It’s 5:40P right now and it seems like my trip to Heathrow to pick up my cousin was days ago! I woke up this morning bright and early to get in a gym session before having to head to LHR. By 10A, I had gymmed, gotten ready, done some dissertation work, grabbed an entirely-too-large iced coffee and was seated on the tube heading to Heathrow.
Of course, in my packing/prepping for madness delirium, I boarded the tube without actually writing down her flight information. I knew the time of arrival, but didn’t know the flight or terminal. Heh. Smart move. I vaguely remembered something about Air New Zealand in her email, so I got off at the Terminal 1, 2 & 3 tube stop and checked the information board. Air NZ was at terminal 1… I was crossing my fingers that my memory did serve me well. I ran up to the terminal to find out that yes, Air NZ Flight 002 was landing at 11A, coming from Auckland by way of Los Angeles! Phew! Score 1 for Shannon. By 1130A, we were back on the tube, heading back to Central London. By 130P, S. was showered, settled and we were ready to hit the streets of Central London.
We’re only in London until tomorrow, at which point we head to Malta to begin the real madness. Since we only have 30ish hours to explore the city, I wanted to make sure she got in the most London-esque sites (think Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden, the Globe, etc., etc.) We started off by re-energizing at Itsu in Covent Garden (in retrospect fish & chips would have been a more authentic choice) before heading to Big Ben by way of Trafalgar Square. The National Gallery might be on our list for tomorrow (after the British Museum & Borough Market)!
Parliament Square near Westminster Abbey was home to an interesting display when we arrived:
After some photo-snapping and gazing, we headed across the river to see some of the south bank. We had some great shots of Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye and passed by the Tate Modern and the Globe.
On the way back, we hit up St. Paul’s and headed down Fleet Street past LSE until we arrived back home. It was so hot and humid outside, my fingers were swollen to (no exaggeration) twice their normal size! I had to take my rings off for fear that my fingers would fall off due to lack of circulation! Now? Well it’s 6PM, S. is passed out on my bed after a 10-hour flight and hours of sightseeing, my fingers are returning to their normal state and I’m figuring out dinner for tonight! Gotta put my View Card to work!
Love from London,
