Day 1

Day 1 - Thursday, July 11, 2019

I flew overnight but got very little sleep; maybe an hour or two?  Then I took the tube from Heathrow to Southwark and tried to use google maps to push/pull my suitcases which got heavier by the minute.  It should have only been a 10 minute walk but was more like 40.  It was too early to check in so I left my suitcases in the bag room and went for lunch and a walk through the
Tate Modern

which is just across the street and a look at the river and this funny pedestrian bridge.

When I got back to Bankside House they let me check in.  I was so happy to see that I had a single room that I went into the wrong (unlocked) room and proceeded to unpack.  I only figured out that I was in the wrong room when I tried to lock the door with my key.  Only at the last moment before I went down to complain did I actually compare the number on my key to the number on the door.  So I used my Folger Shakespeare Library editions of the plays I have with me to wedge both doors open so I could grab armfuls of my gear and transfer it as fast as I could into my correct room.  This room is possibly a minute amount larger, so I guess I came out ahead.   Ouf!  At least  nobody spied me.  Quite the comedy of errors!

A group of us met up in the lobby, walked past The Globe (because we couldn't wait until 9:45 tomorrow...  Notice she is all dressed up in rainbow pennants for Pride.  We strolled along the river looking for a pub that had room for all seven of us at 5:30 on a Thursday, and wound up here.  The food was plentiful and good and we made our first inroads in getting to know each other.  Seems like a lovely group but as we waited to settle the check my eyes got heavier and heavier... and so, anon.