booking page said the following about it:

In central London, Holly House Hotel is only 5 minutes’ walk from Victoria’s rail, tube and coach stations. There is good access to the Gatwick Express airport service.

Each room at Holly House has free Wi-Fi, tea/coffee facilities, a TV and a small fridge. Most rooms have en suite facilities, while others have shared bathrooms.

Each morning, a continental breakfast is served in the spacious dining room. The property has a 24-hour reception and check-in is available from 14.00 onwards.

When we arrived, we got our keys, and it turned out it was a “two in one” hotel: There were actually two hotels, with two doors, sharing owners, reception and “dining room”. Our room was at the part called Ivy House Hotel, but it didn’t really matter. The room faced the railway, meaning the noise from the trains bothered us though out the night, so we didn’t sleep very well. The so called en suit bathroom was really tiny, and not very nice, so we couldn’t bear the thought of showering there. The room was also very small, so moving around was hard, and even after we turned the heat off, it was sticking hot. I could kick myself for not checking TripAdvisor before we booked. The only good thing I can say about the hotel is that it was very cheap, approx. GBP 110 for two nights.

I have a review coming up for the hotel, indeed. A good thing we only stayed for two nights, and that we hardly spent time at the hotel.

Here are some photos from the trip:

London was, in short, fab. As always.

16 May

Left for Torp airport right after work. The trip there wasn’t too bad, I slept quite a bit, and managed to arrive before the check in had even started. After a bit of waiting, I was able to get my boarding card and go through security.

I must say the whole fluids rule to me seems pretty pointless. You put the stuff in a plastic bag, but once you have gone through security you can very well open the bag and take the stuff out. Am I the only one who really don’t get this? I mean, c’mon! What difference does it make? *shakes head*

Had (expensive) dinner at the airport. Not exactly a whoohoo sort of meal, but better than nothing.

And then I was off. We landed at Stanstead 20 minutes ahead of schedule, I found the Terravision ticket booth, got my return ticked, jumped on the bus, that took me to London. Alas, they had not thought it might have been a good idea to announce the stops, so me thinking it was a direct bus to Victoria, jumped off the bus, and realised a tad bit too late that I was not at Victoria at all, but at Liverpool street! Not happy, it being in the middle of the night and all. Fortunately, thanks to the nice man working for Terravision (ticket sale), he managed to get me a bus ride with an other bus, not having to pay anything extra, and hence managed to get to Victoria safe and sound. I even managed to find my hotel without any hassle, it was just a short walk from the station.

17 May

Woke up quite early, and headed for Victoria where I went to do some shopping at Lush and such things. Then I got a message from , who was frantically busy at work and couldn’t make lunch, so I found a pub inside the station and had a really yummy meal, before taking care of some business, and then headed to the Natural History Museum. I had decided on walking there, and managed to take quite a fe detours, before I finally got there.

I walked around the museum looking for the bookcrossing bookshelf, and it took me quite a bit of time, effort and asking for directions before I finally managed to find it. I left a book there and picked up a book, that I’m actually reading. I’m taking a break from it at the moment, as there’s another book I really have to read first (one that has a waiting list at the library). While there I did have a bit of a look around, though, and even built my own arachne. *giggles* I probably should go back to that museum at some point, I really kind of liked it!

After I was done at the museum, I headed for Waterloo and probably what I would call the easiest found bookcrossing zone. So many books! Alas, I picked up a book I quickly found out was not my cup of tea at all, so I set it free the next day, but I didn’t know that at the point. I dropped a book there too.

Then headed to Kensington, where I knew I could find an Internet café, where I spent an hour doing Internet stuff before going back to Victoria.

Taking the underground back to the hotel was fun, I had to struggle not to laugh out loud each time I heard “Please, mind the gap!” London really isn’t quite the same after Neverwhere. Thank you, Mr Gaiman! 😉

Stopped by the local pub for fish and chips on my way back to the hotel, and had that for dinner. Had a bit of rest at the hotel after that, before I headed for Camden.

Camden was pretty much deserted. Not many people, but I had a nice walk. Strolled around and looked for a place called the Black Cap, which I’d been told would be a nice place to visit. Alas, I had no address, and hadn’t thought of looking it up, so I had no idea where it was. Oh well, didn’t find it, so I went back to Victoria. Didn’t do much, but read for a bit before I had an early night, which actually was quite nice.

18 May

Woke up slightly early, and headed to Starbucks for breakfast before heading for Bethnal Green. I was supposed to visit a OBCZ there, but it turned out to open 4, and not noon as stated on the homepage, and since there really isn’t much to do in Bethnal Green, I headed back to the centre of London. I decided to do “London on a whim” and jumped off the tube at some random station. Had a walk, and found a small park where I had my coffee and a rest. It was actually quite nice, and the weather was wonderful too.

