Wednesday, January 11 – London Calling
At about 6:30 AM, my flight touched down at London Heathrow and after 7 and a half hours on the plane, I was finally there! After clearing customs and collecting my luggage, I headed down to the trains to catch the Heathrow Express into the city. The luggage carousels were madness, so packed that suitcases were falling off on the ends! I got my ticket for the Heathrow Express no problem from the automated machine except for a moment that I was trying to figure out which ticket I wanted (probably made more complicated by my lack of rest due to jet lag). Fortunately I had purchased correctly and found the train platform no problem.
About 15 minutes later, the train pulled into Paddington Station and following my cousin Laura’s instructions, I got off and headed towards the shops to get my underground “tube” week pass, so I could get to her flat. First, I needed to get some cash though. After succeeding in following signs for cash machines, they eventually led me to the street and I thought, “this can’t be right”. Walking back into the station (still with luggage in tow), I finally found a line (or queue as they call them in the UK) with about 4 people waiting and three machines. Cool, one problem down. I went down to purchase my pass, and got it no problem. Then I had to go back out and by the train platforms to catch the Hammersmith and City line that my cousin’s stop was off of. At Paddington, the platform for it was on the opposite side of the station from the other tube lines, kind of a pain. I got on the tube and just a few minutes later found Laura’s flat after briefly going the wrong way down one of the cross streets. I was so tired that I immediately crashed on her sofa and slept probably about 3 hours.

After waking up a bit more refreshed, I decided to wander out and find a bite to eat. I did so and afterwards returned to the flat. Laura that particular day was in Birmingham for a meeting, and wasn’t returning until later that night. Because of this, I decided to make use of my time and go see the British Museum (and also to try and overcome jet lag). I picked a tube route (which later I found out was not very efficient), but I didn’t care since I had plenty of time. After wandering around London in search of the museum, I finally found it and came in the back entrance. I briefly looked at the guide and headed straight for the Egypt section that was upstairs. Navigating the museum was impossible with rooms leading to other rooms and it took me a few minutes to find the stairs! On the way though I saw one of the statues from Easter Island. When I finally did find the Egypt section, I was quite impressed. I looked at it and then headed into the succeeding sections of Ancient Greece and Rome. Also cool. After that, I was beginning to doze off and my eyes were getting really heavy. I was thinking I needed to get out of there and get back to the flat for another brief nap. I looked at my watch, only 20 minutes had passed since my arrival to the museum! I decided that I would come back and look in more depth at some of the stuff later in the week when I was more awake.

I headed back to Laura’s flat and immediately switched on my iPod and started listening to music, just trying to stay awake, or at least not sleep so much that I would be awake all night. I was looking through my printouts on the various sites I had gotten before I left and discovered I had missed the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum, the biggest highlight!! I would have to go back, but not then. For those of you that don’t know what the Rosetta Stone is, it was an ancient rock with Greek, Egyptian Hieroglyphics and demotic written on it as a decree and it was the key to deciphering the Hieroglyphic language of Ancient Egypt. This was made possible because the same thing was written in all three languages and people understood the first two.

After seemingly spending half of eternity on the couch (3 hours), Laura finally came home and we immediately went out to find some dinner. We ended up going to a nice Italian place and got caught up on things. Having some conversation and food helped me to stay awake and I had little trouble staying awake, though I was still very fatigued. After getting back about 10pm to the flat, I slept soundly until the following morning.

Thursday, January 12 – The Tower and St. Paul’s
I awoke the next morning fully rested and as I later found out amazingly had slept through my cousin Laura’s hairdryer. After a brief shower and breakfast, I was on my way to the Tower of London, what my mom had told me was the best site in London. I arrived to Tower Hill just before 10:30 and caught the 10:30 “Beefeater” or Yeoman Warder tour of the place. The Beefeater leading our tour as it turned out was also in charge of caring for the 8 ravens on the grounds, granting him the title of “Ravenmaster” (he had a patch on his sleeve as well). He told us the history of the tower, including the most famous beheading of Anne Boleyn, and some other gruesome tales. He was telling us of the legend of the Ravens, that if fewer than 6 ravens ever are inhabiting the Tower, superstition has it that the monarchy will crumble (which is why they have two extra). The tour was only 45 min and afterwards, I wandered around the grounds and saw the Crowned Jewels of England, and inside the Tower found an impressive exhibit about the 1604 Gunpowder Plot by Guy Fawkes and others to blow up the London Parliament building with the king, queen and parliament inside for a State Meeting using 36 barrels of gunpowder. This was in attempt to restore Catholicism as the primary religion in England. But, as I learned, the plot was discovered days before it was to be carried out and it was thwarted. In addition to those exhibits, I got to see the famous Tower Bridge and some impressive views of the grounds from Tower Hill.


