We made it!

Well, we made it safe and sound over the pond after our first flight ran a bit late. Luckily, our next gate was only one down!

Amazingly enough, getting through Heathrow was a breeze. By the time we cleared customs and headed downstairs to baggage claim, we made it just in time to see our bags wander around the baggage claim belt. Talk about good timing! Then it only took a second to get our Oyster Cards for the tube and before we knew it, we were at our hotel, the Beauchamp.

I have to say, I did pretty darn well in choosing our hotel, if I must say so myself (and I do, since Thomas refuses to contribute to this blog). It's a lovely hotel in Bloomsbury, a neighbourhood I had stayed in previously on my last trip to London. It was a budget deal I found on Expedia so I wasn't exactly expecting a luxury room, just something quiet and clean Thomas and I could sleep in, but I was delightfully surprised at the spaciousness of the room and the coziness of it! Not only that, but it's *literally* half a block away from the British Museum, which already makes it a win-win. If any of you happen to visit London, I highly suggest this hotel. (I have some pictures  I'll upload a bit later.)

The only downside is that we are having the hardest time finding any free Wifi around here. I didn't realize how (obsessively) I check my phone until you can't. Literally. So aside from me writing this from the lobby computer, it looks like the updates might be a few days in coming.

Anyhoo... we weren't able to do a ton today since we got in late and both of us were tired from not being able to sleep too well on the flight, but we did manage an hour's visit to the British Museum, dinner at a pub, Shakespeare's Head, and a wander down through the shopping district. I have come to the realization that I absolutely cannot understand the Brits. I don't know what it is, but I can't seem to figure out what they're saying even though it's technically still English, which I embarrassingly discovered this evening whilst ordering dinner. (This doesn't bode well for Paris.) The bar server asked me something about wanting mashed peas or garden peas with dinner and I couldn't understand a bloody thing. She had to lean in and talk super slowly so I could understand. I'm sure she thought I was a dumb American! Of course in her defense, I didn't do much to discourage her from thinking so. C'est la vie.

Hopefully tomorrow we'll finish the British Museum and visit the British Library before doing a bit of Christmas shopping. Unfortunately, the weather is supposed to have rain and gale force winds! Ah well, you can't win everything, right?

Hope all is well back home.

Cheers,

Cathy