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

Sticking To That Long Travel Check-list Will Ruin Your Next Trip

Time flies when you’re having fun, apparently so will your vacation if you over-plan. In an interview with Jenni Avins of Quartz, Marc Whittman, psychologist and author of Felt Time explains the phenomenon of time in relation to travel; an over-booked schedule will make time fly faster than you wanted it to.

I’m guilty of the offense. Once I have my airline tickets booked and my calendar marked, I go into full trip planning mode and make long lists of my ‘must do’s’. I can’t help it- my Type-A tendencies force me to plan out what I want to see and experience. I obsess over making sure that I will make the most out of my trip. Turns out, this could be doing exactly the opposite of what I intended.

According to Whittman, the key is to go into a trip with minimal planning and a flexible schedule. By opening up our travel calendars, the trip might feel longer and a heck of a lot less stressful when it’s time to head home.

If we go into a trip with a set itinerary for every hour of the day, we will be relying on the next step and anticipating the next activity. Basically, you’re planning your vacation away.

In Wittman’s words,

“Planning also speeds up the passage of time. Because there you’re always already in the future. You have this future perspective of your mind, and then you are actually not attending to what is happening right now.”

Have you ever noticed that you recall your emotions more clearly than the events themselves? That’s a big key in memory formation, which makes mindfulness an important practice during travel. Focusing your attention to your surroundings and maintaining a degree of self-awareness can lead to a more memorable trip.

Our gut reaction is to plan heavily for trips, thinking that it’ll reduce our stress upon arrival. However, the takeaway here is that if you want those precious moments away from work to last, less is more.