1 super shuttle + 4 hour wait at airport + 4 hour flight to Toronto + 1.5 hour layover + 7 hour flight to London + 1.5 hours wait to get through customs + 30 min van ride to hotel + 40 minute wait for early hotel check in = 4 very tired people.
Day 2 we arrived in London and went out exploring for a few hours. We all wanted to nap, but were told not to, just stay awake and follow the time in your new city.
We were about 25 min outside zone 1 of London, by train. The heart of London is zone 1, then there are concentric circles going out from zone 1, with the numbers getting higher the further out. We stayed in zone 5. Zone 1 hotels were expensive and had tiny rooms, so I opted to be a little further out but had a 2 bedroom apartment with living room and full kitchen (picture showed a washer/dryer too, but travel is full of surprises). The train line was across the street, so we had easy access to London. We traveled into Paddington Station, then took the underground to the London Eye.
I didn't expect to be very impressed by The Eye, but I thought it was something the girls would like to do. Turns out they weren't very impressed either. We did get to see some good aerial city views, but we also saw lots of other tourists with selfie sticks talking to their cameras. The area around The Eye was crowded and way too touristy for me, complete with a McDonald's. We did not see a lot of fast food chains in Europe, just in the tourist areas.
We got to see our first view of the Parliament building and Big Ben, across the river Thames, just as the sun was setting.
We hopped back on the Underground, got slightly lost, exited the train station, found a local pub to eat at, and learned not to order "flat water". In Europe, you either drink flat or bubbly water. But flat water comes in a very expensive glass bottle at restaurants and cost 4.50 pounds, or about 7 U.S. dollars per bottle. We learned to order tap water after that. And drinks were usually served without ice, and only sometimes available even if requested. And Katie asked for a side of ranch for her fries, but our waiter had never heard of ranch. But our food was delicious. Fish and chips, baked chicken, and a flaky pot pie filled with chorizo and chicken and sauce.
Once we were full, we were able to figure out the Underground situation and made our way back to Paddington Station, then back to the apartment. There was some confusion over what stop to get off the train, since we did not pay attention when we initially jumped on, but a kind stranger saw our confusion and helped us. (Which is pretty much how we survived public transportation the entire trip...kind strangers!)
We ran to the Tesco next to the apartment (local grocery shop) and picked up breakfast foods for the next morning.
End of day 2.
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