Beasleys Abroad: From There to Here

Ok folks, lets get caught up.
Before we left Canada on Thursday, Mum and I had a lunch with Dad, Steve and Shannon at the Crow and Gate pub in Cedar. This has become a family tradition to go there for a meal before catching a flight from the Cassidy Airport.

We boarded our flight at Cassidy to take us to Vancouver and I didn't really know what to expect as the only time I've flown was a trip to Florida when I was eleven. The plane to Vancouver is quite small, only 20-30 passengers. Mum tells me how much she enjoys this flight. It's short, you're up and down before you know it, and the view of the Strait is gorgeous. Dad, on the other hand, hates this trip. He's a nervous flyer and the small plane makes that worse. I really had no idea how I was going to react. I watched out the window as we moved along the runway and as we lifted off the ground I thought, "Oh sweet Lord, we're going to die!" I promptly looked away and tried to focus on something inside the cabin. I couldn't comprehend how something this, shall I say flimsy, could protect us from the elements and certain death. For a moment I felt my stomach roll and seriously thought I might be ill. Mum was leaning across me trying to look out the window and when she noticed me looking the other way she urged me to look out the window....to which I responded simply, "No, I don't want to." ...a fact she seemed to find quite amusing. After a few minutes the plane levelled off and so did my insides. I braved a look out the window and found myself much steadier. I don't know what it was about those first few minutes during take off, but I was much calmer after that.

Before we knew it we were in Vancouver and I have to say they airport there is lovely. We had three hours to kill and did that very easily without having to leave the secured area. We wandered down one wing where they had some amazing Inuit Carving. Mum and I were both quite fond of this one.

Eventually we made our way toward our gate and found a lovely spot in the international wing. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture but the whole place was very serene. Shops around the outside, greenery and a water feature in the middle, lots of natural light, comfortable seating and best of all a Tim Hortons.

After some caffeine, a muffin, and a chat with a friendly fellow passenger it was time to board the plane. The trip to Heathrow was pretty uneventful. Mum had booked seats at the bulkhead which was lovely and gave us lots of leg room. I had a bit of a head cold while traveling (still do as I am writing this) and despite my worries I didn't have too much trouble with my ears or sinuses while flying. Landing in London was the exception and was quite unpleasant for me. My ears were so plugged coming down that they were very painful and I couldn't hear well at all. Mum kept trying to point things out to me but I couldn't hear her, and just didn't care at that point.

We landed and bustled through customs before making our way to the Coach station ( like the Greyhound). We eventually boarded a bus to take us into town. It was unbelievably hot on the bus, but by this point we were both so tired neither of us cared much. Looking out the window I got my first real look at London. The first thing that struck me about the city is the contrast between old and new. Because (I assume) of the nature of its development, London seems to have old and new development intertwined throughout the city. A cluster of Victorian row houses will stand next to a four-level, glass and metal Porsche dealership. It is really unlike anything we see in Canada, even in older Canadian communities. The other thing I noticed was how dirty the city is. I know, everyone warned me that London was dirty, but they didn't mean what I thought they meant. Dirt I expected but garbage I did not. I am amazed how much trash is on the streets. This could be in bags on the side of the road, overflowing out of bins, or just laying around on the ground. Almost everywhere you look there is garbage.

That pretty much brings us to the end of day one. We arrived at the flat in London and after a good night's rest will be ready to go out and explore the city. I will leave you with some pictures of the view from the apartment window.