Lingfield to Horley (oh, and SOGGY London)

After my encounter with the much too friendly fox in the dark, I don't venture outside again until daylight is flooding the streets.  Time to walk around the cemetery.

I had to look up what consecrated ground means. It means "ground dedicated to a particular purpose".  So?  Shouldn't dog owners pick up after their dogs anyway, for example on another consecrated ground, the sidewalk, dedicated to have people walk on it.

For a split second I think they come to thank me for chasing away the fox, but on second thought they are probably used to getting fed .

Irises ;-)

Somewhere between the above picture and the one below, we cycle 10 miles from Lingfield to Horley, stop at a pub, and ;find our hotel for the night.  The hotel will happily store our bikes for 4 days while we go somewhere else.  YES. We ARE GOING to Istanbul after all !!!!!

At the hotel we are informed that Gatwick train station is only a 1 mile walk away.  But when the receptionist said "There is no proper footpath", I didn't expect this:

The EastJet train connecting the North and South Terminals

waiting for the train to London

We paid for a regular train but take the Gatwick Express (10 Pounds difference !)

As is evident in the above picture, jet lag is starting to take its toll. But Zu has never been to London, so the first stop after disembarking the train at Victoria Station is Buckingham Palace.

After walking to Hyde park from there I've had enough. No more walking! I'm even willing to pay for the Tube.

And I am reminded why I always balked at taking it.  Travel for 2 stations with a transfer at the first station for 4.95 Pounds. Yes, that's CAD$10 per person for 2 stations.

We get off at Westminster Station, home of the Houses of P, Westminster Abbey, and Big Ben.

By now I'm so exhausted that I fall asleep with my head on a table as soon as we sit down on the Thames boat. 

Something wakes me up about half an hour later (presumably THUNDER) and I have barely enough time and wits to pull out my camera to take this picture:

Another first for me: We wait in a restaurant for an hour for the deluge to subside, but it doesn't. So we decide to take a Black Cab to London Bridge Station.

As soon as my butt is in contact with the train seat, I fall asleep again. If Zu hadn't woken me, I would have railed it all the way to Brighton!

At 2 am, sitting in the hotel room, writing this post, I suddenly realize that the repressive veil that Vancouver always throws on my soul, has lifted. And I don't think that it's only the half bottle of wine that emptied its good ingredients into my system. No, there are other factors: I am travelling with a funny and very good-spirited travel companion. My responsibilities in this world still exist, but I have put some physical and mental distance between them and me.