Travel date: Monday, April 22, 2024
[Note: In the past I have tried to write my travel blogs as I’ve been travelling. This has always been difficult because it takes time to write down what you want to say in the way you want to say it, and sometimes there just isn’t the time or energy to do that in addition to the enjoying the trip. I usually ended up finishing the series of posts after I got home to Canada. This time I decided to write the entire blog after the trip was over. Here is the first instalment of what will eventually be… quite a few. Facebook friends will have seen some of these photos and a few of my thoughts on our trip already, as I couldn’t completely resist the urge to share while we were away.]
We departed from Toronto for London, England at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 21 and arrived without incident (!) at about 9 a.m. on Monday April 22. Of course in our heads, it was still late on the 21st so we took it fairly easy the first day, having a nap after we’d checked in, and then wandering about our new neighbourhood to get our bearings.
Our hotel was in one of dozens of boutique hotels and apart/hotels that have been made out of what appear to have previously been adjoining apartment buildings on a street called Sussex Gardens, about five blocks from Paddington Railway Station and the Paddington Underground Praed Street Station. I would stay in that area again anytime: there are many many excellent and reasonable restaurants with a wide range of ethnic (and veg-non-veg) options in the area, the people are friendly and helpful (used to dealing with tourists), there’s a laundromat, a grocer, and convenience stores nearby and the Underground links the neighbourhood to anywhere in London you want to go, promptly and efficiently.
The hotel room was reasonable because it was small, which might make it tricky if you had children with you, or had to spend any significant time in the room, but it was fine for a couple that was mainly using it to sleep and shower between adventures. The staff of the Orchard Hotel was friendly and helpful but the establishment offered the worst breakfast buffet we’ve encountered anywhere in the world: no fresh fruit or juice at all, and no fresh coffee (instead serving instant made in advance in large pots). No hot food either, just cheese and bread and sliced meats and boiled eggs. But considering the price of the hotel comparatively speaking, the fact that we ate such wonderful food the rest of the day, and our awareness (constantly sharpened by the sight of tents and destitute humans throughout the city) that lots of people don’t even have as much as we did for breakfast, we survived just fine.
In Paddington, I was intrigued by the street art. In one (apparently temporary) installation that dominates the square outside the railway station, a very large group of twelve brass animals dine together – with a couple of seats left open in case you’d like to join them. According to Londonist, this is the work of Gilli and Marc and is entitled “Wild Table of Love.”
A bit closer to our hotel, in a long cozy park with a ping-pong table, we found another instalment by Gilli and Marc of brass animal sculptures – dogs this time – entitled Paparazzi Pack.
And then near the end of our stay in Paddington I noticed for the first time an animated (but accurate) clock that appears to have a person inside it, cleaning and repairing it and peering out at passersby. It was great fun to watch.
Having sussed out our immediate “home” surroundings for the next ten days and secured SIM cards for our phones (primarily so we could communicate with one another when we got separated, as we inevitably do), we had a solid sleep and were ready to really begin our adventure on Tuesday morning.
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