Travel by Numbers

Here’s a quick rundown of my past several hours of travel and first day in London!

3.5 hours early for my flight leaving from JFK because you can never be too careful

7 hours spent airborne

5 hours spent with the fasten seat belt on (aka turbulence)

0 food consumed during flight

6 cups of ginger ale consumed on flight in an effort to combat motion sickness (didn’t work)

0 times the person in front of me reclined on me. Thank goodness for metaphorical silver linings when you’re having a rough time going though literal clouds

15 minutes spent in the normal customs line before realizing I had to get into the students only one

3 hours spent in the student only customs line

stood in this exact spot for 45 minutes

6 month visa was eventually acquired

34 minutes spent on the tube making my way to a hotel

3 hours I had to kill before I could actually check in to said hotel

45 minutes I aimlessly wandered around Hyde Park since it was a beautiful sunny day

check out that unfiltered blue sky

1 time I was asked to give directions to Harrod’s and was no help at all.  But score one for looking local.

10 minutes spent in the Natural History Museum before deciding to go to the adjacent Science Museum where I could go see an Imax movie and relax. However, I will definitely be back to the Natural History Museum when my brain is not all foggy because it looked very cool.

can confirm Natural History Museum is cool.

50 percent off on all dinosaur pajamas at the natural history museum.  My will power not to make excessive purchases is already being tested.

40 minute super cool Imax movie about astronauts living in the International Space Station

35 minutes of the movie I was awake for.  Didn’t seem like a doomsday movie so I’m gonna go ahead and say that the astronauts made it home safely.

2 hour nap I finally got to take when I was allowed to check in

1 dinner decision influenced by One Direction.  If Niall’s favorite restaurant is Nando’s I should obviously give it a try.

2 number of times Nando’s was confusing

• Is it fast food?  Is it a sit down restaurant?  It’s both….? When I walked in there were tons of people taking carry out and also people being served and also people ordering food at the register so I had no idea where I was supposed to go.  Luckily I told one of the servers this and he was happy to help me out.  He took me to a table and told me to have a look at the menu and then “just go to the till.”
• Wait so what’s a till?? Queue me pretending to be reading the menu even though I already know what I want (grilled chicken sandwich of course) and watching what other people are doing.  I assumed the till would be the register at the front but this was also a multi-level Nando’s and the till could have been anywhere.  Turns out it was the register.  Confusion aside, the food was very good so I’m a happy camper.

12 hours I anticipate sleeping tonight

Thanks for reading and look out for an upcoming post about my visit to the Harry Potter Studio Tour!

See ya later

Claire