I Went to London and Hated It

This will be a rant, not a rave.

Let me tell you about the time when I traveled to the U.K. and hated every minute.

You would think that London, England would be a wonderful time for any American holiday because the differences between the U.K. and the U.S. are subtle enough to get the adventure of exploring a foreign country without all of the confusion that comes with it. Like, believing every single Berber in Morocco that what they’re spelling in the sand is, in fact, your name in Arabic.

Yes, I could read every street sign and road map that London had on display, but traveling was an utterly impossible task that weekend.

I hate the tube. I do! I hate it- Even the ever-endearing “please mind the gap” sound bite that plays whenever the doors are closing. My experience was terrible. London did not have their “shit together” the three days we stayed.

Hungry and eager for brunch at Bad Egg that morning, Raz and I made our way to the metro station… To stand 30 minutes on the platform where this man from an undisclosed location – apparently with a camera – yelled at us over the intercom to spread out, or he would cancel the next train. Which, was supposedly on its way- for 30 minutes? You’re a liar, sir, and do you find it acceptable to cancel a train because passengers want to stand uncomfortably close to one another?

Funny enough- At this point, Raz was the one getting frustrated and I was talking him down, but here I am holding a grudge four months later.

We paid for a journey, but the train we planned to take was now canceled and the other platform was closed.  So, now was an excellent time to hop on a double-decker bus.

Except, your bus maps are absolute rubbish, London.

We had no concept of what streets were near which bus stops. Admittedly this is partly our fault because we should’ve anticipated shit hitting the fan and looked up multiple routes…

Obviously, not all travel experiences will be stellar ones. And, of course, I will be returning to London some day (but, I certainly won’t rush to buy a ticket anytime soon).

OK- fine, yes, I did like *parts* of my English adventure. There were some things I really enjoyed about the city… Like,

Harrod’s

Abbey Road

The Globe Theatre

Walking through Kensington and Chelsea

So it wasn’t a total rant.

Thanks for reading 🙂

 

Top 5 Things to See in Portland, OR

I’ve been in what can only be described as the most miserable travel dry spell. I haven’t stepped foot in an airport since January, but even then I didn’t have a ticket in hand – it was for a bittersweet goodbye.

In less than a month, I will be touching down in a new place. Something that you can probably guess I’ve been eagerly awaiting since I booked the trip 12 (TWELVE) long weeks ago.

Frustrated that time isn’t passing to my liking; I looked through Facebook albums of pictures from trips past. One trip on my mind recently was one I took this time two years ago with my then-roommate Courtney. We were burnin’ up from West Coast Fever- as we like to call it- and we booked a trip to see what it was all about.

Two years a little too late (hey- I didn’t have a blog then), these are the my Portland top 5- the highlights of my West Coast adventure.

1. Sweedeedee

I won’t lie- a post from @Sweedeedee on Instagram fueled the fire for us to book our trip to Portland. Hands down the best brunch I have ever had in my life. And, brunch wasn’t even that big of a thing in 2015… At least not as talked about as it is today. If it’s still on the menu, get the Baker’s Breakfast- it won’t disappoint. I mean, we biked our way from the city center just to get a table. If that’s not a 5 star recommendation…..

2. The Record Store Across the Street

It’s actually called Mississippi Records. If you’re a vinyl lover, you’ve got to go to the West Coast. I’ve never seen such a wide spread collection of original pressed vinyl. Each record store we went in to had such an awesome retro vibe, too, which just added to the experience.

3. Cinema 21

Who goes to the cinema when they’re traveling in a new city? Me, apparently. Truth be told, Courtney and I were 20 at the time, so we couldn’t enjoy the brewery tours, or a night out at the bar. Instead, we found Cinema 21 online and made a point to get tickets to a show. Cinema 21 is the best of the best Indie film cinemas out there… Or so I made up just two seconds ago.

Portland is known for it’s hipster vibe, so I’m sure Cinema 21 isn’t the first, or only of it’s kind. This Indie cinema offers cheap tickets and snacks, to pair with some of the most obscure films out there.

We saw, What We Do in the Shadows– and I’m not in the film-reviewing business, but that’s a must-see as well.

