London During Covid Lockdown

In being able to hold a very rare London month of flying during Covid, I got to explore the city for the first time in a while.  Although when I was there most stores were closed (we could grab food at grocery stores), most parks were open and had very clearly outlined rules to keep social distance.  Everyone I encountered there was extremely polite!  I enjoyed my time in the peaceful, orderly (very much so compared to Miami) and beautiful city knowing it was probably going to be the last time I was allowed to travel to Europe in a while.  I naively thought Covid would have calmed down in a few months and I would have some very rare photos of an eerily quiet London.  Yet, it's now September with no viable vaccine in sight.  

Lockdowns have eased up within countries, and I'm sure a photo with no tourists in front of Buckingham Palace, and another of an empty Piccadilly are indeed rare.  Yet, I did miss being able to go to some of my favorite shops or being able to grab a pint at The Churchill Arms.  However, after being cooped up in a small apartment in Miami (we did not feel safe going out there although we could have), my time spent with nothing to do but wander the gardens was kind of magical.  I spent one layover having snacks and drinking canned sparkling rosé under a shady willow tree, people and dog watching near Round Pond in Kensington Gardens.  I enjoyed another layover jogging around the Kensington neighborhood, exploring different streets, and smelling flowers.  And I spent another drinking crisp ciders and reading a book in Green Park.  I watched children playing and skipping, listened to conversations where teenage girls tried to get some boys to join them sunbathing.  I watched a funny Westie named Nigel continuously get yelled at for rolling in the grass by his exasperated Mum.  It was nice in the middle of a period of much fear to see life going on.  However, it was shocking when feeling safe enough to go out upon returning to Miami to not have half of the same consideration for space. 

Once back to my hotel room I usually ordered fish and chips with sticky toffee pudding for desert.  I'd watch some of the game shows that seem strange to me.  One is like Jeopardy, but with A LOT of math.  I also love "Come Dine with Me," and even the commercials in The UK.  Generally they nail being genuinely positive, creative and uplifting.  The Virgin Media commercials about families during Covid was one of the best I'd seen.  In the U.S. I feel when one is "uplifting," it's a very obvious ploy to appear that way in order to still make money (yet maybe that's just my cynicism).  In the mornings the hotel would bring us a large traditional breakfast with tea.   The flights back were almost empty, one had only 30 people in the main cabin of a large 787.  We flight attendants all got much longer break shifts in the FA OFAR (crew break area full of small beds), had time to watch a movie or two, spent much of our shifts laughing and joking around as the services were so much quicker.  I flew with a funny French Canadian named Jean-Luc for two of the flights, and on one of the flights he and a very funny co-worker's banter had us all dying laughing.  I'll even miss the uptight #2 (the galley position), that took the order of operations so seriously on a small passenger load that he and Jean-Luc got heated and went at it.  Now that I know I'm furloughed come October, it will be nice to take the time to try something different for a bit (with the option of going back once furlough is over), yet I'm already waking up slightly panicked after having dreams of my favorite countries...not knowing the next time I'll go back.  I know it's in many way's privileged, but in some ways the connection you feel to the rest of the world traveling so much, is hard to give up.  I'm sure going without it for a while will be a good lesson in discipline.  A good lesson that will hopefully never allow me to take it for granted once the borders open up again.  Until then, I have these photos...and a tin of "Royal Blend" tea from Fortum & Mason to get by.