Australia is in the depths of drought and so it was plainly obvious flying in over London this morning that I was not in Kansas anymore - or Dubbo, I should say.
It was like one big turf farm. At least one-third of London is covered in parklands, so I've discovered, and my expectation of this city to be like parts of Sydney has been blown away. No harsh skyscrapers due to the law that evolved after the Great London Fire of 1666, which started in a bakery in Pudding Lane near London Bridge and essentially gutted the city. When the city was rebuilt the buildings were allowed to be no higher than six storey because that was as far the ladders of the fire engines at the time could reach.
Speaking of fire and such, I was burnt in London on my first day. That's a little weird isn't it? It was a beautiful 26 degrees and I'm told that's almost unheard of this time of year.
In true Aussie style when travelling OS, Tim and I are crashing on the floor of a friend's 2-bed flat that she's renting with her boyfriend and another couple in Notting Hill. The place is exactly like it is in the movie and I even saw the "little travel book shop". No Hugh or Julia though.
And so, first day was really a matter of taking it all in. Tim and I took a walking tour with my friend Kate and managed to take in Kensington Palace, Kensington Park, Hyde Park, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, Oxford Circus and Covent Garden.
Tips of the day:
- Make sure your flight arrives in the morning so you're forced to stay awake all day (you'll be so excited you couldn't sleep anyway) and overcome jet-lag straight away.
- Get an Oyster Card when you enter the underground tube station from the airport. It will cost you about £5 and you can either 'top up' (ie. add credit to the card) as much as you like or buy a week or month's pass within the 'zones', of which there are six in London. It will let you travel on buses, tubes and some trains without having to deal with cash all the time.
- Don't exchange your Aussie dollars for pounds at the airport. Come to the UK with a few pounds and then exchange in the city when you have a few places to compare exchange rates.
- Buy a phone or sim card once you get to the UK. There are really cheap options. Tim bought a phone for £10 and it came with a sim and £10 credit on it. Nomi is a really great service provider if you're planning on keeping touch with people back home - it has a 4p per minute call rate to Australia landlines and something like 8p per minute to Aussie mobiles.
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