Day 1

I arrived around 10:00am England time today at Heathrow Airport. The wonderful Aleshia Haselden greeted me at my gate and we made the hour and a half train trip from the airport to Willesden Green. I couldn’t believe how far the airport was from her flat! Aleshia helped me aquire a special weekly travel card that allows you to use the transportation in London without having to pay each time. It is going to be very useful during my first few weeks since I plan on seeing a lot of things.

I was a little intimidated about navigating the underground train routes around the city. I learned a lot by running errands with Aleshia around the city. We hopped on to a bus at one point and sat on the top level. It was nice to see the streets in a different perspective. The busiest area we traveled through on this day was Oxford Street. It is lined with clothing, technology, and nic-nac shops, and is UNBELIEVABLY crowded. The only thing I can compare it to really is Christmas time on State Street (around Marshall Fields).

The flat I am staying in is about 5-10 minutes form the Willesden Green tube stop. You walk down this long winding street (I firmly believe now that no long streets in London are actually straight) past the library centre, and up two more hilly streets to get to Bryan Avenue. I am starting to realize that I am going to be walking A LOT on this trip!

Aleshia made me my own key for the flat, so I can come and go as I please. My bed is very big and I have a large window that faces the street. I was impressed that Londoners recycle lots of there trash. Aleshia and Rob put their recycling out on the curb in little bins. We are fortunate to have a washer and dryer in the flat (many do not), as well as a dishwasher. They are so tiny compared to the ones at home!

After unpacking and running errands, Aleshia and I met Rob at this great Japanese restaraunt called, Wegamama. It is a chain or restaraunts, actually, and ours was right across from the Tower of London. I was kind of embarassed because I asked Aleshia what it was when I saw it haha. At Wegamam, I had yaki soba, something I knew I could take home and eat again. Aleshia had a very interesting chicken chili soup, and Rob had another type of chicken dish. The tables at the restaraunt were wooden and very plain, but they ahd these really neat shelves underneath to store your handbags and "jumpers" (jackets). For desert, Aleshia and Rob forced me to try this wasabi chocolate cake. I was really nervous about trying it, but it turned out to be wonderful! It looked just like normal chocolate cake, but they wip wasabi into the icing.....crazy! To top it all off, Rob picked up the check! I can't believe how nice and thoughtful he was.

We finished the evening back at the flat with a cup of PJ Tibbs tea. Aleshia forced me to direct us from the tube station, so that I would learn my way back on my own. I was glad she did it, but thankful that I didn't get us lost! I am completely exhausted and cannot wait to sleep in tomorrow to recover from the flight. It was a busy and dreary first day in London, but I am looking forward to many more!