4. St. Honore Bakery

On the topic of films- I’m sure you’ve never heard of this one: The Grand Budapest Hotel? No, can’t imagine that you have. Nothing famous about it. Even lesser known than the movie, a Portland bakery actually made the cakes featured in the film. You can even have them for yourself.

Two years later I’m not sure why I went to the famous bakery and didn’t order the famous cake… Regardless, the lemon tart I had there was great, if not better.

5. Lan Su Chinese Garden

Who knew that among the chaos of Portland’s quirky city life, rested a tranquil getaway quite like the Lan Su Chinese Garden? The website says that Lan Su is a window to over 2,000 years of Chinese traditions. While I’ve never been to China, I could see this ringing true. I highly recommend stopping by the Teahouse for a cup of oolong.

Honorable Mentions

Americans & the art of small talk

“Hey! How are you?”

I’m walking down the street and pass by someone I know. It’s like a reflex for me.

How are you: That’s a pretty weighted question. Something that would lead to more of a conversation. There are so many ways the answer could go. I’m inquiring about the feelings of another individual, what has happened to them in the time since I last saw them, etc. Perhaps they’ll say, “I’m not well because…” But, we don’t stop and talk. We continue on our way.

This habit of mine got me in a bit of trouble when I was studying abroad. I would do my usual quick greeting as I walked past my new European friends, who were confused why I wouldn’t stop, kiss them on the cheek [For the record: this is something they take very seriously- I was once walking behind a woman who stopped and kissed the cheeks of 3 people, 3 separate times just to say hello… Their version of “Hey! How are you?” I guess]. But, I didn’t get the message until one day someone said that I was always going off in a hurry and that I needed to slow down and just chat.

The United States: we have an extremely extroverted culture. I live in a small city (shout out Richmond, Va.)- It’s no New York but, an urban landscape none-the-less. Even still, I might shoot a stranger a quick ‘hello’ and a smile when I pass them on the street. What’s more, I’ll ask to pet your dog if it’s smile-panting, wagging its tail and gazing at me with puppy vision. Maybe it’s a southern thing. Then again, I don’t consider Virginia southern, but that’s a whole other issue entirely.

Europeans, who are on the introverted side of the spectrum, have no interest in personal space invasions from strangers. Even the dogs in Europe are more reserved. They won’t lead their human toward you for a quick pat on the head. This is a debate my boyfriend (who is Romanian) and I discuss at length. If we got a dog, there’s no chance in hell any stranger would touch it. I find it funny how extremely put-off he is by the idea; a stance that most Europeans seem to agree with. If you walk up to someone and ask to pet their dog in a European city, something in the owner’s face will change that’s like: “engaging with American.”

Small talk: a pretty unimportant, light conversation. We Americans do it all the time! Whether it’s a friend or a stranger in line for coffee, it’s our way to begin a conversation. “How are you?” Has essentially become the biggest engagement of small talk. Because if I ask that, I probably definitely will not expect an in-depth, personal answer unless you’re a really close friend. And even then, how inclined are we to share how we really feel? Americans have a stigma of being superficial- sharing personal information, but still keeping friends at arms length.

Something funny I found when I was traveling is that when I met American couples, we would immediately start chatting. I would find out where they’ve been, where they plan to go, all the while picking up some very personal details about complete strangers’ lives. They were so friendly! Is this from the connection of a few travelers? Or, is this a trait among Americans? I lean to the latter of the two.

The one thing I really admired about Europeans was their appreciation to relationships. To them, ‘friends’ are someone who they’ve spent time with very frequently; were able to get to know on another level past the small talk. They have a close network of tight friendships, who they care about deeply. Something that, as an introvert myself, really speaks to me.

I’m not saying that Americans don’t do deep friendships, because they do. However, I am noticing that, for Americans, ‘friend’ covers a wide-variety of relationship levels. Acquaintance never seems to do the relationship justice (even if you’ve only spent time together a handful of times). We like to picture ourselves as being a part of a large network of friends. I feel like anyone we have a few pleasant conversations with is deemed a friend, while we may not know anything past their initial layer.

Our outgoing nature is something to be proud of. We try to treat everyone with a friendly attitude, like a neighbor. It wasn’t until I actually lived abroad until I realized this aspect of our culture. It lead me to take a minute to become more introspective, which is a part of travel that I truly value.