Today (well I guess technically yesterday), I began my journey across the ocean to London! I made it to the Fayetteville airport three hours early for the flight to Dallas, and then we got on the nine-hour flight to London Heathrow Airport. I had a bit of an anxiety attack when the face scanner that the gate for the London plane didn’t recognize me, and then while I was walking to my seat, my phone alarm went off while I had a bajillion things in my hands. All was well when I got to my seat and Brittney was in my row. We made a new friend from the Czech Republic, and had some fun conversations about different quirks about our countries. It was a long flight, but we survived, and we touched down around 12:30pm London time. We took a coach (bus) to our hotel, and I was blown away by the architecture right off the bat. The houses reminded me of cozy cottages (some of which had solar panels which looked a little silly), and the facade treatments on the larger buildings closer to the city were breathtakingly intricate.
After a quick nap, we headed to the Tube (subway) for the first time to use our Oyster cards! Before I get to how the rest of the evening was, I would like to say that London is one of the most beautiful and clean cities I have ever been to. Everything is much shorter than the buildings you would find in New York or Los Angeles, but the height makes the space feel more intimate and less anxiety-inducing. Personally, when I am surrounded by large skyscrapers, I tend to feel claustrophobic. Since being in London, I haven’t felt that way at all. There’s a lot more nature than I was anticipating, and the air feels cleaner (minus the clouds of cigarette smoke. There’s a lot of that). Not only is it cleaner, but so far, it feels like one of the safest cities I have visited. When I go to big cities in the US, I feel like I am constantly having to look over my shoulder, and not that I don’t have to be careful in London, but I feel much more relaxed.
Continuing on to how the rest of my day went, we got on the Tube and took it a few stops to Piccadilly Circus. This was basically like the Times Square of London but with a lot less billboards and tall skyscrapers. There were a ton of people, pigeons (sorry Ryan), and entertainment. Theaters and restaurants lined the streets calling out to passers by. In the little park right outside the Piccadilly Circus stop, there were multiples statues of famous characters unique to London including Mary Poppins, William Shakespeare, Paddington, and Harry Potter. We explored some beautiful alley ways, got coffee, and explored China Town. A group of us stopped at a small bakery in China Town and got Taiyakiya, which is custard in a fish shaped waffle cone.
After getting our custard and listening to an old man street performer sing Dancing Queen, we decided to walk back to the hotel instead of taking the Tube to get a better feel for the city. We passed more fantastic buildings and theaters, and we explored a few more alleyways. It’s almost like a maze the way this city is set up, but it’s definitely exciting turning the corner to find another cute boutique or coffee shop. We finished our walk by taking a stroll through a park next to our hotel and admiring a cute dog that happened to be freely roaming around the park.
Overall, it was a really successful first day, but I am 100% ready to go to sleep after only getting three hours of sleep on the plane over. Thanks for reading and goodnight ❤
Theatre in London U of A 
I missed my flight! I’m wishing I was there!
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I love how you put the photos throughout your post! It looks really nice.
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Thank you!
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