Tower of London


Tower Bridge

After touring the Tower, I got some lunch and then headed off to St. Paul’s Cathedral. St. Paul’s was originally an old Catholic Cathedral that was restored and redesigned in 1710 by Sir Christopher Wren as an Anglican Cathedral. It’s most impressive feature is the massive dome, the world’s third largest that towers above the city skyline. In his day, it was the highest point in London. I was very inspired by the design of Wren, closely incorporating biblical themes throughout the building and avoiding gaudy excessive decorations. I particularly was impressed by the World War II memorial in the front of the Cathedral to the American soldiers as a gift by Britain. Amazingly, the Cathedral survived the London bombings during World War II with little damage. Probably the neatest of the symbolism were the paintings on the inside of the dome of the apostle Paul at different stages in his life. To this day, you can still climb to the top of the dome and I did so for a very impressive view of the city. In the basement, or crypt, were buried such legendary figures as the Duke of Wellington, Christopher Wren himself and Lord Nelson.


St. Paul's Cathedral


View of London from St. Paul's Cathedral

After going through the cathedral, I went across the recently constructed Millennium Bridge, and briefly poked my head in the Tate Modern Art Museum, which I was not too impressed by. After this, I headed back to the flat and then got dinner at a local restaurant themed after an American diner. I got a nice burger there (good for British standards). Then I went back to the flat and planned the next day’s activities.

Friday, January 13 – A Day in the Heart of London
I started off the day going to tour Westminster Abbey and did so. It was an impressive building, but very crowded with tombs on the inside, so much it felt like an indoor cemetery. There were some impressive names though, including many kings and queens, Geoffrey Chaucer, and others. It was rather interesting.


Westminster Abbey

After going to Westminster Abbey, I went across the Thames River for my flight on the London Eye, the largest ferris wheel in the world, run by British Airways. It is also the highest point in London. I had a nice time and surprisingly wasn’t too scared about being high up, probably because we were inside these glass capsules. The views were incredible though and I got some great photos including one of the Parliament Building, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey all in one.


London Parliament

Following my flight, I had lunch and then went to the Churchill War Rooms and Museum. This was probably my favorite place aside from the Tower. These were the original bunkers used by Winston Churchill and his cabinet to discuss war policies during the Blitzkrieg phase of World War II. It was amazing how intact everything was, and it was neat to see how they were constructed. Attached to the war rooms, was a newly constructed museum about Churchill’s life, with neat interactive computer exhibits, TV clips, and belongings of Churchill. I was very impressed with how modernized this museum was, it was probably the best museum I have ever seen!

Still in World War II mode, I decided to head over to the Imperial War Museum which had more exhibits about the war, including an exhibit on the “Blitzkrieg Experience” in which you go in and experience what it was like to live in London during the Blitzkrieg and hear tape recordings of the bombings, sit in a replica bunker and then walk around and see a replica part of East London that was damaged (scaled of course). Also particularly touching was the Holocaust exhibit, which reminded me of the Holocaust museum in Washington, DC. And they also had many replica tanks and even a replica V2 rocket. In front of the museum were the guns from a battleship.

Then, still having some energy, I headed back over to the Thames River and by the Parliament building and caught a river cruise from Westminster Pier to Tower Pier. It was dark by this point, so it was neat to see everything all lit up and I got some decent photos.


London Eye

After this I headed back to the flat and shortly afterwards Laura returned and cooked some dinner. Again, I used the evening to plan the next day’s outings. I decided that I wanted to go out to Windsor and see Windsor Castle, the largest inhabited castle in the world built by William the Conqueror over 900 years ago.

Saturday, January 14 – Windsor
I got up fairly early and took a train from Paddington Station to Slough, where I changed trains for Windsor. Upon arriving to Windsor just about 15 min later, the first thing I could see was the castle, and man it was absolutely huge! I had been wondering where to go to enter the castle, but there were well marked signs exiting the train station and I had no problems finding the entrance.

 
Original Windsor Castle                                                    St. George's Chapel

I was intrigued to learn that it had been built in the 11th century by William the Conqueror and is now the largest inhabited castle in the world, with the Queen staying there every April and a week in June. Unfortunately, the main highlight, the State Apartments were not open and so I could only walk around the grounds in that area. But the St. George’s chapel was open and so I was able to see it. It was a very impressive place, Charles Darwin and Sir Isaac Newton are both buried there as well.


