Craig's First Day in London (Part 1)

While listening to Craig recount his argument with the U.K. customs official, I scanned my eyes across the baggage claim trying to spot his suitcase before it passed us by. “Which bag did you pack?” I asked after he had finished his story.

“A black one with wheels,” he smirked.

“Thanks for describing half of the bags in this airport,” I sarcastically drawled.

“No problem,” Craig laughed as he reached towards a pile of slowly passing suitcases. “Here it is – black with wheels.”

“Oh goodness… I thought you were going to pack a small suitcase.”

“I only have two suitcases, dear, and the other one was too small for clothes plus souvenirs.”

With a rather incredulous look on my face, I hoisted my single duffel bag onto my shoulder and replied, “Well, I guess it’ll be alright as long as you carry your own luggage. Just make sure to watch the escalators and subway doors.”

After weeks of traveling across southern England and other parts of Europe, Bill and I evolved into very efficient luggage packers – a skill, which at that moment, I wish that I had more emphatically conveyed to my boyfriend. A weekend in Germany, for example, would require a single backpack with a few changes of underwear, socks, two T-shirts, pajama pants, flip-flops, one pair of jeans, and travel-size cosmetics. Everything else could either be left at home or comfortably worn through airport metal detectors. Since I would be traveling for fifteen days this time, I swapped my backpack for a slightly larger duffel bag and packed enough clean underwear/socks to last through the trip, two pairs of jeans, a pair of shorts, an extra sweatshirt, seven T-shirts, pajama pants, flip-flops, travel-size cosmetics, and of course, my Enzymology notes.

With a few extra clothing items, my duffel bag was nearly bursting at the seams, but this didn’t bother me since I had already formulated a plan to get rid of my dirty laundry – leave it at the hostel. Though it may sound a little odd, I felt no loyalty towards any of my old clothing items that had become stained and torn throughout my travels across Europe. Therefore, I had no problem leaving an item or two behind as we left a particular city. I sincerely apologize to any hostel staff that needed to throw out my left-behind socks, underwear, and T-shirts, but how else was I to pack for fifteen days with only a carry-on duffel bag? From a traveler’s point-of-view, this plan was brilliant and worked out remarkably well – even if it does sound a little odd.

Craig, on the other hand, wasn’t too keen about re-wearing clothes for multiple days or leaving underwear behind at a random European hostel – hence, the gigantic black suitcase with wheels. Sitting on the ground at three feet tall, I eyed the luggage and reluctantly imagined pulling Craig’s luggage through busy London subway stations. With few other options, however, we could only grab our belongings and catch the next train into the city.

Knowing we would both be running on only a few hours of sleep, I had planned a relatively light first day in London. First on the agenda: Get rid of Craig’s suitcase. Though our hostel was located far on the outskirts of London, I knew that we wouldn’t be able to truly enjoy the city while toting around cumbersome luggage. So upon hopping off the train in the heart of London, we walked to the nearest subway station to catch the “Tube” to our hostel. Unfortunately, Craig’s initial excitement about being in England began to subside as we sat for 45 minutes on a subway car before reaching our first destination. Some things just can’t be helped, however, and we hopped back onto the subway for another 45-minute trip back into the city after leaving our bags at the hostel. “I’ve been here 3 hours already, and I’ve only seen the London subway system!” Craig frustrately mentioned.

Wanting to make up for the fact that I had booked hostel rooms outside the heart of London, I pulled Craig off the subway at Victoria station and led him to the ground level of the city. There, for the first time since he arrived three hours earlier, Craig gazed across the Thames for his first view of England’s capital city.