London Arrival

We finally arrived in London at 10:30 AM GMT. I honestly slept the entire flight (or at least tried to) so nothing to report from that. Upon finally departing the plane, we proceeded to wait in line at the border for an hour and a half. If this is not something you have done before, I do not recommend it. It was hot, bags were growing heavy, I honestly wanted to just sit down and sleep. Lucky for me, the man at border patrol was very friendly, so that at least made it a bit better.

Once we finally made it through customs (having nothing to declare), we luckily found all of our luggage in a convenient location all grouped together. Being now 12:00, or 7:00 Virginia time, I was starving, and growing quite hangry. Fortunately, we located both an M&S Food Market and a Caffe Nero, where I purchased two pastries and a mocha frappe latte (yes, the British do know how to make a proper coffee!)

After an hour-long tube ride, during which most of us fell asleep (thank you, jet lag), and a quick walk, we finally arrived at the hostel. We all wanted to sleep, but it wasn't advisable. Once we had all somehow managed to figure out our sleeping arrangements, we were given a bit of time to decompress from our many, many hours of traveling.

Upon the end of our time off, we departed for Brunswick Shopping Center. It reminded me of the Outlet malls back home. Basically, there were a bunch of smaller shops, many places to eat (including a Starbucks), and the general chain stores which make sure the place stays running. After seeing nothing but the inside of the plane for many hours, it was refreshing to be outside. We also saw many pigeons, including this one male (we think) who was chasing different females. Being Sweet Briar women, several of us yelled "No means no, Sir!" at him. I don't think he actually heard or understood us, but hopefully, he'll eventually get the hint.

A word to the wise, don't try to ride the tube towards King's Cross Station between 5:30 and 7:30 PM. It's extremely crowded, being rush hour. The group ultimately walked back to the shopping center for dinner, where we ate at a place called Yo! Sushi. Everything was priced by the color of the bowls, and many of the dishes went around on a small conveyor belt which encircled the main table. It was a new experience for all of us since there aren't really places like this back home.

Once our stomachs were filled and our checks were paid, a group of us decided to depart for King's Cross, home of Platform 9 and 3/4. This time, however, we opted to walk over, since it's really only a few blocks away from the hostel. Inside, the line to take a picture with the "official" sign was far too long, but we were still able to go in and buy souvenirs. As it turns out, there is actually nothing between platforms 9 and 10. It is likely that the famous scenes in the Harry Potter films were actually filmed between platforms 4 and 5.

We left King's Cross and returned to the hostel for the evening. The bar in the hostel was wild, but having traveled all day, we all returned to our rooms, and eventually fell asleep. The first day was very long, but it was amazing to see such a beautiful city, especially one which I had only read about or seen in movies. I am so excited to get to share the rest of my journey!