After that I had a walk to Covent Garden, where I looked at the Seven Dials, and had lunch at the Nags Head, where I left a bookcrossing book.

With my tummy full of food I went back to the hotel to have a rest and freshen up. Then I headed back to the city centre, spent an hour at an Internet café before meeting up with people at the Ben Crouch Tavern. The first one I met was Pogodragon, who fortunately reognised me. The pub was very full of people! After a bit Tallarn arrived, whom I found outside looking for people. Not long after Missyk8 turned up, and then Poggs, LadyCat, Littleangel_103 and Nniaa. It was great to see them! After a bit LadyCat’s partner Midwich Cuckoo turned up too. I had a fab time, even though the pub was crowded. It was really good to meet you all!

After a bit Missyk8 deserted us, as it was just too crowded for her, I think. I don’t blame her. After a bit we left Poggs and Nniaa, as we needed food (sorry peeps, wish I had more time to talk to you… Next time, I promise!). Littleangel_103 seemed quite knackered, so she and Tallarn decided to head home, while Pogodragon, LadyCat, Midwich Cuckoo and I had a wonderful meal at an Indian restaurant. I had a really nice time at the restaurant, the company was most excellent!

When everybody were full of food, we headed for Soho. Thanks to Midwich Cuckoo for showing me the “lesbian” pub… Interesting enough, it was full of gay men. Not that I mind, but where were all the girls? 😉 After a drink outside Nellie Dean of Soho, neighbour of Candy Bar, we headed home, all four, and while Pogodragon headed in one direction, LadyCat and Midwich Cuckoo kept me company on the tube until I reached Victoria!

Fortunately I had already packed, so I pretty much just straight to bed.

19 May

Woke up at 1.30 am (yes, in the morning), had a shower and got ready to go. Checked out of the hotel and went to the bus stop. The bus left on time, and I slept through most of the trip to the airport.

I had no idea an airport could be so busy at 4.30 am, but it was! Was happy to have checked in and gone through security, and after buying tax free wine (3 bottles @ £15 total, not too bad for decent wine), I had some Starbucks breakfast. Got on the plane, chatted with the elderly American gentleman who sat beside me, and arrived at Torp 15 minutes ahead of schedule, which made me get an earlier bus. Very nice!

So, here ends my tale of my short trip to London. I miss it already!

Here are some photos from my trip:

How can a week pass so quickly? Why do I never feel like I ever get enough time while in London?

Friday 22

Got up at four to take the bus, the only transport to the airport at that inhuman time, that left at 05.07. I arrived at the airport in time. Gardermoen was very busy, as it was right before the holidays. Even so, everything went very smoothly, and the only delay we had was 1 1/2 due to the fog at Heathrow.

First thing we did in London was to find something to eat. We were both very hungry, and ended up eating crappy food at Burger King, but left quickly to find a Starbucks.

Finding Starbucks was good. We had some coffee and relaxed. Chickxsy was happy to find some free Internet access for her MacTop, so that she could do a bit of research and such.

When the coffee was consumed and we felt ready to walk again, we headed for our hotel, in hope of an early check in. And we were lucky, and I even managed to have a shower, before leaving again.

I met up with Littleangel_103 and Tallarn at Elephant & Castle, and they took me to the Feminist Library. I was very surprised to see a card catalogue, and even more surprised that it was actually in use! No digital catalogue! I had no idea that anyone actually did that in 2006, at least not in Europe. But I can understand how hard it is, due to lack of funding. If I had been living in London, I would probably volunteer to help out with the feminist library, as it was most interesting.

I was also very impressed by the stock there. I hope by the Goddess that they will find a new, good location for the feminist library, a location suitable for a library. Because I think this is a very important resource, not only for the UK, but for the rest of Europe too. And how wonderful I found it, I can still see how wonderful it could have been with the proper locations, fundings, and with the proper amount of right staff. A couple of full time librarians, and others too… Now, that would have been an interesting job! I am most impressed by the work Littleangel_103 actually gets done, especially the situation being as it is. Why can’t more people see this?

After touring the feminist library, we went to have Chinese. I normally don’t like Chinese food very much, but this was really good. And cheap! Chickxsy joined us too, as she had been to the London Eye.

Saturday 23

Started the day with a breakfast date with Nniaa. It was wonderful to see her again. We met up at Glouster Road station, and then found Starbucks. After a little while we even got the same chairs as we had last year! We felt it was our corner! 😉 It was a very nice breakfast, and it lasted for about three hours or so.

