21-May-08 London work trips

Occasionally for work I make it up to London to see some work colleagues and vendors. Originally when I used to fly into London for personal travel, it seemed so exotic, so untouchable. Perhaps it was the 8-hour flight that made it seem so far away, so remote, so different. But now that I can just pop up to London under 2 hours, it just seems like a commute, more like a true work trip.

The first work trip up to London, I got into Waterloo station and was dis-oriented. I've only been back 1 time since, but now know exactly where to catch the tube on to wherever I need to go. When I was there in May, it was quite warm and everyone (I mean EVERYONE) was laying out on the grass outside Buckingham Palace.

Riding on the tube is unnerving....it's worse than the Chicago CTA for reliability. No, there's no risk of the train teetering on the edge of a track when jumping a track, but there are constant delays and downtime. Ask anyone in London.....and they'll go off about this. But don't dare ask anyone while you're on the train....it is TABOO to talk to someone on public transportation. VERBOTEN! But aside from the train, you can either walk.....or take a cab and sit in traffic for hours. Not sure which is the least of all evils. :)