Mind the Gap!

After the usual Schrieve scramble in the morning, with Courtney adding a few last minute things (travel pillow, extra sweater) and Garin warning her that there would be a weight limit on bags from Scotland to Poland, we got safely delivered to the airport by our trusted babysitter and neighbor (and now chauffeur), Ali. While we knew we would have a three hour layover, we thought it would be in Phillie. Due to bad weather, we sat in Seattle for three hours longer than expected and landed just minutes before the London flight was to take off. Luckily, there were 15 of us in transit so they held the plane. Aside from a crying baby and very uncomfortable seats, we made it! We bought Tube tickets (The Underground) and even had a nice German give us two of his tickets they were not going to use. Alas, naïve Courtney made the mistake of telling said ticketmaster that someone gave it to her when it was not working and he proceeded to shame her and buy a new ticket. Between that, her too heavy bag and lack of sleep, she had her official first meltdown of the trip.

Finally, though, we were on our way. First stop after checking into our charming flat near Hyde Park and Notting Hill (no Hugh Grant sightings yet): Starbucks. Sad, we know, but Court really needed some real coffee to keep going after 24 hours. Then we took a lovely stroll through several parks. Apparently 70+ degrees F here is a heat wave and the parks were flooded with folks sunbathing and having a jolly good time. Hallie wanted to see St. James park as it is the setting for two of her favorite books, HOOK and GOOD OMENS. We had ice cream on the way and enjoyed people watching. Fashion here is so so retro. From there, an impromptu stop at Buckingham Palace. The Queen was in according to the flag, but she was not available to meet with us. So Anna took the privlege of dipping her toes in the fountain outside the palace. We’re still not sure if this was legal but other rambunctious Americans were doing it and she was super hot.

Finally, we made it to “The City” and saw all the major sites we hope to explore over the next few days: Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, Big Ben, and The London Eye observatory ferris wheel thingy. We did the latter at extra expense but it was a lovely view and great way to rest our footsies. Met some nice Texans too. From there, we booked it home on the Tube again and stopped off at a Thai noodle place. Back at the flat, neither the air or the internet are working and the management is not really very helpful but it’s clean, remodeled and we all have our own beds. Plus, a charming neighborhood with lots of Mini Coopers.
Hope all is well back in the great U.S.A. More to come…