After saying bye-bye to Nniaa we headed for Camden. Chickxsy seemed to be very tired, and left me shortly to find a Starbucks to relax, while I enjoyed the wonderful Camden Market on my own. I could probably have spent several hours there, and I wish I had a lot of money to buy stuff, because, OMG! So many nice things! I did buy a top hat and three pairs of over-knee stripy stockings, though.

Photo: Mittens and Sunglasses © 2006

I met up with Chickxsy again at Angel, Islington. Mostly just because we were very inspired by Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, a book that I really need to reread. It’s my absolute favourite book!

Then we headed to a more central part of London, where we found Pizza Hut. Chickxsy found more free Internet access, so while we were waiting for the waiter, she surfed the net.

The service there was really crappy, so when our bill told us “no service included”, we said, “yes, we noticed” and left only some brown coins as tips.

After that we went to Piccadilly, where we found the large five floor Waterstone’s. So many wonderful books! I wish I could afford to buy more of them, but decided on one.

Piccadilly Circus
Photo: Mittens and Sunglasses © 2006

Sunday 24

I woke up fairly early, to meet up with Poggs at Euston. From there we took a bus to Angel, where we had proper English breakfast (mine was vegetarian). After being properly stuffed with food, we went to do a bit of shopping, before meeting up with . We all thought Starbucks was an excellent idea, so coffee was again being had.

After a bit of more shopping (I found the copy of Curve I was looking for! Why don’t they sell Curve in norway?), we decided enough was enough, and went to Euston, found an open pub, where we had a pint. And Poggs drew me a map of London!

Then I realised the time, and had to rush back to the Hotel to shower and get changed. Met up with Chickxsy, who had been on her own until then, at Starbucks, and we then headed for the Indian restaurant where we had booked a table (turned out to be a quiet night there, though). The food was absolutely fantastic, and the service excellent, so it made a perfect Yule Eve dinner.

I was horribly full after dinner, so we decided to stay in Kensington instead of going out. We went Internet access hunting, to get some free Internet.

For the first time in my life I attended a Christmas Midnight Mass. It was very different from what happens in a Norwegian church, and I found it to be very interesting. I enjoyed the music very much, as they had a small philharmonic orchestra as well as a choir. A lot of Hayden was played, and later we also lit candles.

Monday 25

We slept in, which was wonderful. We were pretty much stuck in Kensington, as all transport was closed down. Unlike us, the celebrate 25th, and not 24th, December in the UK. We had bought some food in a shop the day before, so at least we were secured some breakfast.

We then went to Kensington Gardens. A lovely place, but actually quite busy. There were lots of birds, and we visited the lovely Elven Oak.

One of the elves that lives in the elven oak.
Photo: Mittens and Sunglasses © 2006

A bit later we found an open café and had lunch/dinner, and then we spent some time on the Internet. Walking back to the hotel, we enjoyed all the nice lights we could see. A lot of places had beautiful decorations.

Photo: Mittens and Sunglasses © 2006

I had a short by myself before going back to the hotel. We ended up spending the rest of the evening there, with our books and stuff. Nice and relaxing.

Tuesday 26

Since all the Starbucks had been closed the day before, we headed to Starbucks, where we had breakfast. After breakfast we went “book hunting”, and found an Official Book Crossing Zone, where I released a book, and picked up a book to read. Chickxsy is a book crosser too, so she also picked up a book.

We then walked for a bit, and had a look around. Mostly, shops were closed, so we didn’t do any shopping, but had dinner at a cozy pub, before heading for Ben Crouchs Tavern, where we drank our sins. I had two of “Lust”. It’s a really nice pub, and I love the decor. I also love how they have sound effects in the toilettes. It always makes me giggle.

After drinking, we had a small stroll to watch the decorations in Oxford and Regent street, before heading back to Kensington.

We then went to a gay pub, but as we were about to enter, Chickxsy chickened out, as there were mostly men there. It was OK for girls to enter, but she didn’t feel like it, so we walked back to Kensington. On our way back, we bought some ice cream, before going back to the hotel.

Then we packed, and went to bed.

Wednesday 27

Last day in London. We didn’t do much, but headed for King’s Cross station after breakfast, where we found Platform 9 3/4.

Platform 9 3/4
Photo: Mittens and Sunglasses © 2006

We then found a Starbucks close by, and I tried one of their hot chocolates. I’ll stick to coffee, it was way too sweet! I felt sick for a while after that.

After that we just headed to Heathrow, several hours too early. Security there was chaotic and hell like, so when we were boarded and allowed to take off earlier than scheduled, it was almost a relief.

Arrived safe and sound in Oslo last night.