There’s no place like London / Part 1

We found two empty chairs amongst the people seated in the main hall of St Pauls Cathedral, while the radiant singing of the choir echoed around that grand open space. In silence we sat turning to each other and smiled, moved a little closer and faced the front to partake in this unique time we had.

Both filled with strong emotions, we knew at that moment we were destined to be together.

Days earlier our paths had crossed by chance, mutual friends of ours were visiting London and had invited both of us to visit the city. At that point we had no knowledge of each other’s existence.

St Pauls Cathedral

Jed
After taking the long flight from Salt Lake City, Utah, I was excited to be on a trip of a lifetime to Europe. It was to be three full weeks of sightseeing and visiting family in Geneva. Some friends of mine from the states had flown over to London for a short visit.

England wasn’t on my list for this trip—I couldn’t explore everything on my first trip to Europe, and my funds were running low. My friends asked me to come over and spend a few days with them. It took a little persuading but, in the end, I relented and took the short flight over the channel.

Jed's flight from Geneva - London Gatwick.

Aaron
Living a short train ride away from Liverpool Lime Street Station, it only takes about two hours to get to the centre of London. Friends had invited me to share the day with them, I had visited the city many times, but always love a spontaneous trip there. The train was booked a few days before, I planned to stay for the day and return that evening on an all-night coach ride back to Southport.

The route was familiar to me, I was relaxed and enjoyed the journey. My thoughts turned to the excitement of London and the anticipation of new experiences. Within no time I found myself standing on the platform of London Euston.

Liverpool - London. Virgin Pendolino Train.

Jed 
Stepping off the plane in a new land brings a mix of emotions, the excitement of a new experience, and then the hope of finding the meeting place by navigating the train network and something they call the “tube”. I had heard siblings talk about “minding the gap” and finally got to hear the iconic words over the intercom for myself.

I found the train station at Gatwick airport and boarded a train that was heading towards London. The Hostel I was staying at was right next to a London station, so I wasn’t too worried about finding it. The train pulled into London and a message played in an accent I couldn't quite make out.  Did she say "Clapham Junction"  I think I missed my stop.  Oh well I'll just get off at the next stop and catch the next train going in the other direction.  The next stop was London Victoria--London Victoria has at least 18 platforms, all going to many different places. It was the biggest station I had ever encountered and full of so many people!

I approached a train that said it was going back to Gatwick but then someone looking very stern blew a whistle and flashed his flashlight at me. I pushed the button on the door and it opened so I threw my suitcase on and jumped in. Miraculously, the train did take me back one stop and I got off at Clapham Junction.

I have never stayed in a Hostel before, so it took me a while to work out the system of locking all my stuff away, while showering. It was a new experience to share a space with people I didn’t know and trust.  

Walking through London for the first time I was excited to see they really did have double decker red buses and black taxis right in front of Big Ben!

My friends and I planned to meet at a sushi restaurant in Kensington for lunch—something called Wagging Mommers. I sat there with my two friends at a four-seater table, they told me they had invited a friend to join us, and he was British.

Aaron
Loving the hustle and bustle of the city, I made my way over to South Kensington and found the Wagamama’s restaurant we were all meeting in. I was running late and always a little nervous meeting new people in person for the first time.

Walking in I glanced over and saw three people sitting around the table. I confidently walked over and shook hands with the friends I knew, who then introduced me to this other American guy called Jed.

It’s hard to describe the feeling I had at that moment when I looked into his beautiful blue eyes for the first time. All I knew was I wanted to get to know him and share time with him, then realising as our group conversation progressed that I had very little time to do so.

Jed

I had no expectation of meeting someone special on this trip, even if my friends did coax me over with the prospect of meeting a British boy. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, I would be leaving in a few days anyway. It would be cool to have a someone who knows the city to show me round though.

We all went out for dinner that night. I knew Aaron was leaving for home that evening but I didn’t know the exact time or where he needed to get to. I was waiting for him to all of a sudden say he needed to leave. That time never came, he stayed.

What did that mean? I decided just to enjoy the time we had and hopefully build a friendship. It would be cool have a friend in England--maybe one day he would visit Utah.


Aaron

I had nowhere to stay that night but needless to say, I didn’t leave London that evening on the 6-hour coach ride back north. Being quite a spontaneous person and very easily adapting to my surroundings, I stayed on for another few days to share the London experience with Jed and the possibilities that staying a little longer might bring.

The first picture we had taken together. In front of St Pauls Cathedral.