London: First Day Whirlwind!

Your mom and I finally made it happen! Not long after our first wedding anniversary we finally scraped enough together to make a trip to London a reality. We carved out a full two weeks for the trip and had done a lot of preparation to determine what in the city was "must see." In the end our lists were pretty short for a two-week trip, so we knew we'd be in for a lot of exploring and spontaneous finds. We could hardly contain our excitement, but of course the first requirement was actually getting there!

The trip started out with a fright when we approached the Aer Lingus terminal and the first few words out of the attendant's mouth were, "Your flight's been cancelled." A strike in Ireland resulted in all of this Irish airlines' flights being cancelled, but since we were there early enough, a very diligent airline employee (who only showed up to work that day because he knew some folks like us would arrive clueless and stranded) found a way to get us on a British Airways flight. We cozied into our tiny seats for a ten hour flight, placated with some free drinks and all-you-can-watch movies on personal screens installed in the seat backs in front of us. Your mom couldn't have looked happier given the circumstances, wrapped in blankets with a piece of pie and a cup of strong tea. I watched Frozen first thing and eventually dozed off. 

The flight was as exhausting as everyone warned us it would be, but we were pretty jazzed to arrive and get to exploring. We spotted the internationally recognized London Underground sign and it started to sink in... we were in London! We got our little blue Oyster cards, got some direction help, and made our way. 

We took the tube to our flat in a neighborhood west of London called Hammersmith, an awesome and lively locale in its own right. Because of the flight changes we actually ended up getting in early so we couldn't quite check in. The neighborhood just screamed England with these rows of flats adorned in white and brown stones. 

To kill some time we popped into the nearest pub only a block from our place and grabbed our first English pints! We figured why not start with a glass of London Pride pulled from the cask? My love affair with English ale began promptly. 

The neighborhood was quiet and charming, an easy place to wander around. 

The flat we stayed at, we learned, was owned by a well known fashion designer, Katherine Hooker, one whose eye for style definitely piqued your mom's interest. The flat also had this cute garden behind.

Inside was homey and spacious, and we really liked that we were staying in someone's home as opposed to a hotel room. It let us get a good feel for the life there over the next couple weeks.

The first day in London started early! Our sleep schedules were so messed up from jet lag and the sun rising so much earlier compared to what we're used to, that we were both wide awake by 4am, so we got ready and stepped out. We familiarized ourselves with the nearby tube stations and got on one of the earliest trains we could headed to the center of London.

Sometimes we forgot as we first started wandering around central London that it was so early in the morning. It was so quiet and slow, but so bright, that it played tricks on us. We started to get hungry, but since it was so early on a Sunday we had a while to wait and just look around. 

London is a fascinating town, a blend of ancient architecture and new glass buildings, sometimes right next to each other. Across from this sparkly shopping mall was the ancient stone St. Paul's Cathedral. 

With the Thames winding right through the city, London is also a city of bridges. Our first walk across the river was on the Millenium Bridge, one of the newer ones only installed in 2000.

By contrast, the Tower Bridge dates back to the 1880's. The history of this town and its landmarks were practically overwhelming, with more to know that could ever be known, but we soaked up as much as we could from the ample signage installed around. 

As it got later in the morning, the pulse quickened and more people started filling the streets. We were yet to see the real bustle of London, though. This is the view from Tower Bridge of part of the city skyline.

This is one of the turrets cornering the Tower of London, an ancient fortress and prison where countless executions (sometimes of royalty!) and torturous interrogations were the norm in the old days. Where you see grass was once a moat to separate it from the city. It had an eerie feeling because of its bloody history. We were too sparked up to sit around in a line for a tour, so we kept on trucking. I have no idea how many miles we walked that first long day of just seeing the sights, but it felt like a lot!

The architecture of the city is what we first came to enjoy, just walking the streets and gawking at all of the majestic and historic buildings. We hardly knew what we were looking at half the time, but it created in us a very adventurous and lively vibe that kept us going and going. 

Lunch that first day was at a Fuller's Brewery "tied house" in the city. We got some more awesome beers and our first crack at a delicious English meat pie. This one was wonderful!

The city is pretty friendly to tourists, and it's easy to spot them - wandering around with their necks crooked and cameras clicking - apart from the locals in suits rushing from one place to another. We got pretty familiar with the layout of the place and the different train stops, and it eventually got really easy to get around.

Londoners know how to enjoy a beer! The drinking age is only 18 and there's classically styled pubs on most corners, all of them with traditional names like this one, The Market Porter. I fell in love with the delicious but light weight session beers on cask all over the place.

This is the other side of St. Paul's Cathedral. We'd made an enormous loop through much of the eastern and central parts of London and we were feeling it!

After our whirlwind trek through much of the city, we stopped to relax a bit before heading back. We could hardly believe we'd be in this beautiful place for two whole weeks, and the adventure was just beginning!