Hey, they speak English!

Wow, what a trip so far! I'm using the internet in our hostel, but I can't download pictures on it, so you'll just have to be satisfied with my commentary. I wanted Alexis and Andy to add a few comments of their own, but they're both still sleeping right now (it's 8:00 a.m.). The first day is always a struggle since I can't sleep on a plane because of my neck (I know, I'm gettiing old!) and the first whole day is spent battling fatigue since you don't want to fall asleep before a decent bedtime on the new time zone. Andy and Alexis have been great travel partners so far. All day long, even though we were all a little cranky from lack of sleep, we all seemed to be on the same page about what we wanted to see and do.

As soon as we arrived in downtown London after a 45 minute metro ride from the airport, we got coffees and evaluated our next move. I think the lady sitting next to Alexis on the flight got her nervous that we wouldn't be able to find a place to sleep since we didn't already have reservations, so our first move was to find some lodging for the next few nights. While waiting for the Information Office (the European version of a tourist office) to open, we strolled along St. James Park over to Bukdingham palace. This was where the real test of our packing skills came into play because we still were sporting our full-sized backpacks while strolling around!

Buckingham Palace is spectacular from the outside, but we couldn't tour inside the gates since it's only open from July to September. We couldn't try our hand at distracting the guards since they were inside the gates! Back at the Information Office, we found a youth hostel without an age limit (they usually cap "youths" at 35 years old!) at which to stay for the next 3 nights. London is rediculously expensive ($100 = £55) and it cost £19 a night for a bunk bed in a room of four people with a bathroom down the hall. We lucked out though, and it's only the 3 of us in our room.

We rounded off our first day in London by checking out Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliment, Big Bend, Shakespear's Globe Theater, and London and Tower Bridges. We spent much of the day exploring the banks of the River Thames, so we stopped by Waterloo Pier where the huge ferris wheel is (I forgot the official name of it). It's gigantic, and looked like great fun to ride, but it cost £30 to ride (over $60 US), so we passed on it. Alexis and Andy made it through the first half of the Shakespearean play Titus Andronicus at the Globe Theater, but I was falling asleep standing up, so I went outside and visited with one of the theater volunteers. It's not too hard to stay awake when you're moving around, it's when you stop that the struggle with exhaustion gets fierce! If our first day in London was any indication of how our trip will flow, we're in for a great vacation. Even after being awake for well over 24 hours, we all got along very well and were willing to roll with the punches!

That's our first day in a nutshell. If I can find another computer later that will allow me to post pictures, I'll add some. We'll see what Day 2 brings now!