View of Windsor Castle

After touring for about an hour and a half, I left and decided to wander around the town a bit. I walked across a pedestrian bridge over the Thames River and took a photo of the entire castle, very impressive! Then, I got a quick bite to eat and decided to head back to London. I got back at around 3 or 4 and just hung out for a little while until my cousin Laura returned from her all day class. We went over to the home of a friend of hers for dinner and I got to meet some of her other friends from business school. They were pretty fun and I enjoyed some of their stories. After a little time there we headed back to the flat and crashed.

Sunday, January 15 – Attending St. Paul’s
Laura and I had decided that we wanted to go to church at St. Paul’s on Sunday which I was very excited about. St. Paul’s is an Anglican church, so very much like the Episcopal church I used to attend. It was neat being in such a historic place and worshiping God at the same time, I was trying not to be so distracted by the massive organ, beautiful art and lots of unknown people in the crowd.

After the service, Laura and I walked back to her flat through the parks – St. James Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. We passed by Buckingham Palace and also a point where you could see the London Eye and Big Ben. Neat. Then for lunch I had a traditional Sunday roast from a local pub. It was pretty tasty.


Buckingham Palace


Princess Diana Memorial

By then it was 3 or 4pm and so I just hung out for the afternoon, and planned the next day’s activities (my last in London). I also figured out how I was going to get to Stansted Airport, where my flight to Glasgow was leaving from.

Monday, January 16 – National Gallery, Harrods and some rain
Well, my luck with the good weather had seemingly run out as the weather was very overcast and threatening to rain that morning. I had planned to get up at 8:30 and head out around 9:30, but I didn’t wake up until 10, so I quickly ate some breakfast and then headed out to the British Museum where I wanted to see the Rosetta Stone that I had missed on my first trip. Despite the somewhat confusing layout, I eventually did find it and was very impressed. I decided to get a postcard of it as well as of the Egyptian mummies and the Easter Island Statue.

Afterwards, I walked down to Trafalgar Square where disappointedly (or maybe fortunately) there were a lack of pigeons. My sister had told me many times I needed to see it because of all of the pigeons. After walking through the Square, I went into the National Gallery which is on one side of it. Fortunately though, despite my late start, I still made the 11:30 guided tour. The tour was a bit disappointing, not because the lady didn’t know her stuff, but because she spent so much time on each painting (10 min!). I would have preferred to know fewer facts per painting and seen more paintings. With her schedule we only saw 6 paintings in the hour or so we were on her tour.


Trafalgar Square

Leaving the gallery a bit disappointed, I headed over to St. Martin in the Fields to check out the Café in the Crypt, which I had heard from my mom and sister was an interesting place to eat. I decided though upon arriving I didn’t really like the food they were serving, so I left and decided to find something else, where I encountered some rain. I was disappointed about this since I wanted to walk through Picadilly Circus and Leicester Square where I had heard there were street performers, but the rain foiled my plans.
I headed over to Harrod’s this massive department store of six stories, where you could by literally everything, except tourist stuff which I was interested in. So I decided to leave and then in thinking about tourist stuff, decided I wanted something from the Tower of London, so I headed back down to go in their gift shop which was outside of the grounds. I ended up buying a few collectors coins that were replicas of medieval coins.

Then, I was pretty exhausted, so I headed back to Laura’s flat to relax the rest of the day. Later in the evening, I decided to go try a fish and chips restaurant that I had read about in the guidebook. It was pretty good, but as most places in London very expensive.

Tuesday, January 17 – To “Bonnie” Scotland
I awoke very early Tuesday morning (4:30 AM) to head down to the tube station for the first train of the morning with my luggage. As you can imagine there was hardly anyone riding at that hour. The train arrived about 4:50 and it took another 25 min or so to arrive at the Liverpool Street Station where there was an express train to Stansted Airport that took 45 min. I got a train that arrived to the airport about 6:15 and I checked in and then had about an hour before I needed to board. I decided to get some breakfast and then head out to the gate and relax.

