London Calling!

I did it, folks. I braved the hazardous conditions {i.e., the farm machinery and steep ladder} and ventured up into our barn to retrieve my journal. Now I can write about England.

I'm super excited, too.

Why? Because...I love London. It might be my favorite city of all time. Paris is, of course, beautiful and has this romantic mystery to it {which I've never actually experienced...I have a theory about this, though...and a future blog post in mind}. Salzburg is gorgeous and soooo clean! 

But London has my heart. Yes, the Underground is busy. Yes, people {as in any city} can be rude. But there's just something about London that I love. And I got to spend three days there this past summer! So let's get to it.

To fully appreciate our exploits that first day in London, let me back up and set the stage. The night before, we had landed in Heathrow after spending our last day in Munich. We had to make it through all the passport fun-times and then get from Heathrow to Victoria Station. Which is not easy with suitcases. The Underground does not go directly from Heathrow to Victoria--we had to switch lines--and then to get on our Southern Rail train to Eastbourne, we had to carry our bags up the stairs {because the Underground is, at some points, underground}. And then we had an hour train ride into Eastbourne and then a cab back to Pam's...and let's just say we were tired.

But the next morning {Sunday June 21, if you were wondering}, we got up bright and early and caught a train in to London. And our first stop was Abbey Road.

And yes, we did the walk across. One thing I didn't realize...it's a busy street. So you've got to wait for some other group of suicidal people who are willing to walk slowly across the street while there are piles of cars waiting to drive through...kinda scary. But my sister and I had a plan! Since we both own smart phones, we used them to our advantage. When Audra was crossing, I was using the setting on my phone that allows you to press and hold and take twenty pictures in a row. So instead of having to pause in the middle of this busy intersection pretending like we were crossing the street, we just crossed the street. 

We snagged some pictures of the studio and all the street signs we could see. Then we moved down the line {the tube line} to Baker Street.

Yes, that Baker Street. And yes, that specific address. 221B. There is a whole museum and tea room you can visit, but the line was long, and we were tired. So we just took pictures and then went to the shop next door to buy some Holmes themed souvenirs. {There was also a really fantastic Beatles store on the same street...that's where I got my amazing Yellow Submarine socks}.

We're clueing for looks!

Then, to continue our shopping extravaganza...we went to Harrods.

Good golly gosh, if you can't find it there, you don't need it. And you probably don't need half the things that are there. But you know what's the same across continents?  The Disney Store. We visited one on the Champs-Elysses, and we went to the one in Harrods. We ate at the Disney Cafe, which was just as magical as it sounds. They were playing three Disney movies all at once on the screens that were all over the restaurant, and our dishes had Mickey on them. Plus, everything was decorated like the London night sky from Peter Pan. Beautiful.

We took in as much of Harrods as we could. The stationary and gifts section was super fun, as was the toy section {every child's dream, I think}. Honestly, Harrods is a bit overwhelming, but worth it. 

To finish off our day, we went to another iconic place, albeit a more recently iconic {and by more recently, I mean within my lifetime}.

We went to Hogwarts.

Okay, not really. But we went to King's Cross Station, which, as everyone knows {obviously} is the location of the secret wizard platform to the Hogwart's Express:  Platform 9 3/4. We waited in line for a long time...and by "we," I mean "I" waited in line and my sister...my wonderful, patient sister waited up by the front so she could take my picture while I nerded out. 

So very cool. So very worth it.

And then we visited the Platform 9 3/4 store because, of course, make some money off that stuff! Then we made our way back to Victoria Station so we could head back to Eastbourne. I have to say, it was so nice being in an English-speaking country again. We were able to chat with people on the train--just small talk, but you meet some friendly people on trains. 

Anyway, this is just Day 1--we spent three days in London, so just let that sink in and give your excitement a chance to build. Because there's much excitement ahead. Oh yeah.

~Stay Gold!