Today was the day I’ve been anticipating for three months! I went to bed around 11 last night, but could not sleep. I was so anxious and excited for today, I just kept tossing and turning in my bed. After just a few hours of sleep I got out of bed at 5am. I made my way down to the bus stop and was on the bus headed to the airport by 6. Once I got to the airport at 6:50, everything was actually smooth sailing this time! I went to all the right gates, and I didn’t have to get rid of anything in my carry-on. I made it to my actual gate about an hour before the plane was set to leave. I was still very excited and anxious, and was shaking my foot wildly. This is a very bad habit of mine. A man came and sat beside me and asked me to stop shaking my foot a few minutes later. Given everything that was going through my mind at this point, this was like asking me not to breathe. I found it extremely hard not to shake my foot, and I was a bit irritated because I was sitting there first (silly, I know). I decided I couldn’t handle it anymore so I got up from the seat, went to the restroom, and came back to sit in a seat far away from everyone else. Let the foot shaking begin again :)
My plane left at the exact time it was intended to leave. What a relief! I arrived at the London Gatwick airport, but was still not home free because I still had a few types of transportation left. Thankfully everyone was very kind and helpful, and I made it on the train to downtown London. Once I arrived, I found the London Underground (they call it the “tube”, it’s like our subways), and easily found the two tubes I needed to take to make it there. When I got off the last tube, I walked outside and St. Giles hotel pretty much hit me in the face. It was the first thing I saw, what a great feeling! To some this may seem like a small feat, but I have never traveled alone so I was feeling very accomplished and relieved.
A picture of an Underground sign at night.
Andrew’s world tour group was touring around London when I arrived, so I took the best nap I could. Finally, after about two hours my hotel phone rang. It was Andrew! He told me he would be up to my room shortly. There was a knock on my door about 10 minutes later, and THERE HE WAS. It seemed almost unreal. After three months of trying to look at him through a blurry Skype camera we were finally right there together again. I just hugged him for a really long time, he probably couldn’t breatheJ That’s what he gets for leaving me for so long! We sat and talked for about two hours, just about anything and everything. It was almost surreal to be right there with each other again after three months.
After several hours of talking we decided to go tour London a bit. Andrew introduced me to Ben, one of his world tour friends, and the three of us set off to explore downtown London. It was not what I was expecting to see at all, much more touristy than I had pictured. I really enjoyed it though. Here are just a few pictures from our adventure:
After a bit of walking the rain set it, but we didn’t let it stop us. We walked on for quite a ways. Andrew and Ben were trying to find something they had seen earlier in the day on their tour, but we weren’t able to find it by the time it started thundering. We decided to pay for the tube to take us back to the hotel. Once we got to the hotel it stopped raining, go figure. Andrew and I set out for some more walking to find some dinner. We saw a Mexican restaurant and both thought Mexican food sounded delicious. It was somewhat like a Chipotle, but not a franchise. The food was delicious! Andrew was a huge fan. I was dehydrated, so I asked for some water. I was hoping for a big cup of ice cold water, but quickly realized that was a silly idea because I was still in Europe. When I asked for water they directed me to a pitcher that looked like it had been sitting out all day. The water was warm and had lime floating in it. It is safe to say that warm, lime-pulp filled water is not my favorite, but water is water so I drank it anyway.
We walked around a bit more to find something to drink. We ended up finding ice cold Dr. Pepper, which I haven’t seen yet in Ireland, so I bought it without hesitation. It was delicious. After this we went back to the hotel, talked with some of his friends for a couple hours, then called it a day. Tomorrow we have a full day in London to explore by ourselves, and the next day is the same. I’m not sure what’s on the agenda, but it should be fun!
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