Our first week of travel is complete, 51 weeks to go on this year long adventure. We went at a breakneck pace doing touristy things for the first week but also took some time to stop and revel in this adventure. It still doesn’t seem real that this is our life for the next year.

Some things that have taken some getting use to

• daylight – it’s bright outside from 3:30 AM to about 10:30 PM
• shower – we’ve figured this out but the setup is different than at home
• no AC – it gets chilly at night but still gets pretty warm during the day
• eating schedule – Tea Time! Just kidding. But we have gotten into a routine of light snacks throughout the day and one bigger meal. It’s interesting having no real schedule to the day.
• walking – So. Much. Walking.

We are in London until July 16th, when we will adventure out to Wedmore and the countryside. There are still so many things that we want to do and see in London. We could probably stay here the whole year and still have new experiences each day. Below are some of our adventures from each day so far.

Day 1

Our flight arrived a little ahead of schedule. After the 10 hour flight we were both ready to get off the plane. We waited in a long line at passport control but they let us in after only a little questioning on why we were staying so long. We now have our first two stamps, Canada and United Kingdom!

Not having a data plan ahead of time was something that we should have thought through. We exit security at the airport and have no way of figuring out where to go. Luckily there was free airport internet, so we looked up trains and connections. Feeling only a little bit confident we headed for the train station.

As we wandered towards the trains, the fact that we had no where to go, started to set in. People were rushing past us in a hurry to go here and there but we had no where to be but in the present moment. It was freeing.

Somehow without internet we made it to our AirBnb in Shoreditch. It was a long adventure. Our backpacks were heavy (and we were both wishing we had wheels). We stopped to rest in a quaint little park, because again we weren’t in a hurry. After the short reprieve we continued and eventually found our place. Figured out the key situation and walked into what would be our home for the next two weeks.

We watched England in a World Cup game. Heard lots of fun chants and got sprayed with beer when they won. Dinner was fish and chips (noms). All in all a good day!

Day 2

Today was our first day waking up in London and we had one goal. Get a data plan. We woke up (no alarm!) and went for coffee at Jonestown Coffee which is right around the corner from us. While we had internet we looked up directions to the place to buy our data plan, Carphone Warehouse. They could probably use a name update.

We took the Tube. Made it to the store without internet directions. And then find out that our phones are not unlocked. Now this is something we had pondered before we left but not actually checked on. The guy at the store was really helpful and nice but we left without a data plan, which meant no internet. We wandered (lots of wandering happens when you have no where to be) towards a populated looking area.

The area we found was Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. We decided to check out the National Gallery. It is huge. We covered about an eighth before we needed to get lunch. Luckily being here indefinitely allows us lots of time to go back!

Just to be ironic, we got Mexican food for Lunch. It was way better than at home which was surprising. Food here seems a lot fresher and less processed but that is likely just perception.

With no cell phone to guide us we proceeded to wander. We saw the Jubilee Bridge, London Eye, a cool street magician, Big Ben (hidden behind some scaffolding),  Parliament Square Garden, Westminster, St James’s Park, Buckingham Palace and Green Park. All. The. Things.

We did meet a lovely couple from California at Parliament Square Garden. It was fun to stop and chat with them for a while. They clued us in to the Oyster Card deal for riding the Underground and Overground – more on that later. One thing we learned quick was taking breaks between very long walks is important. Also snacks. Snacks are very important.

Day 3

Cereal Killer Cafe was pretty high up on our non-historical To Do list for London. And it did not disappoint. The concept is everything cereal and a time warp to the 90s. Check out the pics of Unicorn Poop and some yummy cereal.

We walked to Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Tower Bridge often gets confused for the London Bridge but they are different. We’re learning new things! On our walk  we saw City Hall, a delightful hidden flower garden, Hay’s Galleria, HMS Belfast, the Shard, the Gherkin, and lots of impressive old buildings.

We got groceries for dinner which was uneventful. But we found the best candy! Fizzy Fangs and Cadbury Twirls. This adventure added a new dimension to our travels of trying/finding the best candy in each country. (Katie is looking forward to this new part of the adventure.)

Day 4

Jonestown Coffee for breakfast. You have to start the day with coffee, if you’re going to walk around the entire city of London. We saw all the things today starting with The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace!

