June 12- First Day in London

Finally made it to London! We touched down today at 12:30 PM (London time). It was quite the adventure getting here as this was my first time flying solo. Although I have some experience with airports and long flights, it was still scary! The Alaska Airlines plane from Helena to Seattle was small but comfortable. I met a very nice lady from Great Falls who was visiting her daughter in Seattle. We chatted for a while, and it turns out she has a cabin at Seeley Lake and her family loves Hi-Country Beef Jerky.

When we got off the plane- I'll admit- I felt a little lost. Thankfully, a very helpful gentleman who worked for the airport asked me if I needed directions (he must have noticed the deer-caught-in-the-headlights look on my face). I showed him my boarding pass, and thank goodness I did! I would have had no idea what to do without his instructions. He explained that Seattle has three terminals: the North (where I was at), the main, and the South (where I needed to get). Long story short, he put me on a tram to go to another tram to go to another tram to get to the South terminal. Thanks kind airport worker!

While I was on the first tram, I happened to ask a blonde hair and blue eyed lady standing beside me if she was headed for the South terminal as well. Yes she was, and no she didn't mind if I tagged along with her. Together, we figured out which trams to get on and which stops to get off at. She was going home to Finland and flying through Amsterdam to get there. I told her I would be visiting Helsinki with some friends from school (not a lie, but not necessarily the truth). She was excited for me and wished me the best of luck on my travels.

Once I got to the South terminal, the rest was pretty easy. I found my gate and got boarded right away. The plane was fairly big (3 rows of 2 seats, 3 seats and 2 seats. Imagine my delight when I discovered that I was seated in the middle row and no one else was sitting beside me! Not only did I get three seats all to myself, I also got three pillows and three blankets (jackpot!).

Dinner served by the flight attendants was vegetarian pasta, a roll with butter, a salad, and a chocolate chip cookie with a cup of tea. Then, I watched the movie Monuments Men (which I highly recommend). After I used the restroom (gross, airplane bathrooms suck), I got all of my pillows set up and laid across all three seats. I've never slept so wonderfully on a plane before. I woke up with 1 1/2 hour left of the flight. Breakfast was an egg and cheese sandwich served on sesame seed bagel, a banana, orange juice and coffee.

What a plane breakfast! Get it? Plane = plain

We landed in Heathrow right on time. I noticed a girls sitting behind me the night before and she was watching Sherlock and had a T.A.R.D.I.S (Doctor Who) cellphone cover. I asked her if she was going to Customs and Immigration too, and she said yes. So ventured together to go through security and claim our bags. Her name was Jessica and she was sophomore college student from Canada. She was only in London for a few days before she heads to Italy for an archaeological dig. (How cool is that?)

After Canadian Jessica and I parted ways, I caught a tram to Terminal 4 where I met another SAS student named Paige Dye. Paige is a senior majoring in Journalism and Psychology from Missouri. We dropped our large suitcases at the Hilton (where we'll be staying in a few nights) and headed off to the tube with our carry-ons and backpacks in hand. The tubes were fairly easy to figure out. We just go on the Piccadilly line and traveled into downtown London. We stayed at the YHA St. Pancras hostel and it was absolutely fantastic. We shared a five bedroom dorm room with three other ladies and had our own private bathroom complete with shower. The room was very nice and comfortable for only $30.

YHA St. Pancras Hostel

Hostel Female Dorm Room

As soon as we got settled in, we got ready to head back out. We wanted to see all of London that we could in only a couple of hours, and we definitely did! The only main attraction that I can think of that we didn't see was Piccadilly Circus. London is absolutely beautiful! This was my second time visiting the city, and it still took my breath away.

British Museum

Just me at Platform 9 3/4. No big deal. Oh, and yes that is a Ravenclaw scarf I'm wearing.
"Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure."

London Eye on River Thames

River Thames

Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament

Classic Red Telephone with Big Ben

St. James Park

Bird Pond at St. James Park
(Actual Pelicans in Background. They were HUGE.)

Buckingham Palace

Sunset on the London Rooftops

Trafalgar Square

Sherlock Holmes Restaurant and Pub

Dinner was a pasta dish at a small Italian Place called Little
Frankie's near Trafalgar Square.

Tower Bridge at Night

London Bridge at Night as well

Finally after a long, long, loooong day we made it back to the hostel around midnight.The weather was gorgeous the entire time we were out, but it was also hot which means I got pretty sweaty (ew). I can't tell you how nice it was to shower and crawl into bed. As you can imagine, it wasn't difficult to fall asleep even though I was sharing a room with three strangers.

Day1: Complete