On our day of departure, I started the morning with a refreshing 5km run along the sea front. It was one of those beautiful sunny, cold crisp mornings, which is my favourite kind of weather. When I was teaching, my daily two mile commute (hardly warrants the word ‘commute’ I know, but I was heading to work so in theory it was) took me along the sea front and I would often wish that I was out on a run on those early mornings rather than driving to work. So before leaving for my travels, I was keen to make the point to myself that I no longer went to work! It was beautiful: there was one moment when I was staring out to sea and the sun beamed through the sparse broken cloud, which looked just like a thin layer of cotton wool that had been gently teased apart. The ray of light shining down on me felt like some sort of sign (don’t worry, nothing deep and meaningful) – like a thumbs up to the fact that I was enjoying a run rather than going to work!
We left after lunch – first a 30 minute walk to the train station and then a 2 hour train ride to Victoria followed by a tube to Hounslow where we were staying the night in close proximity to Heathrow ready for our early morning flight the following day.
I hate taking the Underground but on this occasion it was the most practical means to get to our hotel for the night. Being rammed into a crowded tube train during rush hour made us contemplate the poor timing of our departure and it momentarily took our minds off course from the excitement of our impending flight.
Tightly packed in the carriage, I watched the boy next to me (I’m guessing he was about 15) contemplatively touch the packaged sandwich that he had inside his Pret-a-Manger bag. I could almost sense him wondering whether he could feasibly eat his sandwich standing up in a jolting tube surrounded by commuters.
He eventually decided that he would attempt this feat. I grimaced as I smelt the aroma of fish waft into my nose. I didn’t think anyone in their right mind would choose to eat a sandwich in such dire surroundings and certainly not a tuna sandwich (the smell – urgh!), however the poor boy must have been starving because he worked so surely and intently to open the package and he literally couldn’t take his eyes off the sandwich for a single second.
As I now sit and reflect, I can forgive him. (How gracious of me!) He was desperately hungry and he didn’t realise he was standing a few centimetres from a vegetarian who last ate meat 37 years ago and can’t even remember a time when fish was on her plate.
Early Tuesday morning we arrived at the airport. We had an easy flight on a half-empty plane, where I was able to enjoy the first of my downloads (‘Treadstone’ on Amazon Prime if you’re wondering. I’m so pleased I spent that packing time prioritising my entertainment!)
The tube, the train and the English sea front now all seem like a long way away as I write this in our home for the next three nights: a centrally-located apartment in Helsinki with the added thrill of use of a sauna and laundry room. Luxury and necessity all in the same basement!
So now it’s time to discover this European city…
Let Luce! 