Monday morning we got up early and packed up and said goodbye to our sweet little hotel, but much worse was saying goodbye to Brennan. My parents and I were heading to London while he was flying to Scotland for his golfing adventure. We would only be apart for a few days, but it was sad to part after getting used to being so together. However, we were both excited for the next legs of our journey and looked forward to reuniting soon. My parents and I boarded the EuroStar or Chunnel train in the Gare du Nord Station in Paris. It was so slick and painless. We did have to go through customs, but it was quick and orderly and we had all our bags and loaded them right on with us.
I think the ride lasted about 2 hours, it was comfy and smooth and crazy to realize we were going under the English channel. Before we got to the channel we could look out the windows and see the gorgeous French countryside. I saw several little villages centered around beautiful chapels and lots of rolling hills and wildflowers. Once we went under water, it was just a big tunnel, so not much of a view. It was so exciting to arrive at St. Pancras station in London. It was so British!
We had instructions from Davis as to which tube line to get on and where to stop. We managed to find it and settled in for our tube ride. I think we had to change lines at one point which was an adventure to hustle through crowded stations with multiple sets of stairs while we lugged three giant suitcases and several carry ons. My sweet Dad went up and down several times to help my Mom and I with our suitcases. We finally got out of the mazes of stations and tubes to daylight where we were thrilled to see Davis! He helped us with our luggage and led us on a short walk to their apartment. It was so good to see Davis, Melissa and Bea! I think Bea was about 5 months at the time and as cheerful and delightful as could be. Their apartment was up several flights of stairs and was so cute. After a busy few days it was nice to feel like we were home. Mom and Dad had arranged to let us stay with Davis and Melissa and they had reserved a nearby hotel. That day we settled in at Davis's and caught up with them for a minute before venturing out. It was early afternoon and I believe we decided to do the Tower of London and all set out together, catching an underground train (tube) and minding the gap ;). We walked out to the this incredible sight of modern and clean and beautiful buildings everywhere surrounding a HUGE ancient castle, right out of medieval times, with massive castle walls and a moat and the Thames just below it. Everywhere you looked was a gorgeous cityscape of very modern architecture with a smattering of the very old and somehow it was seamless and breathtaking. The Thames was stunning and so big and bold and a constant companion throughout the City. There are several bridges each a little different and each an incredible sight, and then you see the London Eye looming high above everything but somehow delicate and unobtrusive. All of it truly took my breath away. We grabbed some lunch and discovered Millionaire Shortbread (shortbread with a layer or caramel and chocolate). We bought our tickets for The Tower of London and entered a whole new or rather old world.
We wandered around for several hours and were completely fascinated by all of the history surrounding us. It was incredible. We also got to see the Crown Jewels there. We kind of ran out of time and left wishing we had a whole day to wander the whole thing. I know I keep saying this, but it was thrilling! I still can't believe I got to do all those things.
I think after that we walked through Covent Garden (incredible!) where I could almost see Eliza Doolittle selling flowers in the streets.
Wikipedia says, "Covent Garden (/ˈkɒvənt/) is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between Charing Cross Road and Drury Lane.[1] It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as "Covent Garden"."
Charing Cross Road and Drury Lane? Are you kidding me? How did I get there? We ate at The Shake Shack and thoroughly enjoyed our food, surroundings and company. As we walked through the Covent Garden district, we came upon little treasures like this:
We then made our way to Trafalgar Square and evidently my phone must have died cause I don't have any pictures. It was so much fun to see Admiral Horatio Nelson looming high above us on the Nelson Column to commemorate his death at the Battle of Trafalgar. I knew Admiral Nelson from the movie, "That Hamilton Woman". It was so fun to see so much of what I had read about or watched in movies! It was an exhilarating and we were happy and tired as we made our way back to Davis and Melissa's apartment. Mom and Dad settled into their hotel and we were all happy to end another wonderful day.
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