The flight went smoothly, no problems, I arrived claimed my luggage and started looking for Rachel, the bride in the wedding I was attending, who was planning to pick me up. Soon I saw her with her fiancé, Chicho and friend, KC, who I knew as well. After exchanging greetings, she said her dad was on his way inside. I waited while they went and got in line for some coffee and while they were in line an older man came up to me and in a thick Scottish accent says to me, “Hi there, are you Jimmy? I’m Howard, Rachel’s dad” I was caught off guard and found his accent a bit funny to listen too, so I was trying hard not to laugh, but managed a coherent reply of, “yes, I am, nice to meet you”. He was immediately asking me about my trip, what I had seen and what I wanted to see in Scotland. He told me that we were immediately going to see a castle overlooking the Irish Sea and I decided that sounded fun. Chicho, being from landlocked Bolivia had never visited an ocean or sea, so he was very excited.


Culzean Castle

We ended up going to Culzean Castle, located southwest of Glasgow about an hour away near the town of Ayr. Howard explained to us that all of Scotland’s castles were closed this time of year except the really popular ones like Edinburgh Castle, but we could walk around the grounds which were open. The castle was very neat and had a wonderful view. Howard told us that on a clear day you can see from it all the way to Ireland! But being the height of winter, we had lots of fog and clouds blocking our view and barely able to see the peninsula across the way.


Brig O'Doon

On the way back to Rachel’s we saw the famous Brig O’ Doon, a bridge made famous by author Robert Burns who was from that area. We had a nice lunch at a little café there and then headed back to where Rachel’s family lived, just south of Glasgow.
During the afternoon I just relaxed and a bit later went over to one of their neighbors, who I was staying with to drop off my stuff and say hello. Then, I went out that night for a “stag night” with all of the guys. We ended up going to an Italian restaurant that had very good pizza and then played a round of pool at a local sports bar. Then, we decided to try and find something else to do, but found everything closed or too far away. So we settled for a place that served very good hot chocolate and got some of that and just talked for awhile.

Wednesday, January 18 – Edinburgh
Wednesday, KC, Chicho and I decided to take the train to Edinburgh, only an hour away from Glasgow. We arrived just after noon, and like Windsor, could see the castle right from the train station, although a little bit more in the distance. Edinburgh’s castle is very famous and is also where the Scottish crowned jewels are kept. It would be Scotland’s equivalent of the Tower of London. People were executed there, armies attacked the castle, and the military still resides in a portion of the castle. The geography was a little tricky, so we asked a local how to get up there and he pointed us in the right direction. As with most castles, Edinburgh Castle sits on the top of a hill with an impressive slope on three of the four sides, making it a strong defensive position. The weather was overcast, but fortunately was not raining. We had a good time walking around the castle and listening to the audio tour of the place, learning some interesting history. Edinburgh Castle is also home to “Mons meg” this canon that was the state of the art in its day. However, it was extremely heavy and thus couldn’t be moved very far, so it spent much time in the castle.


Edinburgh Castle


Mons Meg                                                                     Artillery at Edinburgh Castle

After touring the castle and viewing the crowned jewels we headed down to walk part of the “Royal Mile”, a mile long road that goes from the castle to Scotland’s new Parliament building. The general Scottish thought on the new building is that it is nice, but probably more extravagant than necessary and apparently it was quite the controversy when it was built just a short time ago. We didn’t make it all the way to the Parliament, instead we stopped for lunch at a small café, where there was soup and sandwiches. Then it was almost 3:30, so we decided to cancel meeting up with one of KC’s friends Karen who lived in Edinburgh, since she was a twenty minute bus ride away, and we needed to be back at 4:30 to catch the train without having to pay extra for a prime fare. So, we just walked around by the train station, visiting a Disney store and also walking down below the castle in this beautiful park, where we got a nice view of the castle. Then we got on the train headed back to Glasgow and then on another train to a stop near Rachel’s home, where her dad picked us up.


View of Edinburgh Castle

Thursday, January 19 – Burrell Collection, meeting up with old friends
Thursday morning, I went with Rachel’s dad, Howard, to visit this museum in Glasgow that housed a collection of a guy that had over 9000 artifacts from all over the world. The museum was rather interesting, since Burrell had left specific instructions upon his death of how it was to be constructed. Included in the museum are 3 medieval style rooms, with authentic furniture, and several doorways that he purchased from ruined castles. Quite impressive really. In addition he had artifacts from Egypt, China, the Middle East and even some pretty good artistic paintings.

