As we got out from the museum, the rain was falling more gently. We took a walk to nearby Tottenham Court Road Station with help from the Google map on my smartphone. We'd like to have wandered around the station for some time, but took a rain check due to the rain. It was the last opportunity to look around the London city center on this trip, we were reluctant to leave London.
We took the tube from here to Paddington for the second time. We were able to pass the ticket gate in a regal way. We didn't have any chance to get on a double-decker bus, and we'll wait for our next chance. We were at a loss to find the platform for Oxford in Paddington, but a person at the information counter helped us.
One day trip to London by the public transportation system was successful, but the devil was waiting for us at the last stage. We took a taxi from Oxford station to our hotel. At payment, the driver didn't take my credit card and asked for cash. We were quite at our wit's end as we didn't have any cash. At that time, my wife remembered that our daughter gave us some ￡20 for a rainy day. It was in my daypack. During a week's stay in the U.K. this was the only case that we weren't able to use our credit card. Does this episode mean that Oxford is rural?
The dinner was at an Italian restaurant with my wife. My daughter was on strike for higher wages. All young doctors seemed to be out of their work for ONE week. It was hard to imagine in Japan. I was afraid that the medical system in the U.K. was on the brink of disaster.
(Vocabulary)
reluctant 気が進まない, しぶしぶの
regal 威厳のある, 堂々とした, 壮麗な
be at sb's wit's end 途方に暮れて
for a rainy day まさかの時に備えて
be on the brink of disaster 破綻(はたん)寸前である
大英博物館を出ると、雨が小降りになっており、Googleマップを頼りに最寄り駅のTottenham Court Road Stationまで歩いた。駅周辺を散策したかったがあいにくの雨。また次の機会に。ロンドン市内を見るのは今回の旅ではこれが最後の機会なので、小雨の中、しばらく駅からの眺めを楽しんだ。
さてここからは、パディントン駅まで地下鉄。もう２回目なので自信を持って利用できた。写真にある２階建てバスには乗る機会は無かったが、これもまた次の機会に。パディントン駅ではオックスフォード行きの列車がどこから出るのかわかりづらかったが、周辺の人に尋ねながらオックスフォードまで帰着。
公共交通機関を利用してのロンドンへの日帰り旅行。首尾良く行っていたが、最後に落とし穴。オックスフォード駅からホテルまで乗ったタクシーでは現金のみ利用可だった。クレジットカードは使えないという。焦った～～。娘から必要ないだろうけど、念のためと渡されていた現金２０ポンドが役に立った。１週間のイギリス滞在中、カードが利用できず現金を使ったのはこのタクシーだけだった。オックスフォードはそれだけ田舎と言うことか？
今夜はホテル近くのパブで夫婦二人で夕食。今日は娘は仕事は休みなのだが、研修医の賃上げデモに参加しているとのこと。イギリスの医療の状況を聞いて、イギリスの医療制度はかなり危ないのではないかと心配になった。
Comments