So I will be suspending the previous series (which I have become lazy over) and will be talking about my current experiences across the pond. Yes, I am now in London, UK, and it has been a very eventful trip so far. I have not been in Europe for the last 25 years or have been in London ever, and it was thrilling and nostalgic to once again ride on a 747 across the Atlantic. Due to the way we obtained the tickets, my ticket was separate of the rest and the thus I was placed ahead of my family by about 4-5 rows. There were also a few other issues that occurred, but none of them the fault of the airline. We flew Air New Zealand and I have to say they are the most courteous, helpful, and genuinely positive people I have ever met when flying to any destination.

My flight had me sitting in the left aisle of the middle section and as luck would have it, a pair of beautiful Swedish girls that were fun to talk to throughout the flight. My flight consisted of 10 hours flying from the Western US to London’s Heathrow Airport and as the two swedes had apparently been on the plane longer (far longer considering the origin was in Auckland, NZ) they had a cheerful demeanor and we talked at length, mostly of what attractions to see, life in NZ, and a few other conversations.

My parents and sister on the other hand did not fair so well. As the story goes, they got placed behind the most unruly pair of kids on the plane, a 2 year old and a 10 year old. They screamed, kept moving the seat backs, and generally made a disastrous racket that caused that entire  half of the plane to complain to the flight manager on board. My father even asked the mother, who was not caring much to attend to her children, to manage them as there were people attempting to sleep. She apparently had the audacity to yell at my father and cause a scene herself.

I was told that the annoyance started from the very beginning of the flight, but the last straw was when halfway through the flight, night fell and people were sleeping. The noise generated by those two little “monsters” (as everyone had called them) was enough to keep everyone awake. A few people couldn’t stand it and even my sister became hysterical when she had been denied sleep after near 32+ hours of being awake. The sentiment was clear amongst those passengers: if allowed, they would have tossed the kids and the uncaring mother out of the plane over the Atlantic and think nothing of it.

I saw them after the flight and even at the port of entry where you must present your passport, they were completely wild, escaping and running in opposite directions into staff areas and protected sections. I was surprised by the lack of any kind of reprimand from security. Those two caused multiple security violations, such that if they had done that in the US, they would have been taken away by airport police. She left her bags unattended multiple times and not one person did anything about it.

Other than that, the trip was very comforting and the staff very friendly. I talked with the on board concierge about different venues and attractions in London and I was give a few explanations and suggestions on what to look at and what to see. All around it was very helpful.

The next part was the bane of the trip. It had to be our luck that the weekend we came to London, the Underground rail services that headed to our hotel were all closed. We traveled by tube, bus, and finally after my mother was fed up with the mess, by taxi. This place is confusing and the streets make no sense what so ever. Whoever designed this place needs to be shot…

The hotel we have is a nice little apartment and it is very cozy. The thing I have to get used to is the power system and a few other things that I have to keep in mind, especially with regards to the toilet and the shower. Nothing really major though. There are shops and food establishments on the other side of the apartments and a few grocery chains that allow us to buy little amenities like fixings for sandwiches and the likes. All around very convenient.

So so far Day 1 was as expected, tiring and nerve wracking. We had already written off this day as a travel day and spent some time taking naps, getting situated and of course, reconnecting back with the States to those waiting to hear of our journey. I will be attempting to make a daily blog of this as we’re here with great detail of the things we have done, so for sure, keep this site in your bookmarks and check back. It is midnight here now, which is 5pm PDT. I must get some sleep as we have our first action packed day in London planned out.