to London

Today (and I use that term lightly because it's really been a stretch of two days--a muddling of Wednesday and Thursday) has been one heck of a day.

We headed out from Wheaton College at 10 a.m., bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, a dream-bus full of naive and starry-eyed students.

Our flight didn't leave until 3:30 p.m., so we spent a bit of time exploring O'Hare, a world in and of itself. We helped ourselves to some Wow Bao noodles, coffee from Intelligentsia, and a few Vosges Haut chocolate samples. We meandered around, taking in some of the modern art-work and contacting various friends and family members by our mobile devices to bid them farewell.

Full of food and finally boarded, we settled down for a seven hour flight upon Air Lingus. The flight attendants had wonderful Irish accents that cheered us up a bit.

Fast forward-- Dublin, Ireland; 5 a.m; connecting flight. We stumbled off our plane, stumbled through customs, and stumbled onto our connector flight. I kept my eye out for leprechauns but to no avail.

8 a.m. London time, we hit that English soil-- good old Heathrow Airport.

ain't she a beaut?

We were all rather hung over, jet-lagged, and a bit addled. But we managed to magically bundle all 36 of us onto a bus and cart us into London.

Our Youth Hostel happens to be a refurbished Choir boy dormitory. Take a gander at the out-side-- it's covered in Latin inscriptions and is rather ancient looking.

St. Paul's Youth Hostel

Sophie, Jeff, and I wondered around a bit, popping in and out of a few cafes to grab a bite, some espresso, and perchance a cookie or two.

coffee shop display of some tasty baked goods

We found a grave-yard, a few pubs, book-stores, and other odds and ends.  We discovered we really liked Pret A Manger, an organic quick sandwich shop, and ended up lunching on the steps of St. Paul's, which was absolutely lovely before we were over-taken by a flock of rogue pigeons.  

St. Paul's Cathedral

Big Ben and the Eye

 Afterwards, we took a walking tour and rode the Tube for the first time. Don't worry, we "Minded the Gap!" And then: a crash course in British tourism! Hold on folks because in three hours we saw Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abby, Buckingham Palace, the Royal Gardens, and Trafalger Square.

wesminster abby

buckingham palace (note: the flag is flying, the queen is home!)

not sure-- big headed man in front of Trafalgar Lion

entrance to Trafalger Square

We also saw filming for the TV show called "Legend" on the steps leading up to the National Museum. So that was cool. Real live telly stars with a real live crew.

Afterwards, Sophie and I ate a quick dinner at a cute creperie, opting for take away so we could picnic outdoors in the perfect evening air, people watching and nibbling our dinner. There's lots of tea, lots of double-decker buses, and lots of looking the opposite way so you don't get run over by a bike/taxi.

It's been a crazy ride, folks. And at this point, I've been up for almost 36 hours and am listening to an Irish man blather about God-knows-who over a pint of God-knows-what.

Time to brave the hostel showers and head to bed.

Until next time, my friends. Cheers!