Take Two - Aug 29/30

After the disappointing affair of last Friday I arrived at the airport Monday morning to (hopefully) actually go abroad this time. After a second round of goodbyes to everyone, Becca dropped me off at RDU and I successfully checked my bags and proceeded through security. One uneventful plane ride later (during which I successfully completed the crossword puzzle from the in-flight Hemispheres magazine) I arrived in Chicago O’Hare at approximately 12:30 EST. I then withered in the airport for 5 hours until boarding my flight to London.

            Once aboard I discovered the exciting news that I had been upgraded to Economy Plus seating (as there were no Economy seats remaining when I rebooked)! So I got 5 extra inches of leg/lap room. I “slept”* until shortly after take off when I woke up to a flight attendant who gave me cheese stuffed tortellini dinner. Then I watched Thor and went to bed when I became sleepy. I then “slept” for the remainder of the flight until an hour before landing. Once we arrived I departed the endless labyrinth of walkways that is Heathrow airport and made my way to the line for customs. I filled out my form and then waited in a hellish line for nearly an hour before finally getting through.  I then quickly changed money and grabbed my bags before heading out of the baggage (re)claim. I was pleasantly surprised to find Aunt Jill immediately outside waiting for me.  We greeted each other then grabbed a quick breakfast of pastries and coffee then hit the Tube and rode to her flat.

            I quickly showered and became a human again, and then we sat down and planned out the next couple days.  Our next task was to get me up and about so that I wouldn’t succumb to my sleepiness, so we walked down King’s Road to Sloane Square where we went to visit the Saatchi Gallery. The gallery had modern art. There were some light installations and an exhibit from Indonesian artists that for the most part was uninspiring, but like Aunt Jill said, we really can’t complain, as it was free. Afterwards we used a map of places around the city where the Harry Potter movies filmed as a guide to keep me on the move and seeing the city.
      We headed first to Westminster where we walked up Whitehall and saw Westminster Station and the area used as the exterior for the Ministry of Magic. 

      I also saw Big Ben, Parliament, 10 Downing St, the Ministry of Defense, and Trafalgar Square.  

We then headed past Charing Cross and met up with Uncle Tim in the Covet Garden area. We saw a couple other places used for filming including the inside of the Australia house, Shaftsbury Avenue, and parts of Piccadilly Circus. We also passed through most of the theatre district and saw many of the West End Theatres. Then, after stopping to help a wounded pigeon, we hopped on a bus and rode to the British Museum of Natural History. On the way I got nice quick view of Buckingham Palace, St James’ Palace, and Apsley House. Once at the museum we watched a short film about the evolution/initiation of wild life filming/documentary.

After poking around the museum briefly we headed back to King’s Road where I looked in a couple of stores before deciding things in London are too expensive.

Then at around 6:00pm the three of us walked to a pub known as The Surprise where we planned to meet with a bunch of Uncle Tim and Aunt Jill’s friends for dinner and drinks. We had a tapas style dinner and some wine and I got a cherry crème brûlée. After several hours of conversation we headed back to the flat for the night. 

*Slept= laid still while drifting in and out of consciousness

A False Start - Aug 26

In 1785 another Robert wrote:

In proving foresight may be vain:
The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,

An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!

            Well the frenzy has begun. My abroad experience was scheduled to begin with a trip to Edinburgh to see the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and do a bit of sight seeing with Aunt Jill and Uncle Tim. We planned then to follow this weekend with a couple days in London before I headed to Florence to begin classes. As foreshadowed by the above quote however you may be able to guess that this is no longer going to happen as planned.

Unfortunately the notion expressed above by Robert Burns exactly encapsulates the beginning (or lack thereof) of my adventures abroad. Perhaps it is appropriate that I use a Scottish poet to express this particular portion of my experience, since due to circumstances beyond my control I will now be unable to go to Scotland. Yes, it is quite sad.

            My plans have been obliterated by an ill-tempered tempest known as Irene. The hurricane that currently heads for the eastern United States has caused quite a kerfuffle among those that live from North Carolina to New York.

            Needless to say, as I arrived in the airport in Durham at about 6:30 to leave for Edinburgh via Newark I was less than thrilled when the Continental worker casually informed me that my flight had been cancelled. I believe I responded to the news with a very calm (and very sarcastic) “cool.” After talking to the worker more I learned that due to the storm there would be no more fights to get me out of Durham until Monday. After a quick call to Dad and a rather aggressive conversation with the Continental employee I settled for the best option I had. I will now miss my trip to Scotland and will arrive in London at 8:25 on Tuesday the 30^th, 3 days later than planned.

            As regrettable as the circumstances are, at least I will still be able to see Aunt Jill and Uncle Tim before I go to school, and I can hardly begrudge the opportunity to spend a few more work-free days at Duke with my friends and siblings*. So though I was really looking forward to the festival I will have to settle for the still lofty consolation prize of an entire semester abroad. When things are put in perspective it is pretty hard to complain too much.

* Reid is taking shelter in Durham to avoid the more direct blows of the storm in Williamsburg, and Mary Kate has of course just begun as a Freshman at Duke.