Oxford to London

Getting the bus from Oxford to London was easy. There was a bus about to pull away just as we approached the stop, but the driver was good enough to stop for us and patiently guide me through chucking my bag underneath the bus and using the ticket reader to pay our fares.

The bus itself was your standard coach. We had a few stops to make on the way out from Oxford and then quick as traffic could allow to London.

Once into the London area traffic was very congested. It took an extra 40 minutes to get to our stop. We then nearly missed our stop because we were not clear as to which Victoria stop was correct. Once again, the driver went out of his way to grab my bag for me and send us the correct direction to reach Waterloo train station.

The half-hour walk from Victoria to Waterloo was easy. Well, easy except for the hoardes of tourists, crazy drivers and the utter disregard pedestrians and drivers show for one another.

Our path took us along past Scotland Yard, Westminster Cathedral and Abbey, the London Eye, parliament and Big Ben.

Despite these purported world famous sites to see, the most impressive site was the 8 foot tall transsexual woman (to be clear - once a man, now a woman) dressed in a woman's business suit, blazing a trail down the sidewalk, apparently oblivious to the sub-machine gun toting guards patrolling the perimeter of Scotland Yard.

Despite the hazards, we made our way to Waterloo without incident about two hours before our scheduled departure for Paris. (For those keeping track, travel time included a 10 minute walk to catch the bus, 2 hours 40 minutes on the bus, and 25 minits walk from bus drop to Waterloo.) You'l have to tune in later for details about our adventures there.

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