The Course at the Henley Royal Regatta
The weekend of July 5-7 was a spectacular one for British sports. The Henley Royal Regatta took place. The British and Irish Lions beat Australia in their three test series (the first Lions win since beating South Africa in 1997). And perhaps best known of all, Andy Murray became the first Briton to win the Gentlemen’s Singles in Wimbledon since Fred Perry won in 1936. Having arrived in the United Kingdom on July 5th and stayed with a good friend, I got to experience all of this in a very English sort of way.
As I mentioned in other posts, I arrived in London on July 5 after my layover in Copenhagen. It was a long journey, and sadly, the immigration line took forever. I then took the Tube into the city, which took quite a long time as well, leading me to not arrive in Maida Vale, where my friend lives in the city, until much later than anticipated. To make things worse, my phone, which usually works abroad, is simply not allowing me to roam here, so I had no good way for calling him. When I finally made it to his flat in Maida Vale, he’d left. I wasn’t quite sure what to do, but I thought I’d find a hostel and figure things out the next day. I was disappointed, because we were to go to Henley on Saturday (the next day), and I thought I’d miss it. As I was walking down the street, however, with my backpack on my back and rolling my suitcase along, some people asked me if I needed directions (and I indeed believe that I must have looked quite lost). I quickly told them my predicament, and they offered me a cell phone. I quickly accepted, called my friend, and thankfully he was still down the street at Paddington Station waiting to catch a train out to the countryside where his parents live (I was supposed to come with). I thanked the people on the street (who turned out to be Spaniards—I gave them my card), and cabbed over to Paddington.
A View 