England :: Day 1

We're home from a whirlwind few days in England! Well, part of us is. Brian had to turn right around and leave for San Francisco today. You may remember when we purchased Liverpool "football" tickets (long story short, we actually ended up at a Manchester United game instead). Well, the time finally came for our trip. Thursday morning, we met Lora & Bill - who had flown in on a different flight - at Heathrow. After dropping our bags off at Hotel Indigo - Paddington, we grabbed a coffee, then hightailed it out of there. I know different methods work for different people, but when I go abroad, I can't take naps the day I arrive (even though I can never sleep on the airplane) or I'll sleep through and wake up early. It throws everything off for me. I'd rather just go through the day and try to get to sleep early. We didn't stop all day. Which was fine by me, because the last time I was in London was 1985, and all I hoped for was to see the members of Duran Duran. Well, I guess I still wouldn't mind that. Point is, I was very excited to be there. First we took the tube to the London Eye. Lora & Bill stayed behind and walked around the holiday market that was close by, but Brian, who's scared of heights, joined me. Honestly, it wasn't scary at all, even for the chicken. The rain drops appear bit more dramatic in the photos then they really looked when you were inside. It was gloomy, but the view was still quite amazing. Afterwards, we just walked for miles around the city in awe at how amazing it was. We passed by Big Ben, through Westminster all the way to Buckingham Palace. By then, we were all a bit delirious, and figured it best to hop on the tube towards our hotel, and find a pub for fish and chips. Just a few minute walk from our hotel was Victoria. It was absolutely delicious. And the perfect end to a perfect first day.