We made it to FOGGY LONDON TOWN at 9 AM this morning (3 AM Texas time). During our six hour flight on a full double decker plane we ate dinner, and then breakfast two hours later after a short on and off snooze. Needless to say, when we arrived we were delirious and our bodies were wondering what we did to them! We fell asleep on the TUBE (Subway) to our hostel and were a little in shock as we got used to street signs being in weird places and looking to the left before crossing the street. However, after an hour nap on the couches in the main room of the hostel, we were out on the town.
We had a scary moment one of our first times to ride the tube. We bought some temporary phones so that we would have a way of contacting each other in case we got lost. However, we had not had time to activate them, and Tom was carrying both of them in his bag. I was walking a few steps in front of him and hopped on the tube, but then the tube door closed behind me. At the last second, Tom jumped in the door (it shut on him haha) and made it onto the subway at the last second. If we had gotten split up, we would have been lost with no way of contacting each other! Close call!
We are staying in a cute little part of London with lots of cafes, restaurants, and locals (this is truly a melting pot of people, languages, and cultures). I'm going to brag on Tom because he used his Spanish to help translate for a couple staying in our hostel today. We went on the Fat Tire Royal Bike Tour today where our tour guide Dylan led us to Buckingham Palace and much more! It was cold and windy, but the tour and guide were fantastic. We took some great photos of what we saw, but since they are on the flip cam, I have no way of transferring them to the iPad. Hoping to get a few iPad shots tomorrow.
Tomorrow we are excited about a run in Hyde Park, brunch at the Borough Market, London Tower Bridge, the Globe Theater (Yay English comes to life), Big Ben / House of Parliament. and whatever else the day brings us. Being out of our comfort zone today truly made me realize that God you are BIG and we need you! Getting around a place like this leads us to prayer and thankfulness.
I wanted to post tonight and give a BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Dad!! We love you tons and hope your day was great. We loved getting to spend time laughing and fishing with you before the trip and already can't wait for the next get together :).
6/14
We captured a few pictures to sum up the day.
We covered quite a bit of ground sight seeing. We started with a little jog on the Thames river where we were accompanied with swans, canoes, huge trees, and little Westies (sorry Dirk, you would have made the cutest London dog ever, but the airline would have been against it.)
We also saw the Globe which was fun after teaching it, and other big names that you'll notice in our pictures. The architecture is beautiful, to think this was built before the crane is insane!
Then, we cleaned up and hit the Borough Market. This place is incredible. From chocolate and baguettes, to 36 month aged cheese and meat shaved off the leg, it was authentic and wonderful. We bought Pimms, kangaroo burgers, and Turkish delights for dessert (however, the family blood in us loves anything free and were full from all the samples). I could have hung out there all day. The people were friendly and people were enjoying their day getting their groceries and/or delicacies.
I got my my fro yo at SNOG, Tom gets #1 Husband of the year award for this, and we enjoyed a Philly cheesesteak sandwich (AKA steak on ciabatta bread), bread sticks with garlic butter, and vino for dinner. The couple sitting practically at the same table spoke French. This trip truly makes me want to be bilingual. We saw the actual Rosetta Stone in the British Museum and I'm hoping to gain the motivation to begin learning to connect with others from around the globe.
6/15
A happy face is refreshing no matter where in the world you find yourself. This afternoon was a travel day and many people on the trains look depressed or stern, but the honest friendly workers stand out. I want to be this person. Even though not all "happy" people have a relationship with my God, I know that Ill be filled with hope and joy in a way the radiates to others because of His Spirit in me and the Hope that is in Him. I was inspired by young Camilla who cleaned our room and made our toast at the hostel in London. Sheworked so hard and we had a conversation about accents, churches, and travel. She had one of the hardest and humbling jobs, but she did it with a smile, I'm so thankful to have run in to her.
For today, we went back to the Borough market because it was that cool and then walked several neighborhoods before packing up. Food was entertainment today. I ate a mozzarella and prucietto panini and goat cheese ice cream (sounds ugh, but was delicious). Tom had a curry mixed with seafood and rice out of a huge vat, it was actually really good, almost cajun looking. Dinner was at the popular Pret A Manger (I think of it as the European convenient store/Jason's Deli), they are everywhere, quick and pre-made, but they have very fresh soups and sandwiches. A nice guy from Bangladesh gave us my soup on the house. He said he liked the American accent, so crazy haha.
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