cambridge cowgirl: London, Day 1

We arrived in London two hours later than we expected, as our flight from Shannon was delayed due to weather/traffick at London Heathrow. On top of our delay, we had been on stress-overdrive with our crazy airport adventure back in Boston. And, we hadn't slept so we were tired. Nevertheless, we were SO EXCITED to finally be in Europe!!!

We picked up our Oyster cards, and headed out on the Tube!! Thanks to Jamie's extensive transportation research, we knew that for a 5 pound refundable deposit we could get Oyster cards that would save us money on Tube trips. Additionally, the amount we put on the Oyster card was also refundable if we didn't use it all. We were off to a great start!

However, since our flight was delayed and we arrived later than planned, we were in a rush to get to the 1PM tour we had signed up for. We ended up arriving at Heathrow at 11AM, but it takes an hour on the tube to get to the city. So, at 12PM we arrived at the Liverpool Street Tube Stop and practically ran to Tune Hotels to drop off our bags. Oh, and we ate some Burger King at the same time. It wasn't the best choice because the Burger King wasn't very good, and with the pound conversion rate it ended up costing $16 for two sandwiches and an order of fries... CRAZY.

We decided to stay at the economical Tune Hotels Liverpool Street. It is a brand new hotel that features insanely low rates -- the lowest rates we could find in the city. Our rate came out to 50 pounds per night, for a very small room without a window. Since it is such a budget hotel, you have to pay a la carte for everything, including for them to hold your bags at the desk. So, in our panicked and rushed state, we arrived and were asked to pay 4 pounds, but we hadn't gone to the ATM yet... Jamie had to run to the ATM so we could pay the desk people, and then we ran back to the Tube so we could try to get to our tour on time!

In what was becoming our characteristic style, we made it just in time for the tour! We went on the New Sandeman's Free London Tour, a free tour guided by a local Londoner in which you are requested to pay only what you think the tour is worth at the end. It was a really enjoyable tour! We got to see Buckingham Palace, learn some British History, and walk around the city. The gallery below displays our photos from the tour.

During the tour, the weather fluctuated quite a bit. It was incredibly windy, and we found ourselves wearing sunglasses not because of the sun but because of the extreme dust blowing in our faces. After the tour, it began raining off and on and became very cold. We took refuge in a Tube tunnel for a little bit.

And then, the sun came out again, and we ended up with some amazing views of London, although in our memories, London is nothing but cold and rainy!

Also, we quickly learned and we were constantly reminded to look left!

We then stumbled upon the London Supreme Court building, which was fun to tour while we were waiting to attend the Evensong performance at Westminster Abbey.

We made it to Westminster for the 5pm Evensong performance, which was amazing. We loved seeing the church in action. Afterward, we walked around the church grounds, exploring.

After all that (and still no sleep), we kept going. We made a trip to the National Gallery, where they have live music and tours on Friday nights. We listened to some great music and toured the paintings, and by the end we were thoroughly exhausted -- but we weren't done yet! It was dinner time.