One Day Down
I woke up at something like 6am this morning, and considered getting up straight away – but knowing breakfasts in the hotel are not surved until 7:30, it seemed a bit stupid to waste quiet time in bed, thinking about nothing at all – so that's exactly what I did. For an hour. I kept falling asleep, then waking with a start, and checking the time. Every time I did it, I checked my watch, and another two or three minutes had passed. I finally dragged myself out of bed at five past seven, and jumped in the shower (well, not really “jumped” – more “stumbled in the direction of the bathroom, and cracked my head on the low door frame before fiddling with the shower controls while rubbing sleep from my eyes).
By the time I got downstairs there was already one other guy in the restaurant, waiting for his breakfast. The restaurant was spotless, and... the word “stunning” springs to mind. Coffee arrived at my table a few moments after being seated, and a full cooked breakfast was ordered. I tend to eat proper breakfasts while away with work – because I never know if I'll miss lunch or not. After spending a few minutes reading the news on my phone the food arrived, and it almost seemed a shame to touch it – you can tell I'm not used to restaurant quality food.
The working day went well. The only issue I had was finding the office. While following the Google Maps route, I started seeing signs marked “STOP!”, and various versions of “Here Be Dragons”, and “The End of the Road is Nigh” – and it was. Quite in opposition to the map, the road suddenly stopped. It's the first mistake I have ever seen in Google Maps – I might even tell them.
After arriving back at the hotel this afternoon and changing out of my work clothes, I thought “what the hell”, and wandered down to the lounge. The small room I thought I had spied when I arrived last night turned out to be a plush, elegant lounge bar that stretches the length of the building. I perched myself at a tall table with a pint of the local beer, watched the world go by, and caught up with friends on my phone for an hour.
Finally hunger got the better of me, and I realised I could order food in the bar. Ten minutes later a steak and ale pie arrived (being carried, obviously – it was hardly going to make it's own way to my table). There's something about stodgy, hearty food when it's snowing outside (and itwas snowing outside – pelting it down). There's something about a second pint of beer too.
So. I'm finally back in the room, wondering how to spend my evening. At the moment a movie is looking like a good prospect. Or maybe some music. Or a book. Can't decide.