June 1: London Navigation Fails

Tower of London 

My plan was to check-in at my hostel and then hop on the bus to visit my Italian friends, Lorenzo & Valeria, who just had their first baby, Alice. I could not wait to see them and to snuggle their little one.

I was waiting for the first bus to the hostel for a while and then one finally came. After a bit it stopped and we were not moving at all. I’ve been in situations before when a bus has stopped somewhere to switch drivers and continue on the route. However, after I realized I was the only person still on the bus I talked to the driver.

He told me I got on the correct bus, but going the wrong way.

Oops.

There was another double decker bus in front of us so he brings me to that bus driver and asks if the guy will start his route and take me to Tower Gateway.

Both bus drivers were beyond nice and I was on the way again! This time in the correct direction.

Finally find my hostel, check-in, and I’m thrilled that we have our own bathroom in our suite.

No more shower shimmy!

It was an all-girl dorm and I meet four of the other girls who are all doing European tours.  

We talk as I’m un-packing and trying to figure out which bed to pick. At first I look at the top bunk next to the door and then I get a funny feeling in my stomach.

“Actually, I’ll take this other bunk,” I tell the girls.

I had no clue why but, my intuition told me that I should not pick the bunk near the door.
(Keep this in mind for later)

Then I realized that time was flying and I still wanted to grab some wine and flowers before heading to Valeria and Lorenzo’s. Plus, Alice’s bedtime was 6 pm so I had to get there at 5 pm if I wanted quality snuggle time.

Everyone in the dorm agreed that we’d be going to bed early so we could get a good head start on the city.
(Again, keep this in mind for later)

Because when you're already late and still waiting for your bus, you might as well take stereotypical selfies in London.

Long story short, grabbing the wine & flowers took way longer than it needed to, I couldn’t find the bus stop I needed to get to their apartment, and the walk took longer than I calculated. I was 40 minutes late and missed baby snuggles. 

I did get to meet Alice after her bath and before bedtime so I’m grateful for that.

Lorenzo and I walked to Theo Pizzeria to pick up some pies for dinner and we talked about what it is like for him being a new dad.