Mind the Gap!

London, England

July 5th, 2010

London is the perfect city in which to wrap up our journey. British people are friendly, eager to help without being asked and filled with a healthy sense of humor.


We've really gotten to know the "Tube" as does anyone that stays in this city for very long. My favotite part of the tube system is the warning to "mind the gap" between the train and the platform. Clearly some people have failed to heed that good advice! Paddington station is our home station, but we've managed to hit most of the city on the subway. Today, Amelia decided we'd best stay above ground so we used the double deckers to really see the city. It was a fresh approach to a city that knows how to do public transportation.





It took five months of constant travel for us to find a hotel that we had to walk out of because the conditions were so shabby that we daren't spend the night but we managed to do that in London. Luckily there are hundreds of hotels offering marginly better service (no gas smell/no mice) than the one we left so we found a suitable alternative within a short walk.






There is so much to see in London that we could have spent a month in this city alone, but we only had a few days so we packed in what we could. London Tower was the highlight from our first day. Jackie and I had a blast helping fire siege weapons at the "Tower". We visited the London Eye, which must be the highest "non-ferriswheel" in the world; it shouldn't be missed. The London Museum and the "Royal Mews" gave us a thorough appreciation of British history and it's place in the history of the world. Buckingham palace enchanted us with the changing of the guards and London's parks couldn't be beat on a warm sunny day.

Our dear friend Chloe came down for a visit and to show us a good time. We had a terrific lunch together and did some sight seeing. It was super to have her with us. Thanks Chloe. After lunch we visited the Lady Di Fountain together and we wish we had more time...

...isn't that the truth. We really wish we had more time. Yes, we're excited to return to Virginia tomorrow, but there is so much more adventure ahead. We won't think of Virginia as the end; we'd rather think of our return to Virginia as another part of our journey. We know it will be fun to be home, and to see family and friends, but there is a great big, wild world out there just beconing us to come see it; who knows how long it will be before we cut loose the dock lines and head out again...

Next blog entry we'll answer your questions and do a trip summary.

--Paul