We've Got Baggage

Landed in London. Everyone looks British. Again.

Four years ago, no directions from Heathrow to the hostel. This time? Carrot Cars (actual company name) ready to collect us at the airport. He had a little sign and everything. Aside from the poor bloke looking at the two of us with our carts piled to the brim (probably wondering how this would all fit in his van) everything was great!

We even got to play luggage Tetris in his van and everything worked out wonderfully.
Amanda wanted to relax a bit and requested to sit in the back seat with our belongings, so I sat in the front seat with our helpful driver. On our ride from the airport I noticed that the British still drive on the left.

Leaving Heathrow

A little known fact about Brexit: the EU and its "experts" were requiring the UK to switch from driving on the left side to the right side of the road by 2020. Fearing the significant long-term economic cost to make the switch and change road signage, the UK voted to leave the EU.

The drive took about an hour and a half and we saw quite a bit of action. Lots of driving on the left side of the road, we discovered the fast lane is the far right lane (bizarre!), and we discovered our Carrot Cars driver was losing his patience on the road. We started to near our destination and the driver asked if we knew how to get to the address.

Isn't that what you're here for? 

The driver attempted a few different ways to get to the address, but we subsequently learned that the flat we'd be staying at for the next 30 days was down a pedestrian-only cobblestone path. As the driver and I unloaded the luggage from the van, Amanda went down the alley and around the bend out of sight to find the reception area of our serviced apartment. She was gone for quite a while, and as I waited awkwardly with the now openly upset driver it began to drizzle a bit.

She must be checking in with the people at the reception getting the keys and doesn't realize it's raining now. 

Amanda returns empty-handed. No reception at the flat. Driver leaves. No phone. No WiFi. The skies open and the rain starts pouring. All over the luggage.

What did we get ourselves into.

I perform a quick cost-benefit analysis to determine how to carry our luggage down the alley, around the bend, and leave it out of sight unattended while also leaving a ton of our luggage at the top of the alley unattended. It's just like the classic Bridge and Torch logic puzzle. You've heard this one before: "Four people come to a river in the night. There is a narrow bridge, but it can only hold two people at a time. They have one torch and, because it's night, the torch has to be used when crossing the bridge. Person A can cross the bridge in 1 minute, B in 2 minutes, C in 5 minutes, and D in 8 minutes. When two people cross the bridge together, they must move at the slower person's pace. The question is, can they all get across the bridge in 15 minutes or less?"

Except in our version of the classic problem we have 11 suitcases, 2 people, 1 alley, a torrential downpour, and no home. Classic.

What did we get ourselves into. 

It's a real shame we didn't get a photo of me soaking wet with my backpack of valuables strapped to my back at all times lugging 2 massive suitcases down the alley, stashing them in a doorway, running back up the slippery cobblestone in the pouring rain, grabbing 2 more suitcases, running back down and piling them up on top of one another inside the doorway; all the while Amanda is inching her way down the alley towards me with the remainder of the luggage. The solution to this particular problem was not having anyone steal our luggage (and literally our only belongings in life) while it was left unattended at either end of the alleyway. Conveniently, right next door to our pile of luggage was a pub.

Maybe we can think of a plan over a pint?

Thankfully, after only a few more minutes of us wondering what the hell we were going to do, an angel appeared before us in the form of a woman who let us into the building.

Hallelujah!

After a little bit of clothes drying and a tiny bit of unpacking to find a dry alternative it was time for a well-earned pint. Conveniently located next to our flat, The Walrus and The Carpenter would do just fine. Conveniently regulated, UK imperial pints are 20oz instead of 16oz... a 25% bonus!

UK Pint #1