Europe Trip Day 2- Traveling from Shanghai to London

Waking up in the big soft bed in my beautiful hotel room was a nice way to start the day, but it did make me lazy and I changed my plans from getting up and going site seeing to laying in bed right up until it was time for me to go.

My flight from Shanghai to London was leaving at 1 so that meant I needed to be at the airport by 1130 or so I headed to the airport, which took about an hour to get there from my hotel (The Bund Riverside Hotel. I walked to Nanjing Rode station and got on line 2 metro and headed to Longyang Road station and then I transferred on o the high speed rail line. The high speed train only goes a short distance and costs 80 yuan for a round trip ticket but it was cool to ride on it and check out the high speed. (about 300km an hour)

The Pudong International Airport was really nice and easy to get around. My flight was through China Eastern Airline, and I had never flown with them  so I was expecting the worst but I was really impressed! First of all, my seat was in the perfect location! I was in the first row of the economy section which meant I had tons of leg room and could put my legs up on the wall in front of me. Also, honestly the food and beverages were pretty good! For my 12 hour flight they served two meals, one of which was rice and chicken and the other was beef and noodles. In addition, I had some beer, wine and juice so I was really satisfied.

One of my favorite parts about traveling is watching movies during my flights, so I watched 6 movies. I don't normally watch movies, but when I do I always get sappy and if there is even something remotely sad I am a TOTAL sap! So my first choice was a japanese documentary about rescuing cats and dogs called, "A Dog Without a Name", which caused me to cry like a baby for the entire 2 hours (probably not the best movie to watch on a plane).

Arriving at Heathrow airport felt so unreal. Literally as I got off the plane, I felt the moist London air hit my face and heard the accents of British chatter all around me making me feel like I was in a dream.  Everything, went  smoothly and quicker than I expected so within 20 minutes I was walking out to meet my friend Pam who I had not seem in 6 years!
Pam and I met while working at Kids College (an academy in South Korea), and she has been living in London since she left Korea.  She greeted me with a smile and a much needed americano, and as we made our way to her flat we tried to fill each other in on our loves, losses, and current situations while talking a million miles an hour on the tube(aka subway).

Pam lives with my other good friend Emma in a 2 bedroom flat in the neighborhood of Brixton. I didn't really have any pre conceived ideas about what  London would be like but as we walked out of the tube and headed to her flat I was pleasantly surprised at the beauty and charm of the city.  The building had beautiful white molding lining the windows, the streets were lined with beautiful tall trees, and people of all races, sizes and shapes were bustling around the roads.

After walking the short walk to their place and dropping off bags we went to a nearby pub to have a couple pints. Before coming to London, I had thought that British people weren't usually the most attractive....but I was pleasantly surprised to see many people who weren't half bad. The crowd was mainly 20-30 something young professionals sitting around having wine and beer in the relaxed atmosphere. Pam and I had 6 years of catching up to do, so while we sipped on our beer we soon lost track of time and 1 beer soon turned to 4. We finally decided we had to go, but on our walk home there was a this alluring aroma or street food that pulled us in to a nearby bar. The bar charged a small cover and inside had live reggae bands playing, while outside the food vendor was selling jerk chicken.  Another pint there along with some of the best jerk chicken I have ever had and we headed back to call it a night for my first day in Europe.