L&P DLC: Arriving Back

I'm back in London! It took a while getting back. Got to the airport three hours before my arrival time. Accidentally ate the on-flight meal instead of trying to sleep and that kept me up for awhile. I was interrogated by the Border Patrol on why I was coming to London, and we had to regroup with other members of our company who had taken separate flights. We rode the Piccadilly line to Earl's Court from the terminals and found our way to our inn.

For dinner we went to an Indian restaurant. The original plan was for everyone to get curry, but when the numbers added up, we all had to get individual appetizers to eat. There was the promise of ice cream afterwards, but there wasn't a single ice cream shop around. That's when I remembered where there was a gelato shop I stopped by one time near South Kensington station. It was surreal walking back there. The same street that I'd walked for weeks going from our flat to the tube station. Once again, As is normal for me, I took on the role of "The Map" (the guy who has the map and takes the lead in the group) and guided us to gelato and fresh baked cookies and then back to the inn.

     

                                                       Getting gelato at the gelato shop

     

                 Outside the gelato shop and looking out at the familiar South Kensington Station. 

Being back in London feels so weird. It all feels so familiar, but I'm here under different circumstances and a different premise. Three weeks has become 6 1/2 days. I'm living in a hotel and not some apartment complex. I'm a part of a smaller group of people, all of whom I don't really know. I don't have classes but group excursions. I'm reliving the same adventure but with different party members and going about it all in a different way. Even writing on this blog again is kinda weird. There are times I when this all doesn't even feel real. 

But despite all of this, I'm seeing all the things I remember from last time.  The crosswalks, cars, the streets, and the tube. Even the not so big things. Channel 4 endlessly plays The Big Bang Theory on TV. Walking by the Earl's Court "TARDIS." The torrential rain. 

I have to pay for wifi at the inn, so I'm needing to figure out how to ration the 30 minutes I have free. This means updates will probably be off and on, a few multi-day posts. I'm excited to be back and sharing my adventures again.