October 22 to October 23, 2018, London, England

Not gonna lie but I had doses of anxiety brimming the surface, even, in a matter of speaking, in my chest. When one thing doesn’t go as planned, at the very least, I get annoyed. Then eventually I begin questioning every little thing and then comes the panic.

Timing sucks. But one thing is clear: the universe is not against you, me, or anyone else. For a long time, I didn’t understand that you just have to pay attention and make the best of what is given to you. A signal. A moment. A gesture. A dream. Anything that leaves you reflecting. Lingering.

This anxiety and self-doubt reminded me of that one Frasier episode where he, Niles, Daphne, Martin, and Claire, all go to Belize and, mostly on Fraser’s end, everything gets delayed, missed, and/or lost. But in the end, he gained the reassurance of his new relationship with Clare. Too bad he nit-picked it shortly after and broke it off. Nevertheless, the lesson ensues.

The reason I say all this above is because the series of events have made me question my judgment and whether I should have planned this. And the catalyst to this self-doubt was not going to Cadbury Camp in Somerset today. I immediately had the feeling that I shouldn’t go. When I ignored it and tried to get ready to head for the train station, the uber driver switched twice. By the time he would have picked me up and drive me there, I would have either just barely made it or, most likely, miss the train and need another ride back. So I canceled the uber with a 6-quid cancelation fee. Ugh.

So I stayed in, slept some more, and then walked half a mile to the nearest Tesco. I bought some cheese, turkey, cheddar and red onion crisps, with 1.5 L water and an exotic mango diet coke. For the duration, I relaxed and looked into other options for the night. The evening ended with stuffing my face and watching Doc Martin, Celebs Go Dating, & the Big Bang Theory.

The next day, Tuesday, was all about the London Eye and the cruise ride on the River Thames. Yeah, the second part didn’t happen. Even on a weekday, lots of tourists–mostly French–encased the visitors’ area and waited in line.

Well, I got there 45 minutes early on top of getting ahead in line at 2 p.m. for my intended slot of 2:45 p.m. With all that said, I still didn’t get into one of the translucent pods until 3 p.m. Which was okay despite not making it for my ride along the Thames. The pictures–both snapshot and polaroid–taken on the gradual thirty-minute ride were more than worth it. The 360-degree rotation extended at its highest peak of 443 feet. The River Thames, Big Ben’s face, Parliament, County Mall-South and several boats were beneath me. The only disappointment was Big Ben in complete renovation. There’s always next time.

To substitute the missed river cruise, I snapped some pics of Westminster Abbey’s exterior (since it closed early for something posh from the looks of it) and then down to Brompton to check out Harrods a mile down for Ma. Along the way, I went inside a Starbucks for a pick-me-up and unexpectedly found another style of mugs and espresso cups. Labeled England with Shakespeare’s profile on a yay-high travel mug was something I couldn’t ignore, especially when you’re a writer.

I had a hunch when I arrived at Harrods; I anticipated this department store that Princess Di used to shop at (that’s what Ma said) was full of designer brands.  Although, I was surprised to see they had no price tags attached. Or on display. By assumption, the amount of the merchandise is irrelevant to the shopping process. You browse, choose, and pay. End of. I hate being poor.

But the positive was that I got great shots via Instagram- & Canon shot-worthy today. Just saying.

Tomorrow I’ll be in the essence of wax and preserved decay. Night.

Lessons From Today:

1. Like from the beginning of the trip, make sure to add plenty of time between scheduled necessities and attractions. As you can see, even fifteen minutes can make a huge difference with your plans.

~Katie, The Once & Future Voyager

Every adventure is a chance to live the way you dream.