07.28.10 - London: Day 1

  Our flight was scheduled to leave Midland at 6:05pm for DFW. Our flight was slightly delayed because they had to refuel before we could leave, so we actually left closer to 6:30pm. We got off the plane in Dallas around 7:30pm and had about an hour to eat before we boarded our flight for London. We ate at Cantina Laredo, a Mexican food restaurant in the airport right across from our gate. That was our last Mexican food meal for a week…

<< my mom and I on the way to DFW

Our next flight left at 9:10pm and was scheduled to last 8 hours and 35 minutes. I’ve done long flights before to Kenya, and there are very few things I dislike more. I am not good at sleeping on airplanes, so this time I was armed with sleeping pills (Equate brand, $2.99 from Walmart!) – but first, I had to finish writing a paper for my internship I did at Make A Wish. It counted as a class, so I had to write a 20-25 page paper about the internship and what I learned. I had already written 9 pages, and I wrote 8 more before I called it quits for the night. I was sitting in the aisle seat of the middle section. There was an empty seat between me and the other guy in my section (who is apparently a musician.. he gave me his card, and you will not believe his name. King Poo Poo. No, I’m not joking. I’m totally going to look him up when I get a chance! His website is www.kingpoopooman.com if you’re interested) – anyways, there was an empty seat between me and King Poo Poo, so I was able to stretch out a little more than normal. I still didn’t sleep well, but it was definitely better than any other flight sleep I’ve had! I slept on and off for 6 of the 8 ½ hour flight. We arrived at 12:15pm London time (6:20am CST).

Once we got to the airport, we had to go through customs which took FOREVER! But it was okay, because we had 4 hours to kill waiting for Steph’s plane to land. We ate lunch at Pret A Manger in the airport (jalapeno chicken wrap, banana, diet coke) then sat down in the departure lounge across from the restaurant. I got out my computer and wrote the rest of my paper. It is now 20 pages and 4 lines long J I need to go back through and edit it, but it is quite the feat to read through a 20 page paper in one sitting right after writing it! I’ll save that for tonight at the hotel. It’s due by August 3, so I’m going to finish it and submit it tonight so that it’s out of the way for vaca to begin! 

Mom and I found a computer lab type place. 1# (I'll use #because I can't find the proper pound sign on my laptop) got you 10 minutes on the computer. My # coin got stuck in the machine but there was a lady there who was done and still had 5 minutes left, so she let Mom and I use her remaining time to check our emails. We walked around a little more and headed back to the arrivals gate to wait for Stephanie around 4:00pm. It’s a good thing we did, because her flight (which was originally scheduled to arrive at 4:50pm) landed at 4:20pm! It was absolutely wonderful to see her. And for those of you who were wondering and/or made bets (ahem.. Joel..) YES, all three women in my family shed tears :)

We proceeded to the man holding a sign with our name and hotel on it and were escorted to our Mercedes minivan. Yes, you read that correctly. Mercedes does indeed make a minivan! Our driver’s name was Dennis, and he was one of the friendliest people I’ve ever met! He talked the entire 45 minute drive to our hotel, pointing out famous buildings, telling us history behind the borough we were in, etc. He was super nice and he joked a lot about the differences in American and Brits, which was entertaining :)

                                                          our Mercedes minivan>>

there were also several billboards advertising upcoming movies that have already premiered in the States. For example, “Knight and Day” (with Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise) doesn’t make it to cinema in London until August 6^th!

<< see? I'm not making this stuff up!

We also passed Buckingham Palace. You can tell if the Queen is there by which flag is being flown. If it is the flag of Great Britain, she is not at the Palace. If the flag with her coat of arms is being flown, it means she is currently residing in the Palace. I think I got that right.. More pictures to come of that later when we get a closer look!

We hung out at the hotel for a bit while Steph told us a little about Kenya. I unpacked completely. The setup of our rooms is really cool. We have two “connecting” junior suites. You walk in one door, which leads to the entryway where there are two doors. The door to the left takes you to my parents’ room, and the door on the right goes to the room Steph and I are sharing. Each room has a tv, couch, king bed, and GINORMOUS bathroom (with a Jacuzzi tub AND shower!). There are even a couple of American electrical outlets.

We headed to dinner around 8:00pm. We walked to a pub called The Only Running Footman, which was about 5-10 minutes away walking. We got drinks at the bar and only had to wait about ten minutes for a table. We all got fish and chips, obviously. And it was delish! After dinner we walked around a nearby park then headed back to the hotel. Today has been VERY long. Even though we all slept some on the plane, it was more of a nap than an actual night’s rest. I'm about to pass out as I type all of this! Bedtime immediately following :)

                Steph and I heading back to the hotel after dinner >>