OMG SNOW - 28th/29th December

Well.

I'm going to start this entry by quoting my mother, shortly before my departure:

"One of these days your procrastination is gonna come back and bite you in the ass"

As it turns out, my mother is incredibly wise.

After being detained at the border for roughly 40 minutes, my first day in the UK was off to a great start. [Note: Either have a visa or a return ticket ready to show at border control. They're expensive, but better than being interrogated after a 25 hour flight]. I arrived at baggage claim to find that my suitcase had been taken off the carousel and left to stand unattended. With warnings blaring all around me about unattended baggage being taken and destroyed, I grabbed my suitcase and legged it to the loos, potentially planted drugs or bombs be damned. (You'll all be pleased to know that thus far I haven't found any cocaine or explosive devices in my luggage... Just a few kilos of meth and a stash of illegal weapons :p )

The underground was surprisingly easy to navigate, and the only issue I faced at all was lugging my 22.8kg suitcase up a few flights of stairs when it came time to change lines. The fact i had to do it three or four times didn't particularly bother me (eh Dad!), as I've decided that having ridiculously toned arms and a tight core is a fine pay off - besides, I've got my technique down pat by now.

Navigating the underground was, I must say, much easier than navigating the narrow hallways of my first hostel. It's a good thing I'm incredibly fit and buff, as despite the flat floor and roller wheels on my suitcase, I pretty much carried it the whole way to my twenty two bed dorm. The exaggerated breathing and panting that commenced as soon as I put the case down was all for show of course, purely so the other occupants of my room wouldn't feel threatened by my clear dominance.

After a short stop in the dorm to grab all my necessities and lock up my bags, it was off out in search of a phone shop. Alas, these were all closed (apparently retail workers at Vodafone get weekends off over here - some luck there!), so instead I found myself wandering towards the towering dome of St Paul's Cathedral.

Unfortunately St Paul's is closed to everyone except worshippers on Sundays, but I did manage to grab the obligatory tourist photo

- quickly followed by one of Paddington Bear, paused in his stride just before the Millenium Bridge.

Which, I must say, was rather more crowded than it appears in movies. Thanks a lot, Harry Potter, for giving me false expectations.

My short walk quickly turned into a touristy sight-see, taking me past the Tate Modern, Shakespeare's The Globe,

and almost unwittingly, The Shard (I didn't even realise I was next to it until I caught the reflection in some windows).

After my little tiki tour, it was back to the hostel, as it was getting dark and I was getting bloody tired! Spent some time catching up with family and friends, and emailing the girls from the plane to thank them for waiting for me at customs, and assuring them that I hadn't been deported.

By the time I'd finished, it was lights out - literally. Apparently I wasn't the only travel-weary occupant of our little room, as by about 5pm, six or so of the beds were occupied by softly snoring backpackers. I probably managed about ten solid hours of sleep (although the number of spelling mistakes in this draft would suggest less!), and woke in plenty of time this morning to catch my train from King's Cross (which I'll have to revisit at some point to get my free picture, complete with wand and scarf, at Platform 9 3/4. The line was probably an hour long, so I passed for fear of missing my train).

And now here I am, sat content on said train, which in the past five minutes has passed from hazy green fields to candy floss coated villages, covered in a fresh blanket of snow (SNOW!!?!?!!!?!?!?!). As if I wasn't already excited to go to Northallerton, I'm now about to spontaneously combust! (Which I suppose would keep me plenty warm in these freezing temperatures!)

Til next time, BRRRR!

Bri xoxo