From Deb's Desk: From Orion to London

June 11, 2017 - It's been a hectic couple of days to get to this first night of vacation in London. It started when my flight from Moline to Chicago was delayed making it impossible to make connections in time. Dan came and picked me back up and I spent the first night of my vacation back in Orion!

Saturday morning back to the airport we go and finally I was airborne! I had a several hour layover in Chicago and spent much of that time people-watching and I learned that most people CAN NOT live without their phones - it was amusing watching people joggle to get next to the charging stations! Then the next eight hours were spent crammed in a tube with a couple hundred other people eating food that would never be served in my kitchen! I ate a pretty good hot salad of some kind of grain and fresh lettuce but the vegetable pasta was awful! There isn't much that I can't eat but there was a pumpkiny/pasta mixture that found its final resting place in United Airlines trash. I was grateful that it was a smooth and uneventful flight even if I couldn't sleep a wink in spite of a sleeping pill! Ugh!

On the upside, after two hours of darkness where the full moon shone brightly over the plane's wing, I saw the most beautiful rose and lavender colored sunrise shining on cotton candy cloud cover that one could ever imagine! It truly was beautiful but I didn't get a photo because I didn't want to jostle around enough to get my camera out of my backpack and wake up my sleeping seatmate. I arrived at Heathrow about 5:30 am and I walked about three miles around the airport between baggage retrieval and customs. This place is HUGE and very modern but very easy to get around in. I heard so many different languages being spoken that I knew I sure wasn't in Orion any longer and embraced the newness of all of it.

My driver met me with one of those signs you see in the movies with your name on it! I have to admit, it gave me a little thrill! As Fredrick was loading my luggage into the back of the van he told me I could sit wherever I wanted but recommended the front seat so I could see better. I went to the right side of the van and opened the door and was met with a steering wheel! I laughed and realized that I had totally forgotten about the whole driving on the other side of the road thing and boy was I glad I wasn't driving! London is surrounded by a circle of highway and there a ton of round-a-bouts. Fredrick told me that years ago he had taken his children to Florida and rented a huge Durango and he was flustered at first too with the whole opposite side of the road thing!

The 30 minute drive through London on an early Sunday morning was pretty neat without as much traffic as would be later in the day and soon I was checking into the beautiful Citadines Trafalgar Hotel. They are very security conscious and you have to have a card to get inside the building as well as the lift. I was pretty exhausted at this point and settled in for a nice long nap.

After a nap I was ready to see the city! I had planned to go to 5:30 Mass at Westminster Cathedral but the hotel told me I couldn't get a cab at that time on Sunday night! What!?!? In this huge city of nine million people? Oh well, I decided to walk around. Walk around with about a million other people that is! My hotel is about a block away from the River Thames and it appears that this is the place to be on Sunday night. The weather is great - sunny and mostly clear and quite breezy and families, tourists, bicyclists, lovers, and people of all colors and languages were out enjoying it!

The River Thames flows through London and is a tidal river, rising and falling as much as 26 feet between high and low tides. It is a dirty chocolaty brown, just like the Mississippi is but appears void of papers, sticks, and other debris. I walked through a beautiful park along the river. Statues, a yucca plant that was 30 feet tall and blooming, ancient trees, Ivy Hedge rows, and park benches everywhere to sit and relax and enjoy a bit of nature in the middle of many hundred year old buildings - amazing!!

London was founded over 2,000 years ago and reeks of history and begs you to explore and get to know it. I crossed back and forth over the river several times over various bridges and enjoyed the architecture along the way - Big Ben housed in Elizabeth Tower, Scotland Yard, Parliament, and Westminster Bridge.

I needed to eat supper and sure did not want to eat at a London McDonalds! I opted for street food and enjoyed delicious shrimp and veggies in a soft bun. I liked it so much I had a second! In the seating area along the river I spied two women sitting and enjoying an ice cream treat. It will probably not surprise any of you that I walked up to them and asked if I could join them. It turns out they are from the Calgary Canada region, a mother-daughter duo. We enjoyed our conversation and of course the subject came up of where I was vacationing. When they heard I would be spending the majority of time in Scotland they were delighted and assured me I would love it. They asked where specifically I would be visiting and I told them about planning to visit many of the Outlander sights and guess what?!??! Yes, they are Outlander book and tv show fans! I was meant to run into them, and to think we had even more to talk about now! Of course, I gave then my card and perhaps I will be seeing them at the next convention! What a delightful encounter!

I walked by the London Eye which is a giant Ferris wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames. This is something I will be riding on later. I watched several street performances - everything from guitar players, to accordion players, to bicyclists. Even one man sitting on a bridge playing music on a street cone! I also saw a man wearing a beautiful dress kilt amongst the crown on onlookers. London is certainly a eclectic gathering of humanity. After a good night's sleep I will be ready to tackle it again tomorrow and meet up with friends in the afternoon from the Thru the Stones convention that I will be spending the next portion of my vacation with. I can't wait till tomorrow!