We made it to London!!!!

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July 30,2011
So we made!
As luck would have it we checked in to our pre flight room at the Westin and were given an upgraded corner suite on the 11th floor. Of course….I thought it was all a good sign that this trip would go off without a hitch. I could sleep and breathe easy.
However, we woke up on the morning of our flight to find out that our camera charger was broken. Shit…no pictures of the European adventure? Well of course that wouldn’t do…so Jared figured it out. 100 dollar cab ride to Best Buy head office and a time crunch and we were back in business with a new charger and multiple replacement batteries. Ok breathe….things are falling into place.
Then, we arrived back at the hotel with about 20 minutes to get to the airport to check in, only to find out that someone pulled fire alarm and the building was on lock down. 22 flights of stairs with 133lbs of luggage my legs were burning…and Jared and I were barely speaking. It took what seemed like a lifetime before we could get a cab to stop and pick us up, and a lady that couldn’t leave the front desk to get my 30lbs of emergency meds……before we finally arrived at the ticket counter.
No upgrades, full plane and no additional seat incase Loggie needed it. Fuck.
So I breathed in….like they taught me in Yoga. Take the full 1 minute. Release with a huge “Haaaaaaaa” sound. I swear they thought I was nuts.
But….I am not complaining….trust me. As luck would have it…the flight attendants took sympathy on us and Loggie and I were given a row with a blocked seat. She only had about 3 small episodes on the plane and we all got a few hours of sleep. (Thanks Dr. Hukin for the Ativan prescription…ha ha) And of course as we were taking off and the flight attendants were briefing us on their ability to help with seizures we found out that directly seated behind us were 2 EEG techs. They knew exactly what to do. I named the 3 types of seizures Loggie was prone too….and was greeted with a nonchalant and passive…..”no problem, we can help if you need it”
Only one seizure episode since we got here….. in the long immigration line, a missed train, a long trip on the wrong line and we finally arrived at our budget hotel in Earls Court.

Needless to say we slept for 4 hours before we headed out as tourists tonight.

Regardless, we are loving it and already learning things about this place we never knew….they might not be historical (quite yet….) but here are the things I know about London so far.
1. They call it Picadilly and Oxford CIRCUS for a reason….It is kinda like Vegas (but not as slutty or hot...).and really old. and there are chimmey's everywhere...just like in Mary Poppins.. and there are side shows everywhere if you look and people still smoke....(even the young....weird...I don't think they have enough cancer campaigns)
2. The tube is friggin crazy…..and fast…and pushy….so don’t be polite and slow like you are Canadian or you’re bound to be crushed between the train doors.
3. Now I can understand why my English Granny wanted me to store nylons in my closet when the Gulf War broke out in 1997 she was from England and everyone wears them here….even with flip flops….(do they even sell nylons in Canada?)
4. The rooms are small. But bloody expensive. People must tolerate each other better here.
5. And despite the rumors I don’ t think it is that expensive yet…..or at least for the booze. Less than 17 bucks for a 2004 bottle of Italian wine….I love this place

Hmmm….. well, come to think of it....maybe it isn’t that people tolerate each other better….maybe it’s just that they're drunk… so it doesn’t matter, Either way I could quickly fit in here.


Tomorrow we actually start in full tourist mode. 7am Hop on Hop off bus and tours of all the major attractions. Loggie wants to go see Kate’s dress….Brody wants to go find Harry Potter….Jared well he wants to soak up every bit of history available…
We are all doing well, Happy and good. It was the right thing to come here. Can’t wait for Italy…..I’ve still got a lot to ask for but a lot to be thankful for too…

Cheers....tally ho!
We will keep you posted!

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