A Crazy Start

Sorry about the lack of posts lately, I haven't had internet access in the past few days, and as you could imagine, I've been a bit busy. I'll get you up to date by writing about the flight to London, the train ride to Edinburgh, and my first few days in the UK. I left on Monday September 29th, early in the morning. We (my parents, who were both seeing me, off and I) had to leave home at 6:00 AM, after getting up at 5:00AM- essentially the middle of the night. I had a flight to NYC, a short layover and then a flight to London. From London the plan was to take a train to Edinburgh for the 3 night University of California orientation.

Everything started off according to plan. My Delta flight to JFK airport in New York City was fine, although lacking a bit of leg room. Everything was on time however, and the check-in desk at LAX assured me I wouldn't see my checked bags again until London. The bags actually turned out to be 47 and 49 pounds each, just under the maximum limit of 50 pounds.

I arrived at JFK airport around 5:00PM Eastern Time, and was immediately confused. It's a huge airport with many different terminals, separated by what seemed like miles between them. After asking several securities guards for directions, I made it to the Virgin Airlines terminal via a subway like train. However, upon arrival at Terminal 4, I discovered my flight was delayed from 7:30PM to 9:30PM. Not a huge deal, it just meant I would have to rush to catch my noon train the next morning in London.

Of course, the plane did not take off at 9:30. All 400 or so of the mostly British passengers began to get more and more exasperated, as we sat around for what turned into a five hour delay.

(The delay)

During the delay, I ended up talking to a group of 5 London boys who were about my age, and it was a good way to pass the time. We talked about sports, the LA Galaxy, their trip to America, my upcoming trip to Durham, and of course we complained about the ridiculous delay.

The flight finally took off around 12:30AM and Virgin began to make up for the delay with their great service. I had much more legroom than Delta, got a free diner and breakfast, as well as a "goodie bag" of stuff- the best of which was a pair of purple socks.

(Flying over the mid-Atlantic at sunrise)

(Central London, note the Tower Bridge and the River Thames, from my window seat on the plane)

I landed at Heathrow at 11:30AM, knowing I was obviously going to miss my noon train, which departed from Kings Cross Train Station, and for which I had already purchased tickets. After an exhilarating 45 minute taxi ride, which featured pouring rain, driving on the wrong side of the road, a crazy London taxi driver and the midday traffic and confusion of London, we made it to the train station.

We arrived at the Kings Cross around 130pm, and despite my attempts at getting some sort of compensation, I was forced to buy a 101 pound ticket to Edinburgh. After purchasing the ticket, I asked the women at the desk what time she had gotten me a ticket for, she said 2:00pm. I looked up at the clock and realized it was 1:54. I ran over to platform 1 (no time to see platform 9 3/4) and jumped into the first compartment I could find that had available seats, just as the conductor was whistling last call. I sat down and was surprised at how comfortable and spacious the train was, as well as the amenities provided: free wireless internet, free snacks, coffee and tea, free newspaper and more. Of course it was all too good to be true, and I was soon kicked out of first class (which I had apparently unwittingly sat in) and had to move three cars over into general seating. The rest of the train ride was nice, and it seems that it will be a great way to travel when I know the system and don't have two giant bags.

After almost 48 hours of near nonstop "adventures" and little sleep, I finally arrived in Edinburgh around 7pm on Tuesday night. After carrying my two 50lb rolling bags up a 1/4 mile cobblestone hill, I made it to my hotel, and feel asleep within an hour.

More soon about Edinburgh,

Gabe