Cheerio, USA!

Our flight from Boston to London on Norwegian Air was surprisingly pleasant, albeit slightly delayed. We paid for an upgraded ticket in order to check our luggage and that included two "meals" (dinner and a breakfast box). Best of all, the back of each seat had an individual touch screen that provided free access to movies, TV shows, and games. After a couple games of sudoku, Wheat and I agreed to watch The Intern, which was heartwarming until its abrupt, lame ending.

As always, I didn't get much sleep on the flight, which made it very interesting for...

Day 2

London, England

10,406 steps

Highlights: Big Ben, Parliament, London Eye

After deplaning, we hit up a currency exchange to take advantage of the low exchange rate for the British pound (thank you, Brexit?). We collected our luggage, purchased Oyster cards (public transportation cards for the tube, trains, and buses), and hopped on a train headed for downtown London. In order to save money on our flight, we flew into Gatwick Airport, instead of Heathrow, which meant we got to stand for the hour-long trip to Victoria Station. From there, we hopped on another couple subways (not the most fun with luggage) until we reached the stop for the Ridgemount Hotel.

The Ridgemount, a family-owned and -operated hotel in the Bloomsbury District, was so cozy and convenient. It felt like a charming bed and breakfast, but right in the heart of London and walking distance from the British Museum. They also provided a free, traditional British breakfast every morning that was served to your table by waitresses and/or the owner of the hotel. Fun Fact: One of Jack the Ripper's victims, Elizabeth Stride, lived in the building before she was killed in 1888. Unfortunately, we arrived too early to check in, so we napped waited in the lobby and took a quick stroll around the neighborhood until we had a room.

I wish I could say that we freshened up and hit the town, but if you know me at all, you know I'd be lying. Instead, we gave in to the jet lag and took a four-hour nap. Oops. Upon waking up, we immediately blew the fuse by plugging a power strip into a travel adapter. Double oops. The incredibly kind owner came from home to fix the fuse while we set out on our first adventure in London town.

We made sure to mind the gap and took the tube to Westminster, which is probably my favorite stop in the entire system. Why? Because you climb the stairs to reach the street and this is in your face:

So amazing. We strolled around the area, admiring Big Ben and Parliament in all its glory, before heading across the bridge to the South Bank of the Thames. In typical London fashion, it started to sprinkle at this point, but we continued our walk down the river. This area is rife with art, street vendors and performers, and lots of restaurants. We wandered past Udderbelly, a temporary comedy festival set up in a dreamy, whimsical park, and I found my soulmate in this double-decker bus that sells frozen yogurt.

Partially due to the rain and partially due to our rumbling bellies, we decided to stop for dinner along the river at a restaurant called Giraffe. We set up shop outside under an umbrella and, though it was super chilly, I was happy with the view. Note to self: Don't order burgers in Europe. Do order sweet potato fries.

After dinner, we began our walk back, making a pit stop at the comedy festival for a subpar dessert waffle with strawberries and cream. Despite knowing better than to do it in the rain, we decided to ride the London Eye, anyway...mostly because we were already there and we were starting to question if June is actually winter in England. Before going up, we watched a 4D movie about the London Eye with stunning aerial footage of the riverbank. The ride in the Eye took about 30 minutes and I spent most of that time cursing myself for doing it in the rain. We still had some pretty awesome views of the city and it was also a great way to orient ourselves for the rest of our stay. Last time I was in London, the Eye hadn't been built yet, so it felt like we crossed something cool off the Quintessential London bucket list.

Tired and still groggy from jet lag, we made our way back to the hotel and called it an early night, where I filled my dreams with visions of Harry Potter and views like this...