After visiting the collection, Howard and I had lunch at a nice country club like place. Then, I returned back his house where I later went out with Mark, one of the guys I lived with in Bolivia, who took me to his hometown of East Kilbride to get a kilt for the wedding ordered. Then, we went to Glasgow Airport to pick up another person who was a volunteer in Bolivia, Tony. Tony was flying in from Belfast, Northern Ireland and was coming for the wedding which was Saturday. The three of us then went back to Rachel’s to collect Chicho and then the four of us went over to have dinner with Mark’s family. After dinner, I had them drop me off at the train station in East Kilbride (a very modest size) and took a train to Glasgow where I met up with Peter, the guy I took my trip to Machu Picchu with. Peter is studying medicine in Glasgow, so I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to catch up with him. He was doing well and I enjoyed telling him about my plans to go to Ecuador long term. Afterwards, I took the train back to the stop near Rachel’s and again went back to where I was staying and went to bed.

Friday, January 20 – The Wallace Monument, Stirling and Wedding Rehearsal
Friday was an incredibly busy day, but somehow, Howard managed to have time to take me to Stirling to see the monument to Sir William Wallace, leader of the Scottish Revolution in the late 13th century. However, the monument wasn’t constructed until the mid 1800’s. It is a huge tower that you can climb and lookout all over the area near Stirling. It was miserably wet and raining the entire way from Glasgow to Stirling, but miraculously, the rain cleared off within 5 miles of the monument and there was even sunshine, illuminating the very green Scottish countryside. We arrived at the tower and then climbed all the way to the top where it was very windy. I still managed to keep my hand steady enough to get some good photos though. From the top I was able to see Stirling Castle and the University of Stirling.


Wallace Monument                                     View of Stirling Castle from Wallace Monument


View from Wallace Monument of Stirling Area

On the way back, we stopped and picked up my kilt for the wedding, ran a few other errands and then came back to the house. I spent the afternoon there until about 5 when two of my friends Tony and Rosalind picked me and Chicho up for another brief Stag outing to the bowling alley and then for Chinese food. Rosalind was kind enough to give us a ride since none of us were from Scotland, much less had a car. At the bowling alley, we met Mark and bowled two games before heading to dinner.
At dinner we were joined by Dave and Paul, the other groomsmen. Paul had driven up that day from England. It was weird because I knew Paul from my first trip to Bolivia, but none of the others did (except Chicho, of course).

After dinner we went to the church for the big rehearsal. I was trying hard to remember what seemed like a long list of things to do for the wedding, and apparently wasn’t alone since Sam, the other usher said he was going to have to write everything down. After talking with the pastor, Alasdair, afterwards though, it became clear things were much easier than he had made them out to be. Then, we all headed home to hit the sack and prepare for the big day.

Saturday, January 21 – The Main Event
After sleeping in a bit, I awoke and as all other mornings went down and had breakfast at the house where I was staying. This morning I had breakfast with Paul, who was also staying in the same house. Then, just a short time later, Dave and Chicho showed up with Sam, the other usher, who needed a ride. Chicho came inside and signed a few Thank Yous that Howard had brought over. Rachel and Chicho wanted to keep the tradition of the bride and groom not seeing each other on the wedding day until the ceremony, so it was complicated arranging all the rides and such. As it worked out, Paul had a car, but didn’t know where he was going, so he followed Dave and Chicho over to Mark’s. Sam stayed with me and we just hung out until we were picked up by the guy playing the organ for the ceremony, who took us over at the time we were asked to be at the church.

At the church, we did all of our duties successfully, seating people, putting programs on the front row for the wedding party and welcoming people. Richard, a third guy who flew in that day from Belfast also joined us in the duties and we brought him up to speed on what needed to be done. A short time later, Chicho and the groomsmen showed up, all in kilts. As it turned out (and from what I gather is typical of most weddings) the bridesmaids and Rachel were not quite ready at 1:30 and we received a phone call that they would be a few minutes late. The bridesmaids arrived a little while later and a few minutes after that Rachel. I had the honors of telling the pastor to begin the ceremony and before doing so, gave Rachel and the bridesmaids a few minutes to get organized and relax a bit. Then I asked if they were ready, and went into the sanctuary and gave Alasdair the signal. . .

The ceremony was beautiful and very incorporative of God’s role in both Rachel and Chicho’s lives. Several worship songs were sung by everyone, a brief message was given. Rachel’s sister Esther gave two beautiful solos, one in Spanish and a different one in English. Rachel and Chicho both exchanged vows twice, once in English, once in Spanish, a classy move I thought. Chicho’s parents, who weren't able to make it to Scotland, had also been video taped reading a Scriptural passage in Spanish that Rachel’s parents read again at the ceremony in English. Then as they did the recession, the groomsmen were each handed a rose and the bridesmaids and groomsman stood on opposite sides of the aisle and lifted their flowers to form a tunnel. From what we found out later, this was a Bolivian tradition (and possibly true of other Latin American nations).

