A few weeks ago, on Friday 26th August I went for my first ever proper night out in London and I LOVED it.
Firstly I met Seb at around 12.30pm in St. Pancras.
We walked along to our hotel in Euston. After a rest break, we left and cycled down to The Shard.
Since its erection, I have always wanted to ascend it, but I have never got round to it. On Friday, I stood in a lift which whisked me 306 feet in the air, well, in two separate lifts. During one short ride, I asked our lift whether they wanted a selfie. They obliged.
The Shard was wonderful. For me, being a lover of London and being able to see the city at this angle was spectacular. My friend Seb had commented that it seemed too high to notice everything. I think more than that it is a case of there being so much to see that it knocks everything out of proportion and it takes a while to take it all in. Saying that, I had a moment of difficulty when searching initially for Buckingham Palace and then for Trafalgar Square. I said I saw the latter. I am not certain I did.
We descended and headed to Borough Market. I loved the vibe of the area. After wondering around a bit we got some Ethiopian food which was hot (in the literal sense) and it was also hot.
Cutting it fine, we headed slightly westward to Tower Bridge and then in the direction of Westminster along the cycle superhighway.
I had ridden along a bit of it before but wanted to show Seb. Look at the cycling traffic!
From here, we stopped by in Wetherspoons in Whitehall for a bit. We rode then to the South Bank, near Waterloo Bridge to take part in Critical Mass.
Hundreds and hundreds of cyclists joined us on this Critical Mass.
It was difficult to gauge the sheer size until we stopped at about 9.00pm in South Kensington and watched it pass before getting the tube back to the hotel.
We got ready and then cycled down to Soho for about 10.30pm. We met Seb’s cousin’s friends and went into G-A-Y. It was a great atmosphere.
I was gutted that they stopped serving at midnight! We soon left. I usually navigate but wasn’t in the best position to so let the others do it. It felt like we were walking for miles. With the friends advice, we jumped in a black cab. This was the first ever one I had been in and I loved what I can remember of it. It seemed like it took us around the houses a bit.
We queued for a while but we soon were admitted to Heaven! What a place! Upon entry, I was taken aback by the wonderful music choices. I lost Seb and his remaining friend of his cousin but it gave me the chance to explore what was on offer. Cough.
We found each other and somehow much time had passed. We left and walked to Simon’s hotel in Russell Square.
After leaving Simon there, we needed to get back to our hotel in Euston. Only a 15 minute walk but on top of the walk previously and with sleep calling, we headed to the nearest bicycle point. I took my bicycle out using my key but as Seb went to print a ticket, he found the printer to have run out of paper. There was only one answer.
Bed.
The next day we awoke and went down for breakfast. It was lovely. The breakfast area was busy but all of a sudden it went quiet. I had my back to everyone. I turned around and heard a gasp. “I can’t believe he did that”. I looked and there was a German man standing there who had just had a jug of cranberry juice tipped over his head. Unconnected, a random man came in off the street, poured it, and ran out. Wooah.
I met Ben, Seb’s boyfriend, in St. Pancras. We went to get a coffee and the three of us had a chat before I caught my return train home.
The guys who I asked to take our photo looked nice. I asked for a photo with them too.
I had a wonderful weekend.
Samuel x
