Day 1 & 2 // Travel and a taste of London

The past 42 hours have been an absolute whirlwind.

I spent most of Sunday May 26th in the air and sprinting across airports.

From Atlanta to Chicago and finally to London, I am very thankful all of my flights went smoothly!

It was also nice to finally meet Dr. Miller and the University of Arkansas students in person after FaceTiming with them for the last month! (We had a weekly pre-departure class.)

I am thankful I was able to sleep on the plane because as soon as we landed at London Heathrow (in Terminal 2 also known as the Queen's Terminal), we hit the ground running!

And I mean that quite literally. I do believe we walked a million miles across the airport hauling all of our luggage to meet up with the group from Ohio State University.

Before you read any farther, I must provide a disclaimer. I had the opportunity to see, feel and photograph so many amazing historical things. However, I was quite exhausted and was unable to retain as much information as I wish I could have. Thus, these descriptions may be short. But there will be pictures at the end and if you would like to learn more, Google would be more than happy to provide you with more information!

We began Monday May 27th with a coach bus tour of London. The tour guide was very nice and pointed out a lot of really cool places where famous movie scenes were filmed! (James Bond and Mission Impossible to name a couple. Fun fact: Tom Cruise broke his ankle on the London Bridge while filming a stunt.)

Our next stop was the Tower of London. A mighty fortress and full of history, this castle houses the Crown Jewels.

Unfortunately the line to view them was perhaps a mile long and we did not have time to wait. However, we did get to see a wide variety of artifacts and armor!

Perhaps my favorite thing I learned about the armor is how King Henry VIII of England loved his first wife so much he had their initials put onto his armor! The Tower of London is also where King Henry VIII executed his second wife Anne Boelyn.

It was also fascinating to learn about the Yeomen Warders of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London (also known as the Beefeaters) and the ravens that are housed here. Legend has it that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the monarchy will fall and the country will be in shambles.

After wondering around for a couple of hours, it was time for lunch. When we finished lunch we boarded the coach bus and went to check in to the hotel. With our bellies full, exhaustion set in and I believe that everyone on the bus took a nap!

After checking in to the hotel, we took a short walk through Hyde Park to Kensington Palace! It was so cool to visit the King's and Queen's State Apartments and learn so much about past monarchs, especially Queen Victoria! Unfortunately, William and Kate weren't home so we couldn't have tea so I settled for a walk through the gardens.

After spending a of couple hours there, we headed back to the hotel for dinner. The three course meal was delicious! With our bellies full again, exhaustion really set in. Any plans of showering and going to bed early were out the window when I accidentally fell asleep and took an impromptu 3 hour nap!

I am very excited for tomorrow and cannot wait to experience more of London!

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"Blessed are the curious for they shall have adventures."