God Save the Queen (and me from this Cab)

Posted on December 26, 2008

After a fast ride on Eurostar and an even faster, plummeting adventure in a London cab I arrived at the Sofitel London, St. James hotel, on Waterloo Place, a minute’s walk from St. James Park, and a few minutes from practically everything else. Strategically, it’s an excellent location and really it’s an excellent hotel, probably the nicest service of my trip.

I set out first thing, hand-drawn map in hand to find a Barclay’s ATM and get some Pounds. People really do seem to detest credit cards here so cash is the name of the game. I’d exchanged the Euros I had at the station to pay for my Cab ride of Doom and had only a few pence left. I’ve discovered that cash on hand is indeed very helpful. Also, if mugged, villains don’t take plastic. Well, they may take it…but not the way you might like. Fortunately though, no one mugged me. This was probably because there were thousands of people on the streets, day-after-Christmas shopping and there was simply no room to pull out a weapon and threaten me without getting trampled underfoot.

I think I can say without negativity at all that my first impression of London was, “Wow, what a happy and joyous clusterf*ck!” I mean that in the most sincere and nicest way, though. There is a mad chaos to the heightened shopping districts and a scattered flow of human mass that was disconcerting after being in the streamlined streets of Paris, where while also chaotic, have a bizarre sense of organization to them. London, not so much. Pedestrians constantly ignore the lights and get honked at every few moments because people are zooming about (cabbies in particular) and come from directions unexpected. It’s so much of an issue that the city’s painted instructions on the ground telling you which direction to look…something I found an exceptionally good idea.

Needless to say, I got lost that first night. Signage is something of a missing person in many areas, or exists on one corner or a round about and not at all on the other 7. I think I walked around the same few blocks for a couple of hours before I realized that the stores I was having to use as landmarks were in fact on every single corner, something else to keep in mind. There is an Angus Steakhouse on every block in every direction around Piccadilly, and Pret a Manger can be found sometimes within sight of the next Pret a Manger. It turned out, I only needed to turn the corner in the opposite direction and I was back on my street. Once learned though, I was fairly free to wander.

And wander I did! I found my ATM (in the back of a money exchange place) and then walked about a mile or two around the area. I grabbed a quick dinner at Pret and then found my way back to the circus. The masses moved in swells around this traffic light or that, and sometimes on a random cue, and swept up in the flow I simply went with it.

The cold was biting, though and staying our for more than a few hours at a time was exhausting. I rarely saw a bus that wasn’t packed beyond safety and walked the entire time.I did manage to find my way back to the hotel, though and discovered the first hotel with a bathtub I could actually fit in. It was very welcome after the cold afternoon and night and I made full use of it…once I figured out the 5 knobs on the plumbing. In the morning, I’ll go see if the Queen’s about.