Going to London was not on our minds.
At least not until we got the email from Tam Airlines saying we could fly there for free with our airmiles. That got us started thinking about it, but the price of staying and eating in London was too much.
Until we saw that we could stay right in central London for about $18 night at a hostel with a kitchen. If we bought food at the grocery store, we could eat for the same price as at home, more or less.
How can anyone refuse that? PatrÃcia was dying to go and I had been to London several times without ever leaving the airports, which to me, doesn't count for anything--all big airports are basically interchangeable (small airports can have more interesting character). We readied ourselves for cold weather, British English, and bad food, and booked the trip.
Everything went fine on the flights and immigration. We jumped on a metro train that would take us directly to our hostel, actually just around the block from the Russell Square stop. The hostel, Smart Russell Square Hostel, was typical for busy cities: big common rooms, free wi-fi, lack of personality, a big kitchen, and generally well equipped. Or so we thought. The website shows an exercise room and sauna that I was planning on using. I asked where they were and this was the response, "Oh, those are only on the website, we don't have them." Uh....what? Nice.
One very positive thing about the place were the beds. Bunk beds with curtains so you could have privacy and block the light that people inevitably turn on at two o'clock in the morning. Sure they were a little short for my long legs, but what can you do?
We got a big hot dog buried in fried onions from a street vendor next to the hostel and jumped on a double decker bus to see the city.
