Last November, I went to Europe and I had a fantastic time, despite all the things that had dampened my experience (foreshadowing). I spent two weeks in London, where I had worked full time so it was more of a workation, where I got to see a little bit of North America’s roots. Then I ventured to the Netherlands, which I had been looking forward to since the beginning of 2023, for another two weeks enjoying as much of the Dutch cities as I could. It was all in all an experience of personal growth but also was very tiring as I would soon learn.

This post details a little bit about how I got to London in the first place.

Events Prior

Unfortunately, I had not situated myself well, or maybe a little too well in relation to things going on around the time I was supposed to leave. Just before leaving for Europe, I had to spend three days in Quebec City for a work event. I was slated to leave Tuesday morning and come Thursday evening, only to leave home again to take a long plane ride to London the following evening on Friday.

I did make sure to pack my luggage for the Europe trip separate from my luggage used to stay in Quebec City but it was still a nerve-wracking component to the whole thing. Even now as I write this, I find myself feeling nervous for my past self, thinking about how I would only have a few hours where my partner isn’t working before I would be leaving them for a whole month. I felt bad for having so little time but I think we made up for it with the amount of communication between us while I was in Europe.

Taking Off

For those who aren’t aware, I have ADHD, combined inattentive/hyperactive. This means that even as an adult, I have trouble sitting still and on top of that I have trouble focusing on something that is even slightly less interesting than anything else around me. A plane is absolute torture for someone like me and this flight was no different. Between the turbulence that occurred over the Atlantic ocean, the uncomfortable sitting posture, the unfamiliar smells and noises, and the nervousness of flying hundreds of kilometres away from home, I did not sleep a lick on the red-eye flight.

The Eagle Has Landed

I landed at London Heathrow airport early in the morning. Tired and disoriented, I made my way through the maze of an airport. I thought it was difficult to get around the Pierre-Elliott Trudeau airport? I was mistaken as to how difficult it could be. Just wait until I see LAX…

The first thing I planned to do was get some cellphone service and then get to the Tube. Thankfully, on the way to The Elizabeth Line, there was a booth made to help you with both of those things. WeKnow London provides tourist services and had a booth in one of the halls that I was taking to get to the the London Underground tube station.

I was able to get a SIM card with some cell service on the O2 cellphone service provider. It came with 30GB of data and unlimited text/calling across my entire trip all for the cost of a lunch! At the same time, I asked them for directions to the Tube and they told me that they could also print a London Underground ticket that would be valid for the day.

With that taken care of, I made my merry way to the tube satisfied with the convenience I just encountered. It was like they knew what people needed first thing getting to London! 😉 Thankfully, this did not end up being one of those moments where I say I was sorely mistaken. I got exactly what I needed and there was not a swindler in sight. I was pretty proud of myself.

I got to the tube station for the Heathrow airport on the Elizabeth line and I was enamoured. I thought to myself, wow the London Underground is really nice! The station was brand new, and I felt like I was starting off my trip right.

They even had proper barriers to prevent people from falling on or dropping litter onto the tracks. This is peak public transit right here that London’s got! I knew I had a ways to go to get to Central London, so I got on and I made myself comfortable with my (overly heavy) luggage, and started activating my phone SIM.

Next Post

Keep an eye out for my next post where I detail my first few days in London. I was overtired and things did not go according to my expectations, as new experiences are wont to do.

If you have any questions about this post, feel free to contact me via email, [email protected], or via Mastodon, @[email protected].