Finally the day has come. Today I am leaving for England. The first partof the journey goes to London with the Eurostar.
I take the train in Venlo at 8:00. The first part Lise travels with me. In Eindhoven I switch trains and say goodbye to Lise. She goes to Amsterdam and doesn’t switch trains. Fortunately the connection in Eindhoven is going well, this saves an hour.
In Breda I switch trains again. Here I have plenty of time and that results in a nice strong coffee from the Kiosk.
Everything goes smoothly after that. I have to wait a little more than an hour in Brussels. Then the Eurostar takes me to London in time (just after 14:00 local time).
Now I take the Underground from St Pancras to Paddington. From Paddington I of course walk the wrong way with my heavy bags. However, I find out quickly enough and then I walk directly to the hotel, the Dolphin Inn. My bags are quite heavy.
Because I am in London well in time, I decide to go for a walk. It is nice walking weather, sunny, dry and warm.
To give my walk a goal, I will try to score some Untappd location badges. That works out fine, of the 4 location badges I get 3 (the 4th is closed on Monday).
- The Shakespeare
- Craft House The Hydrant
- Wedge Issue Pizza + Beer
For that I have to walk 23 kilometers.
They do not have IPA at the pizza restaurant, so I go for a Joker lager, which is also fine.
There is a lot of (re)building going on in London. I try to walk as much as possible through back alleys and to avoid the tourist routes. That results in a number of nice pictures.
After having scored the 3 location badges, I walk back to the hotel. But first a stop at Paddington station to get a ticket for tomorrow to Taunton. Since they are working on the track, I want advice for that. There appears to be a direct connection to Taunton. I’m hope this works out…
One last Guinness at the pub around the corner and then typing this report and to bed.
This time the lyrics of Ralph McTell, Streets of London:
Have you seen the old man
In the closed-down market
Kicking up the paper,
With his worn out shoes?
In his eyes you see no pride
Hand held loosely at his side
Yesterday’s paper telling yesterday’s news
So how can you tell me you’re lonely,
And say for you that the sun don’t shine.
Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London
I’ll show you something to make you change your mind
Have you seen the old girl
Who walks the streets of London
Dirt in her hair and her clothes in rags?
She’s no time for talking,
She just keeps right on walking
Carrying her home in two carrier bags.
So how can you tell me you’re lonely,
And say for you that the sun don’t shine.
Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London
I’ll show you something to make you change your mind
In the all night cafe
At a quarter past eleven,
Same old man sitting there on his own
Looking at the world
Over the rim of his tea-cup,
Each tea lasts an hour
Then he wanders home alone
So how can you tell me you’re lonely,
Don’t say for you that the sun don’t shine.
Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London
I’ll show you something to make you change your mind
Have you seen the old man
Outside the Seaman’s Mission
Memory fading with the medal ribbons that he wears
In our winter city,
The rain cries a little pity
For one more forgotten hero
And a world that doesn’t care
So how can you tell me you’re lonely,
And say for you that the sun don’t shine.
Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London
I’ll show you something to make you change your mind
Ben trots op je!
Toppie