Londontown

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Hi All!!!

So here I am in London! Mark and I managed to make it to LAX, check our bags and make it through security with no problem...however the minute we sat down at the boarding gate I felt my throat start to burn and then my head get hot. Really? Seriously? Are you kidding me...I'm sick? Now? I haven't even made it onto the plane yet!!! Well, much thanks to the school teachers that invented that airborne medication - I started downing the stuff like crazy along with Suzy Dyer's recommended Alka Seltzer cold and flu orange flavored meds. I wanted to pass out but just had to make it onto the plane...after all...as long as the seatbelt is fastened if I pass out in L.A. I'll still wake up in London ;-)

So, we left on Tuesday, April 9th and arrived in London the morning of Wednesday April 10th. As always, I slept like a babe on the British Airways flight from LAX all the way to London...thank you Dr. Watson for the little magic pill :-) Yes, I still felt like my head was going to explode...my throat was going to constrict and my nose was running away from me...but I trudged on...my rusack on my back, my daypack on my front and Mark right next to me with his rusack, day pack and...did I mention we brought a third suitcase? It's on wheels but it still counts :-)

Happy to say Mark and I made it to our lodgings - a beautiful flat in London (thank you again Alex!) - and have been going non-stop ever since. Made it to the Wallace Collection which is outstanding, the Tate Britain which was, as always, graceful and elegant with a wonderful collection of William Blake sketches and artwork and of course, the Turners.

It's been raining on and off all week but no problems there. Missed the London Marathon but saw a lot of sweaty runners with Marathon medals on the tube. Also, we made it to Buckingham Palace so Mark could see the changing of the Guard. Let's see...other stuff...walked by the Tower of London, dropped into the National Gallery and then headed out to Hampton Court to see Wolsey's old castle that he gave to Henry VIII - which did nothing for him. Also, made to Leicester Square and into Chinatown for a great meal at C & R - fantastic spread of noodles, fried tofu, chicken satay, an amazing radish dish, chicken curry and rice, spicy squid...there's more but my friends ordered in Chinese so I wasn't sure what we actually got in the end. It was an amazing feast!!!

I still have a few more days in London but there's never enough time it seems. Soon we'll be off to Paris and London will be just a memory.

It's been an amazing journey and I will blog again soon.

Much love,

Andrea

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