The Beginning of London

With a successful flight, we have officially made it to the UK. Gatwick to be exact, and started the journey into London itself. With no vehicle *sigh* it is time to figure out the train system. We got some good insider information from Jess and Tom, which is great, and helped hugely when we got our bags and headed out the door. Immediately running into a ticket centre, and conveniently enough knowing exactly what we should get made arriving much smoother then originally anticipated. 

The trains are pretty slick. The really have these down pat. Us well not so much. So far trains and I are friends. No sickness has arose, and I desperately hope that it stays this way. But it is too soon to tell as it the high speed trains that will get me and not the transit. Here the subway is called the tube, and it has many different lines and multiple different names for different the lines. They also tell you to 'mind the gap' as you are entering and exiting about 5 times every stop. Unfortunately it is bound to happen that one or both of us with forget this, despite hearing it so many times. Last year they only had 152 injuries because of the gap. Which is actually impressive when you see how big this gap can actually get. 

Luckily for us, when we got to our hotel they were able to give us and early check in which was awesome! We dropped our bags off and immediately headed to the tube to meet up with Jess and Tom for lunch. We found them easily, again thanks to both their directions and Luke knowing how to follow and make it up as he goes directions. When we found them we walked to an old pub. The men are all always in suit, and outside the pub there was a crowd of men holding a wide range of beers. Apparently you can do this outside, as we also saw it in the evening, after work hours. Lunch, and after wrk beers are the thing to do. We learned also that beer in London is served at room temperature, which means nothing to me as I don't drink beer but I understand that it makes a big difference. We chatted with Tom a bit before he had to go back to work, and then ate lunch with Jess and caught up for a few hours before heading out into London. She took us to the Tower bridge, London bridge, HMS Belfast (a ship) and told us lots of information about the buildings we could see, and other facts that she knew. Was great to have an inside look.

They have some random structures as well that we saw. Not sure if any have significance but I am sure they at least have a story of what they are and why they are where they are. The Birds continue to linger and cause minor heart attacks and I continue to try and do my best to not actually pay attention but that is very impossible when they fly at your head, and plot against you. I swear they actually smell my fear and flock. It is outrageous. We met up with Tom for a pint and then parted ways with our friends. Stella Artois actually has a cider oddly enough. I am determined to experience all the many different ciders that Europe has to offer, and hopefully there continues to be more. 

We decided to call it an early night tonight, and headed for the hotel on the tube. We found a neat little restaurant right around the corner from our hotel and decided it would be dinner. Unfortunately for us we waited and extremely long time... Thinking close to an hour and a half before we even were told that the kitchen lost our order. Funny enough moments before the manager came over I had joked to Luke that it blew away, and turns out it did. The manager was very kind and gave us our meal for free. YAHOO! Love free stuff. Although it really was delicious and I definitely would go back for more.

We have now turned in and are ready for a little bit of a sleep in day tomorrow, and to see what the day holds. Tower Bridge and London Bridge are actually two separate bridges, not sure if anyone knew that, as I honestly don't know if I did. Pictures have been a struggle to add. So here's a few.

And so the adventure continues...