The First Day

(Written at 10 p.m. local time Tuesday night and published in the morning)

We are here!  And oh, how tired we are.  I just didn’t want to go to bed tonight without writing a few things about our adventures so far.  They have been very many indeed, starting with an hour and 15-minute delay in leaving the Birmingham Airport.  We had already loaded the plane and begun making our way to the runway when we were told our flight would be delayed due to gusty winds over Atlanta.

The actual wait wasn’t that bad; our only worry was making our flight from Atlanta to London!  We only made it just in time for the flight, and we were forced to run through most of the airport to reach our gate, which was the VERY LAST ONE.  We ran up stairs and escalators until my heart was beating out of my chest, and my little flat shoes were flopping around on my feet.  But we made it.

Sadly, our luggage did not.  We were a little concerned about that very thing, and our fears were confirmed while we waited and waited for our suitcases to show up on the turnstile.  At first we were told they wouldn’t be there until Wednesday morning, and that almost made me cry, not because it was a huge deal, but because I had only managed to sleep two hours on the flight, and it was 1 a.m., and I was about to spend the day walking around London, and I didn’t have anything to sleep in that night if I didn’t have my luggage.

The GREAT news is that our luggage did make it to London this afternoon and was delivered to our Bed and Breakfast, waiting on us when we got in tonight.  I’m so thankful to have clean clothes.  I felt really gross thinking about wearing  the same outfit for a third day in a row.

So besides extreme tiredness (KJ didn’t sleep at all on the flight!), we made it through the day and had a wonderful time.  I couldn’t believe that I was really walking the streets of London all day, riding the Underground, and looking out over the River Thames.  It is amazing and wonderful.  I am hoping to edit photos during some of our road time tomorrow so that I can post some soon.  I suppose I could post unedited pictures, but where is the fun in that? J

I will also be sharing some of my favorite expressions I read and heard today.  The Brits just have a way with words.  For example, where we might say “a two-lane highway,” they say, “Dual Carriageway.”  That’s way better.

Where we might have a sign that says, “Free Towing.  Wait for Assistance,” they have signs that read, “Wait for Rescue.”  Waiting for rescue is so much more exciting than simply waiting for assistance, wouldn’t you say?

My other favorite for the day was, “Mind the gap,” instead of “Watch your step.”

I also enjoyed hearing words like Mate, Cheers, and Rubbish as we walked down the street.  I love it here.  People have been so friendly and helpful to us as well.  The people might have been the best part.  (But sunset over the Thames was pretty nice, too.)