To be honest the idea of the Changing of the Guard is cooler than the actual event. During the actual event you’re being jostled by other tourists and herded by the Bobbies. They also have tons of signage about pickpockets working the area, which isn’t comforting. It was a cool experience but if we did it again, I’d get there earlier to get better spots.

After the Changing of the Guard we played some cards at Green Park. Then we decided to adventure, with no real plan, other than a direction.

Across the afternoon we saw Wellington Arch, Hyde Park Gardens, The Serpentine, Princess Diana Memorial fountain, Serpentine Gallery, an outdoor flying trapeze school, Albert Memorial, Kensington Gardens, Kensington Palace, Sunken Garden, Italian Water Gardens and then decided to call it quits.

But on the train it was decided that we should go do dinner, in China town. We were both pretty delirious by this point. After getting off at the wrong stop, we finally made our way to Piccadilly Circle and then China Town. We were too tired to appreciate either.

Day 5

We agreed today should be pretty chill after all the adventures of the day before. We planned to get some things sorted out and check out the TOMS store.

Before Cam woke up, I enjoyed reading in a park by our place. It has a view of the Shard and the Gherkin and is a stunning little hidden gem.

After Cam woke up, we figured out all the things. We finally got Oyster cards (unlimited Under/Overground trips within certain zones for a day, a week, month, etc.)…Should have done this the very first day. Oops. We also got our data plans figured out. Huge shout out to Mom/Terry for all the help with this!

We both wanted better shoes for all this walking, so we headed to the TOMS store. Turns out in the UK our feet are smaller. The TOMS store is in an area called Carnaby Street. There are lots of familiar brandname stores and plenty of people watching.

When we were done with our shoe purchases, we stayed around there for a bit and got food at a place called the Rum Kitchen. It was really tasty. Cam’s love of jerk chicken was reaffirmed. The number of different flavors we have had this week is amazing.

Piccadilly Circle and China Town were close by and we had a lot more energy than the day before. We wandered and pondered all the things around there for a while.

Eventually we got thirsty and needed to find somewhere to get a beverage. We found The Harp! Which is also the name of our old neighborhood bar in Houston. We had two delicious pints, one local, one Aussie made.

Then we went back to Piccadilly Circle to get some cool night time pictures. Before we went home we also took some cool pictures of the Jubilee bridge and the London Eye lit up.

Day 6

Today we did the British Museum. It had terrible air conditioning. There were some interesting things like the Rosetta Stone and an exhibit on clocks and watches from a long TIME ago to today. We would have stayed longer but the heat got to us.

Outside we saw an Itsu restaurant which we have seen a ton of throughout the city. We decided to try it. Mistake! It was mediocre at best pre-made sandwiches and sushi. But all the food can’t be wonderful and it did the job of filling us up.

We wandered over to Primrose Hill. Beautiful view from above the city. It was a little bit of a trek to get to the top but it was definitely worth it!

After we walked through the parks and the gardens. There are so many beautiful parks and gardens in this city. We could visit a different one every day.

We walked to 221b Baker Street. It was a quaint walk through lots of old neighborhoods. We might go back and actually do the Sherlock Museum.

We stop back at a pizza place that we saw up the street on the walk. Pizzeria da Michele is authentic Italian pizza (according to the wall, 5 generations of Italian). It’s a neat set up where you can see all of the pizza making process in the kitchen from your table. We ordered a Margherita (one of only two acceptable kinds according to the menu, as other adulterating ingredients were sacrilege). While we were waiting we were watching pizzas be made when this old guy, who looked like the picture on the wall, comes out and starts doing commentary on the kitchen guys. Their interactions were quite entertaining.

The pizza came out. We were ready to eat! Then we noticed that the pizza wasn’t cut… we figured it out but might have gotten some side eye from the old dude who was still ragging on the kitchen.

We booked hostel/Airbnb through July 23!

Day 7

We went to watch another England World Cup game today. We picked a much chiller place. Unfortunately that meant no chanting. Fortunately it meant less beer going everywhere, even though England won in a rout.

After the game we checked out brick lane market. And had a picnic in the park. We could get used to this life!

London London