A Tale of Two Abbeys

Day 6: Finally Back to Some London Sights

This morning we walked to Westminster Abbey using a “shortcut” my mom had been eyeing since we arrived. I don’t think it was really shorter than our usual route, but it was much less congested. Plus, we saw a bunch of parents walking their small children to school, so it was kind of cool to see a different slice of everyday London life other than commuters rushing in and out of Waterloo station.

Anyway, we spent a good, long time in the Abbey. I don’t know if it was my directional/spacial challenges or what, but I kept getting one or two spaces ahead of the audio guide. I’d listen to the description and look at what I thought was number 8, but I couldn’t figure out why I didn’t see an angel facing north or whatever. My mom pointed out that there was a tiny photo on the audio guide that corresponded to what was being discussed. Ahhhh.

Look Kids, Big Ben, Parliament, Ash Cloud…

The Conchords weren’t the only draw to London. They may have led to the trip happening, but I saw a whole lot more than sugalumps!

There was much anxiety in the weeks leading up to this trip due to the Ash Cloud of Doom. I was so, so fortunate to have slipped in and out between airport closures and never had a problem.

After my nightmare experience with Delta on my recent trip to New York, I approached this trip with some trepidation. But, there are so few airline options for flying out of Cincinnati. Plus, I DID have a $200 voucher. So, I sucked it up and flew to Atlanta, of all places, then on to Heathrow. I had absolutely no trouble. Thanks, Delta. I needed a smooth trip from you.

My friend met me at Heathrow arrivals. It’s been a loooong time since someone actually came inside an airport to pick me up. It was almost festive. We hit the Heathrow Express, grabbed a taxi, and were at her house in no time. We spent the afternoon running errands, hung out at the local pub in the evening, and I kept my eyes open until about 8:30 before going to bed, and I had no jet lag whatsoever. Nice!