This is an abbreviated version of the travel journal that I kept while in London. A lot of you had requested "more details! more details!" Well put away your pitchforks and torches! Here is an account of our adventure in London day by day.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009.

Last night Nate and I took the 6:15 p.m. direct flight from Charlotte to London Gatwick Airport. The flight, though nearly 8 hours, didn't seem nearly as bad as I had remembered. I was able to sleep for a few hours, but mostly attribute that to the fact that I wasn't nearly as nervous this time on the way over - I'm with Nate and I've been there before.

Once we landed at 7:15am London time (2:15am in our heads!), it was off to customs. Hello sexy British accent! We took a freaking beating at the currency exchange counter as the dollar is worth half of the pound! A quick ride on the Gatwick Express to Victoria Station and we're off to our hotel. A pleasant upgrade to a king room and I'm over our currency fail. (Our hotel was the jam. We got a heck of a deal on it and it was super nice!)

At this point we're both exhausted but would not dare succumb to the bed that was calling our names. We must go! go! go! Ahh yes, and then comes the one thing that ailed me the entire time I was in London before - finding food. You see, food and me are thick as thieves - and though I'm sure it's totally my fault, I have the hardest time finding my dear friend overseas. We finally find some sandwiches (a la Pret a Manger) and then I remember the next thing I don't like about London cuisine - NO ICE. It is standard for them not to serve ice with drinks and while I get that they don't like it, I do. I already miss it.

I decided it was time for the Mister to see some real London so he could feel the city. Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament are about as London as you get. Nate's first words were, "wow." Mission accomplished.

Nate and Big Ben

Of course, there was the standard protest in the square in front of Parliament (some really pissed Sri Lankans this time that had been there for some 5 weeks.) Note to the Sri Lankans: calling the British government "terrorists" is nooot exactly the best way to get them on your side - I'm just saying.

We wandered inside Westminster Abbey, and "wow" is all I can say. The ornate detail that is on every square inch of the building is beyond words. You are understandably not allowed to take pictures inside of it, but it would be worth a google search. Stunning. And Huge. With LOTS of DEAD people. Famous. Dead. People. I'm be-bopping along listing to my audio headset that looks like a 1985 cellphone and realize that all of the different shaped floor stones I'm walking on are actually peoples tombstones so to speak, and that I was literally walking through a graveyard. Again, something I'm not used to - but it gave the thousand year old Abbey an eerie feeling which made it seem really cool. Weird - but cool.

Me in front of Westminster Abbey

In an almost zombie state (24 hours in to my continuing day) I didn't feel like we should do too much that would require a lot of thought or walking - so we visited where I used to live in St. Johns Wood and then took a quick walk across the Abbey Road crosswalk (ya know, the one from The Beatles album cover) which is just around the corner from my old flat. Some fish and chips at Wetherspoons served up with a cold glass of Strongbow (alcoholic cider) and I'm about to die.

We headed back to our hotel at the Hyde Park Corner station (via the London Underground) and fell into a deep, deep sleep...