London: Cocktails and an Old Friend

I stepped off the bus in Sunny London after a long ride and a surprisingly very serious border checkpoint. First destination should have been a shower but I headed straight to a mate's cocktail bar via the spiderweb, aka the underground. It is actually very easy to navigate compared to my first day in the Paris metro.

I arrived at the venue still strapped to both my backpacks with my sleeping bag under my arm. Dripping in sweat I walked into this really cool chilled out cocktail bar with good music and great energy. It is happy hour so the place is packed, my friend was working hard so I chill in a corner until happy hour ends. I finally say G'day to Gumby, the person that has featured in all my adventures abroad. I'm greeted with free cocktails. This set the tone for the rest of my London visit and the bar made a daily appearance.

The rest of my trip involved awesome parks, some beautiful buildings, bicycling around the city, pretending to be the new trainee bartender to attend a Havana Club demonstration class (and actively participating), making new friends, meeting old CS friends from Bris, getting a free ride on a cycle taxi to my bus stop because he was surprised I gave him some change after receiving directions, waking up on a bus with my wallet on the floor near the isle having no idea where I was... and submitting my application to temporarily replace Big Ben if he breaks down.

                                         Big Trent and Little Benjamin

Regrettably, I didn't immerse myself in the culture of London nor become a true site see-er.

On a boat!

     

Gumby

     

Brisbane CS reunion

                                       

I had an awesome time in London, although it felt more like a break from my adventure as opposed to being part of it.

Next stop Lille, France.

Lessons Learnt:
Take more photos
Either my BO is not so bad or people don't mind a sweaty guy in London
Plan a little
Londoners drink a lot more than Aussies
Class structure is still strong in London
Australia is a very clean country
Getting robbed in Paris apparently didn't teach me to be more careful with my wallet