ikea: take two [rewind]

So yeah, i went back to IKEA a week or so ago to get some additional storage items, and well, lets just say it wasn't quite as "quick and easy".

yep, after finishing my shopping, i apparently got on the wrong bus when leaving ikea - though it was the same bus stop and bus number i had taken before - and shortly found myself winding through unfamiliar streets somewhere in north london. finally, like an idiot, i asked the driver if she was going toward Tottenham Hale station, and she looked at me funny and quite rudly said just, "no."
so i got off the bus, thinking i would just catch the next one going the opposite way. of course, this was without realizing that we weren't even at a bus stop, in fact there was no bus stop or other buses to be seen! luckily, another poor ikea victim also heard me ask the driver, and had gotten off the bus behind me as well, so i was not alone.
my new friend Alex (a really nice girl from Denmark) and I then spoke breifly and decided to start walking back in the direction we'd come from to find the nearest bus stop.

well, we walked. and walked. and walked some more. no bus stops to be found. Yikes.

eventually, about 25 minutes later, we came across a small off-license were we asked the clerks where to find the nearest bus stop. they pointed us across the street and said simply "the bus stop is there." ok. cool.
except once outside, again no sign of a bus stop. so stainding there dumbly, we noticed another woman (who had apparently been in the shop behind us) signaling for us to go to the corner, just across the road. Ok.
she then signalled to us "just wait there" and so we did.
to our relief, a bus arrived about 5 minutes later, and we signalled to it and thankfully it stopped for us. apparently in north london, you just have to know where to stand, as marking the bus stops with signs is not always done. nice.
so back to ikea we went, then passing it and back to our original destination of the tube station. i finally returned home 3 hours after i had left -

not quite the nice 1 hour round-trip i was expecting - with a very sore shoulder from toting my heavy purchases through the random streets. eeee.
but the cool thing is, i met a new person, and a girl too. maybe she and i will become friends, she quite nicely gave me her number and recommended a place that might be renting rooms for cheap near my school. YAY.