Eight Days In London

The London Underground

It was about one-fifteen in the afternoon when Abbey and I arrived at the Gloucester Road Station to depart to Tower Hill. When you'd walk into the station to your left would be ticket machines where you can place money into the machine to get your ticket to where you were going.

Also on the left right to where the machines were was were the ticket booths are if you needed assistance with your departure or had any other questions. "Here's the money for my ticket" said Abbey to me handing me eight pounds. "Make sure you get two of a one-day travel ticket" she said to me. I knew Abbey wanted me to purchase the tickets so I could learn how the Underground works.

I went over to the ticket booth to purchase my ticket. "Can I help you?" asked the ticket man inside the booth. The ticket man was a colored man with an English accent which I found very strange to me but unique at the same time.

"Hello, yes, I'd like two tickets to Tower Hill please" I answered to the ticket man. "Okay, are they both a whole day travel ticket?" he asked. "Yes sir" I replied getting ready to take out the money I have for the two tickets.

The ticket man registers up the price on the two tickets "sixteen pounds is your total" he said. "Here you go" I said to him placing the sixteen pounds in the tray for the ticket man to take. He counts the money to make sure I handed him the total amount. "Alright sir here are your two tickets" he said getting the tickets. He places them in the tray for me to take. "Thank you" I said grabbing the tickets. "Oh by the way, what train do I take to get to Tower Hill?" I asked him.

He looks at me beginning to explain "you'll be taking platform three which will be the District Train Line." The ticket man pauses reaching down to hand me something. He puts it in the tray as I take it seeing it was a Tube map. "This map will help guide you around the Underground Stations the District Line is the green line. If you get lost just ask around to be pointed in the right direction." "Ah, thank you sir" I said to him about to leave. "You're welcome take care" he said to me as I left walking back to Abbey.

"Here's your ticket Miss" I said to Abbey charmingly attempting a British accent handing her a ticket. Abbey chuckles taking her ticket "why thank you handsome; your accent still sounds Australian" she replied with a smile. I sigh as I follow Abbey to get to platform three. When we face forward I saw before me the automatic ticket gates as there were patrol ticket inspectors around.

I see Abbey walking to one of the automatic ticket gates placing her ticket inside the slot then the ticket would pop out of a slot that was on top. She takes the ticket placing it on top of a round scanner causing the gates to open for her to walk through. She walks through then turns around to wait for me to come through the gate.

I walk up doing what Abbey did to her ticket placing my ticket into the slot as I'd see it pop out then taking it to scan. After I scan it I see the light on the round scanner change it's light to yellow allowing me to walk through. I walk through when the gates open following Abbey down a set of stairs to the fatherliest right.

When we reached the end of the stairs I look before me seeing the platform as I see other people standing around awaiting for the train to arrive. There were tracks to my left and right as Abbey and I stood to the right side of the platform waiting behind the yellow line for the train.

Within a few minutes I hear something clicking along the tracks looking down seeing a light from the tunnel coming forward. It was a train as it halted when arriving to the platform. Soon the train's doors open as Abbey and I board the train along with other people getting off and entering the train. Soon the automatic voice message from inside the train came on.

"This is Gloucester Road Station, please mind the gap between the train and the platform change here for the circle line; this is a line service to Tower Hill." Abbey and I are inside the train take two empty seats that were next to each other right in front of us when getting in the train. We sat next to each other waiting a few moments as I began to hear a constant beeping sound.