The beginning.

Monday, July 11, 2005:
We landed in London Heathrow around noon (a bit earlier than scheduled.) We get picked up by a GoAhead employee name Jen. She's really nice and very talkative. It's quite a long drive to the hotel. We got to experience what it's like to drive on the opposite side of the road. It's quite an experience and culture shock! We were amazed at how fast everyone was driving. I'm surprised that we didn't witness at least one or two accidents on the way to the hotel. I would have to say that the driving is like a dance. Very choreographed. It's like everyone knows what everyone else is thinking. They know where to move, what to do, when to stop.

We arrive at Thistle Kensington Hotel located right across from the famous Hyde Park. Rob, our tour director, greets us outside and helps us check in. We had a couple hours before dinner so we decided to roam around Hyde Park. It was a VERY hot day. We passed by the tennis courts, putting area, Prince Albert's statue, and the Serpentine Gallery.

Prince Albert's statue is a gaudy monstrosity that symbolizes the love from his wife, Queen Victoria. It is huge, gold, and tacky! Serpentine Gallery had an exhibit where the artist recreated his old New York apartment and people can actually go inside the rooms and just hang out. We saw people cooking food and watching TV. It was very weird! I wasn't sure what to make of it!

At 5:45 we met up with the rest of the group for complimentary drinks. Ray and I both had rum and coke. Considering I hadn't eaten in a while you can guess that I was feeling pretty good afterwards! We then proceeded to head to the restaurant, Bellini's. It was very hot inside! I swear there is NO concept of AC over there!! We ended up sitting at a table with two couples and a family. We made friends with the two couples. Rob and Laura are from Maine and were on their honeymoon. Tom and Tyjuana are from North Carolina and are veteran travellers. Dinner was fun. The two couples were really nice, funny, and just all around fun to hang out with. I immediately knew that these were the people that we would form a friendship with. You know how you can just tell? You can sit at a table with strangers and talk to all of them, but there will be certain people that you click with instantly. Rob, Laura, Tom, and Tyjuana were those people.

After dinner we went our separate ways for the rest of the evening. Ray and I had purchased a calling card so we decided to call our families to let them know we were ok. We got to use London's famous red telephone booths, which surprisingly (and yet not surprisingly), had a bunch of little ads showing strippers, hookers, whatever they may be. It was quite interesting talking to your parents while staring at a bunch of silicone! Afterwards we went back to the hotel to relax before bedtime. It was an extremely long day considering I didn't get much sleep and it was very hot and humid. We watched England's "Big Brother." It's interesting how different it is from the American version. The women can go topless and the people can swear, but it was a lot boring than the American one!