Travel Diary

Was it Worth It?

There's the big question. Was it all worth the time and money? Well, things did go wrong. There were many unexpected things that occurred regarding the trip. Paris wasn't exactly a romantic escapade. The weather was bone chilling at times, with almost no sunlight to speak of except the morning we left London. Yeah, some things were quite trying.
But there were many good things as well. Eating a warm crepe while walking down a little street in Paris is a lifelong memory. Standing up in a dome and staring out into the antique city of Oxford is such an engaging feeling.

There were also many magical moments: praying in an old church on a hill in Paris, gazing upon Parliament and the Big Ben Tower at night. Even the simple memories are heartfelt: dancing in a club with friends, drinking a pint in a pub, and getting lost in a group, but not really being too concerned.

London was also a trip of decisions. For all of us, we were constantly faced with a basic choice: am I going to choose to enjoy this, or choose not to? Sometimes the latter is an easier choice, but the former has much more benefits. Hostel traveling takes adjusting to. The rooms aren't going to be as nice as the Ritz, but they also don't cost nearly as much. We may have to sacrifice some privacy rooming with strangers, but we also get the chance to meet people from all around the world. In the end, yes, it would be much more convenient to simply travel with your whole house, where you'd simply walk outside your front door in the morning and be in Covent Garden or next to Notre Dame. But, life isn't like that. Getting to the wonderful places in the world is a journey in itself. And that journey can be an exciting experience...or a dreadful nightmare. It's all about choice.

That said, there were a few times on the trip where things were not going so well. And I just couldn't magically say, "Presto! I will now enjoy start enjoying the act of freezing my tail off waiting around a train station for two hours in the cold snowy weather!" Nope. While we can falsely paint smiles on our outside, it's trickier to do that on the inside. Sometimes, we just have to take the bad with the good. So all in all, there are usually going to be bad memories just as there are good memories. But for me, having memories, bad or good, is better than having no memories at all.
So yeah, it was all worth it.

The itinerary

Monday, December 29th
2pm check in
4:45 departure
Tuesday, December 30th
11am arrival at LHR.
2pm Alan and Irina land.
5pm check into the Albert Hotel, 191 Queen's Gate, London SW7 5EU
7:30pm Lion King
Wednesday, December 31st
Head to Waterloo Metro/Train station at 9:30
Take 10:39 train to Paris
Paris
Arrival at Gare de Nord at 2:17
Check into: Hotel Gerando, 11, Rue Gerando tel: +33 (0)1 45266563
Visit Musee d'Orsay
Visit Notre Dame
Visit Eiffel Tower until midnight
Thursday, January 1st
Check into: Le Village, 20 Rue d'Orsel, 75018, tel: +33 1 42 64 22 02
Visit the catacombs, Arc de Triumphe, Champ de Elysees
Friday, January 2nd
Head to Gare de Nord at 9:20
Take 10:19 train to London Waterloo
London
Arrival at Waterloo at 11:54
Check into: Piccadilly Backpackers Hotel, 12 Sherwood Street, Piccadilly, W1F 7BR
Imperial War Museum
Sommerset Ice Skating
Saturday, January 3rd
Visit Oxford
See: Mousetrap
Sunday, January 4th
Visit the V&A Museum
Monday, January 5th
Visit Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey
Tuesday, January 6th
Arrival at LHR at 8:00am
Take 10:30am flight to SFO
Arrival at SFO at 1:40pm

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