
Last week I was in London. I know this because my cell phone is full of intriguing photos. I would show them to you but I don’t know how to retrieve them. Everyone says the weather is terrible, but it was sunny and warm the entire time. Travel guides warned it was expensive. I exchanged the money I had for the trip into pounds and only spent that. The only time I absolutely needed my credit card, and it didn’t work for some mysterious electronic reason, was to rent a Barclay’s bicycle to ride across the Tower Bridge. It wasn’t a huge deal, I just walked across, but it would have been fun to ride instead. The best advice I got, prior to leaving the States, was as follows:
- Have a designated place for everything so you don’t waste time looking for your money, passport, cell phone, lip emollient, etc.
- Purchase the Internantional 3G pkg. for your cell phone. Considering how modern/cosmopolitan London is; the wifi is primeval. If you use your phone to navigate, you will waste time being lost or at Starbucks/McDonalds recharging or on the internet trying to reorient.
- Purchase an Oyster card – This gem is your ticket to transportation. A slick little e-card which gets you on the buses and tubes. You have to purchase a separate ticket for the trains, but to not look like a knucklehead, have the Oyster and have it accessible. The scanner gates of the tubes and the bus drivers don’t like disorder. Just tap your card and keep moving. You can buy one online before your trip to UK, or at any tube station… plus you can reload your card – super easy.
Arrived Heathrow 7am Saturday, totally intending to navigate the tube to Fulham. After flying from Seattle to Houston, Houston to Heathrow, I was happy a friend had recommended a car service to my B&B.
*** Note: DO NOT overextend your resources, whether financial, physical or emotional! Just because it is possible to survive that much traveling, doesn’t mean it is a good idea.
My car ride was just what I needed to organize my adventure pack, which had been my footrest on the plane, and gave me a chance to look around and focus my energy on the task ahead. The B&B in Fulham was a gracious surprise. It was a lovely three story walk-up row house near the Thames. I had chosen a room on Vacation Rentals by Owner. This find of a website has provided amazing holidays stateside for years. This was the first international listing I had secured. The Lady of the House had emailed a Whistlestop Tour of suggestions and I could tell from her points of interest she was well- traveled and informed. Lucky me, with the exception of an incredulous Vicar at Westminster Abbey, (he refused to let me take the stairs to the top of the bell tower, insisting I take the “lift”), every suggestion on Roz’s Tour was Absolutely Fabulous. Also, key to a successful trip is having a clean, welcoming bathroom, calm, restful sleeping quarters and exceptional breakfasts.
A solid Home Base brings me to the list of suggestions for Being Brave:
- Be prepared. Anticipate. Having what you need eliminates time and resources spent finding and purchasing necessities.
- Shoes. This applies to Life. Appropriate footwear is mandatory. A visit to a great podiatrist prior to any Adventure is recommended. Cross-trainers and Ariat cowboy boots trekked me across UK. Take care of your feet.
- Adapt. Between the crazy streets, spotty internet service and general amazement at the sights, you may be constantly wandering off-course. Relax, around you there is so much Beauty, you will Enjoy the ride even if you never find Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
Prior to my Solo Spice Tour 2012, I had never traveled outside my home state alone. Even then it was always within the reassuring confines of my well-stocked car. AAA, 3G and VISA were my travel companions. You take things for granted (Like clearly marked road signs and driving on the right hand side of the road). During my days in the UK, I had a compass, coins, and water. Somehow my personal fortitude (and clear zinc oxide) carried me through. Just Be Brave and Ignore the Gap!







