Jet lagged
So I wrote a whole bunch of entries the other day at 2:30 am in London while suffering from severe jet lag, only to have a power surge that meant the entire thing was lost, just as I had two minutes left of internet time. That is why this is now the first entry.
Anyway, I really enjoyed the flight over, wish I could afford first class for myself every time! I went to the lounge beforehand which was actually just like the rest of the airport waiting areas, except with a free buffet-style snack and drink area. So I helped myself to carrots and hummus as well as some hot chocolate spiked with Bailey's just to feel like I got my money's worth (well, not mine but close enough). The plane was a little late boarding, but there was a nice travel bag with toiletries, a down pillow, and nice comforter waiting at my seat when I sat down.
We arrived a little early and miraculously found the Heathrow express to Paddington. Our hotel is actually connected to the Paddington station, there is an escalator right from next to the train platform that deposits you in the hotel lobby. You never have to see the sun (not that it was out, it was pretty cloudy the entire time).
I took the fastest shower known to man before he could come back and then headed over to Kensington Gardens. It was less grand than I expected, just mostly open space with a few trees and man-made ponds scattered throughout. I tried to go to the rooftop gardens, only to find they were closed all week for a private party so I settled to try a pasty instead. I picked a traditional one, it was like a croissant filled with skirt steak, potato, and onion that tasted just like pot roast. Not too bad. Then I headed back to the hotel to meet my friend who had flown out to join me in London. We went over to a corner pub for a pint and had the nicest waitress who just got back from a tour of Europe and told me all about it.
I headed back and met the meeting people to get loaded on a bus to The Magic Circle. The Magic Circle is a magician's club (even Prince Charles is a member) that used to be closed to the public. My jet lag started to hit me as we sat in the small theater waiting for what we thought would be a quick welcome speech. Instead they brought up some guy who talked for over an hour about the hypothetical role of this drug in cardiac surgery. It might have been interesting to a room of cardiologists, but we were heme people with severe jet lag and I dozed throughout. Finally they let us go down for cocktails and I had to beg for water. Not sure what it is lately, but the alcohol is served like crazy in limitless quantities, but you ask for water and people look at you very strangely. They had a magician do tricks which woke me up a little and I toured the magic museum in the basement desperately hoping they'd let us eat soon so I could go to bed. They finally took us to the dining area where we were served a nice meal in five courses, five very slow courses. I was at the American table all of which were extremely tired as we'd flown in that afternoon and we finally just went up to the coordinator and asked if we could leave. She seemed shocked and didn't believe my coworker that people wanted to go. She walked over and asked us and immediately almost the entire table jumped up and started walking towards the door, only to be told she still had to call the driver. Apparently us Americans do not live up to the European standard of partying all evening or something.
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However you certainly pay for that convenience, but the cost is not reflected in the quality of the hotel. Ten minutes into getting into my room and as I was about to get into the shower, one of the male hotel staff came into my room without knocking. It took several minutes for me to get him to actually leave. The room itself smelled musty like dirty gym socks. The shower only occasionally worked, so I ended up having to take a bath instead a few times. With the high cost of the room, you would think it would come with nice perks but instead they charge exorbitant fees for internet (17 pounds for 24 hours) and when I did give in and pay for an hour's use in the business center, there was a power surge causing the entire internet to shut down and me to lose everything. The breakfast was decent, but meals served during my meeting were lackluster and we were given inappropriate serving spoons that sank right into the dishes so we ended up not eating most things rather than dig into communal dishes with our hands to fish out the spoons. The view out the window was to the side of a concrete building. The air conditioning also didn't work well, resulting in sleepless nights in a too warm room. I would suggest looking elsewhere, regardless of the convenience of the location.