Then, after the ceremony, I had another ushering duty – to pass out directions to the reception. Rachel and Chicho had their reception at a hotel on the other side of Glasgow, so it was a good 30 min drive away. At the reception, we went through the usual traditions of a receiving line, dinner and the first dance and cake cutting. We also got to see a nice video that Rachel had done of Chicho’s friends and family congratulating them. This was a surprise to Chicho, he didn’t know they were doing this. For another surprise, Howard had found out that Chicho’s favorite song was “The Bare Necessities” from the Disney movie “The Jungle Book” and so he rented a bear costume and had someone wear it as Baloo, the character that sings it in the movie. Then he and a few others got up and sang and danced to the song, which was very funny. Then, Rachel and Chicho had also prepared a slideshow of their ministry in Bolivia, so they showed that as well. Then, after all of this it was time for some Scottish Ceili dancing. I participated in a couple of wild dances, that were something between swing dancing and square dancing. Then, just a short time later, Rachel and Chicho’s fairy tale night had come to an end and it was time to say goodbyes to everyone.

Sunday, January 22 – Inveraray
I slept in the next day and a little while later was picked up by Mark, who took me to his church for a service. Rosalind and Tony had come too. Afterwards, we were planning to go to Inveraray to see Inveraray Castle, the seat of the Campbell Clan of which I am descended. I was pretty excited to see an area inhabited by my ancestors.


Inveraray Castle

The church service was a pretty typical evangelical service and afterwards we went over to Mark’s to meet Dave, who was driving us. We were soon on our way and drove back by where the reception had been the night before and then on by Loch Lomond, Lock Long and to Loch Fyne where Inveraray was located. We had lunch at a traditional “chippy”, a place where you could order fish and chips (fries). Then, we headed on to Inveraray, and arrived not twenty minutes later. The sun was beginning to near sunset, but it was still pretty decent light. We pulled into the castle grounds, got out, walked around what was open (not much) and took a few photos. Then, we headed into the actual town of Inveraray, a nice town. We went over by where some ships were and then wandered over to the Inveraray Jail, which was closing, but we managed to wander the gift shop for a few minutes. Then, darkness was setting in, so we decided to head back to Glasgow.

Monday, January 23 – Back to London
Monday was spent packing and relaxing until I was able to get a ride with Fiona, one of Rachel’s bridesmaids and her family who lived just two doors down from where I was staying. Fiona was heading off for work to Finland and had a flight leaving about the same time as mine, so it was perfect. Upon arriving at the airport though, she found out the airport personnel in Finland were on strike, so no flights were going in or out. We had planned prior to checking in though to have coffee with her family. So, I checked in and then met her and her family for coffee (I had hot chocolate) where we talked about things. I didn’t get a chance to talk with her or her parents at the wedding, so it was more getting to know each other. Then we said goodbye and I headed to my gate for the flight back to London.

I arrived at Stansted with no problems, collected my luggage and then boarded the Stansted Express back to Liverpool Street. Not having a valid tube pass anymore, my cousin had given me her extra one that had money stored on it, which was cheaper to use than paying the fares with cash. I used it to get from Liverpool Street back to her flat and again arrived there a bit exhausted. This time, I had no problem finding it since I had done the walk many times during my week there earlier. I dropped off my luggage and then decided to go find some food for dinner. Having exhausted a lot of my bank account and not really wanting to spend much money, I decided Domino’s pizza was good cheap option. I headed down to the shop and ordered a pizza to go and then brought it back to the flat, where I ate the whole thing. Then, I just spent the next hour looking at photos and listening to music waiting for my cousin to get home. When she did come home, I enjoyed telling her all about the wedding, and showing her a few photos. We also exchanged goodbyes since she was getting up early in the morning for class.

Tuesday, January 24 – Departing the Kingdom
The next morning, I got up, showered, had breakfast and then got my things together. Then I headed to the tube station and boarded for Paddington Station, where I caught the Heathrow Express to head to Heathrow Airport for my flight back to the States. I had no problems and soon found myself standing in Heathrow Airport with a sad realization that my vacation was over.

I had a wonderful time experiencing the UK for the first time, and also gained confidence in traveling alone internationally for just the second time. With my entry into the missions field, I don’t know when or if I’ll make it back to the UK, but I did enjoy my time. Having been my third trip to Europe, I am always amazed at the historical preservation of much of the continent and following the footsteps of so many previous and present famous figures.