2 days later

I assumed an 8 hour flight would be awkward. I didn't know it would be quite as awkward as it ended up being. The seats for most of the plane went 2 - 4 - 2 across the aisle. (two people, four people, two people...) At one point near the back of the plane it shifted to 2 - 3 - 2. The first aisle after the shift had televisions that didn't line up with their seat and tray tables that come out of the armrest. I know, it seems like an absurd thing to complain about. Though if you've ever sat for 8 hours in the very middle of a plane alternating your head from the left to the right deciding whether to watch the tv that you're earplugs are tuned to or watch the tv that your neighbor is watching in silence while trying to sleep and ignoring the fact that if you thought about it hard enough you could be nauseous, I am confident you'd at the very least call the flight awkward as well.

That being said, I've never had more fun in my life. Something about arriving at 7am, feeling like it's 2am, and realizing that your delay originally had you coming the following day makes you get all sorts of excited. Also, as a side note, getting off the plane and seeing the world "realizing" spelled "realising" can somehow unexplicabally cause you to start walking quicker than you were before leaving what I can only imagine as a thick fog of excited energy in my wake. It felt like London.

So here I am, sitting in the most absurdly amazing hotel room I've ever been in, holding steady to the story that my dad arrived on a separate flight (in order to use his hotel points). Ellie is next to me writing postcards, and I'm trying to hard to stay awake. Considering I know it's only 4pm in the states I'm having trouble understanding why I'm so tired (it's 9pm in London). It's only after I question why I'm tired that I realize I've been awake for a little over 30 hours with what one would have to stretch to call a nap earlier this morning. The days have blended together. I thought it was Thursday all day. It's Friday.

Details! Details...
On the flight we met a man that reminded me of my dad, I wish I had caught his name. He sat next to me for half the flight, next to Ellie when she let me have the aisle for a little bit. He was on business in the states for a few weeks and was obviously excited to get home to his family. He gave us advice on which train to catch after the flight, where we should get off, how long the trip should be, and what kind of taxi fare we should expect afterwards.

Taking his great advice, we found ourselves on the Gatwick Express on a 30minute trip to London Victoria on a train that is set up like rows of tables with four people meeting at each. Ellie and I sat on one side across the table from an older couple. After a few minutes, the woman asked where we were from. They were from Asheville, NC and celebrating their 10-year anniversary. The wife had been to the UK what seemed like many times before (she told us a lot of stories) and it was her husbands first time. After a few minutes of chatting the refreshment truck came by. I asked how much coffee cost and he said 2.5 which though not that much, I didn't really need it. The man said he'd be happy to treat us to coffee. It was such a small gesture, but it made Ellie and I's morning so much better. It was nice having so many families looking out for us. We had a laugh though because the couple got large coffees, and Ellie and I were going to get a small as to not have him spend so much money on us. The man working the coffee cart misunderstood Ellie and gave her a larger coffee and she wasn't quick enough to tell him she didn't need one that big. Either way, the couple didn't care. The wife told us about some classes she'd taken in Oxford (she really liked British detective novels) and was so envious when we told her about our program. We were likewise envious when she told us they were staying at a bed and breakfast on a sheep farm.

After the train I interacted with my first Brit when I told him his ipod charger fell out of his bag. He said "Oh! Cheers!" and...I....died. You don't even really have to be cute, but having a British accent changes EVERYTHING. Ellie and I said you're welcome and shuffled away.

Everything we've done has been exciting. Catching one of their cool cabs was exciting. Arriving at an amazing hotel was exciting. Walking to piccadilly circus, buying a phone for my extended stay, eating lunch in small shops...everything is exciting.

I feel like I can't even type enough to explain how great today's been. One thing that stands out was the dinner we had.


Pizza with asparagus, garlic flat bread, wine, and salads that were eaten before I snapped a picture. Delicious. So good. Out the window to my left we saw 2 pubs that had started showing the England vs. Algeria soccer (football?) games of the world cup. We wanted to watch the games, even went into a few pubs to try to join in on the action, but jet lag (and the fact that there were no seats) got the best of us. Now we're in our hotel home, in bed. Going to sleep at 9:30.

I can't believe this was just day 1.

(The restaurant where we had dinner is the white building to the left.)