France wanted to keep me…

This morning seemed to begin well enough. Mom and I woke up early, packed and grabbed a snack on the way to the train station. And that is when the trouble began. I noticed the other day that Mom’s Eurostar ticket looked different from what I printed out, but I thought nothing of it. Turns out, that my transaction did not go through – I didn’t have a ticket or reservation.  Instead of paying $62 months ago, I paid €180 today. Ouch. I had to pay to get to London; there went that money.

Immediately following that credit card swipe, we went through border patrol. Once again, thinking nothing of it, Mom and I fill in the forms and hand them over along with our passports to the officer. He began questioning us, completely routine. Then he asked why we were staying different lengths of time.

Why was I traveling longer? I have been traveling for a bit, and she is joining me for part of it. Where had I been? Italy, Spain, France. Where was I going? London. How long are you staying in London? Six nights. But you leave in eight? I’m going to Bristol for a night. Why Bristol? I studied there a few years ago. What’s your flight number? I don’t know. It’s from Gatwick to Atlanta on June 1 in the morning. What airline? Delta. Let me see your ticket. I dig through my stuff thinking how terrible this is. I can’t find it.

What a terrible experience. He sternly told me that he would let me through, but I should always have a copy of my ticket or expect to be turned away. Ugh. Thanks, God, for helping me on to the train.

Since this morning, I have scratched the face of my watch, tripped about ten times, paid way too much money for a ticket that should have been paid for, and dealt with a mean British guy. Maybe I should have stayed in Paris.

BUT after all of that, our day turned out pretty well. As soon as we arrived into London, we took the Underground to our hotel, unpacked, and headed for a pub. With tummies full of good food and hearty ale, we boarded a double decker bus for a city tour. We were able to see most of the highlights while sitting and resting.

the Thames with London Eye and County Hall on right.

Big Ben and Parliament.

St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Paternoster Column.

Tower Bridge.

Wellington Arch

men preparing for England’s football match against Mexico tonight.

by the way, I’m having trouble concentrating on writing, because I am watching the match right now!!! 

City Hall and London skyline.

ship in a glass bottle in front of St. Martin-in-the-Fields.

fountain at Trafalgar Square.

We made a full revolution on the Highlights circuit, and reluctantly climbed out of our seats to join real people walking the streets. For some reason, we are both quite tired, and thus decided to continue being lazy tourists – we rode the London Eye.

As the highest observational wheel in the world, the London Eye was built to celebrate the millennium and sit on the Thames for two years. Ten years later, it is still going strong. A full revolution in the Eye takes thirty minutes, and the best view is from the top at 443 feet. Today was a perfect day for viewing as the sky in the pictures show.

view north of Hungerford Foot bridge.

west across the river.

southwest – view of Big Ben and one of the compartments

me and mom!

County Hall.

Big Ben and Parliament.

Today was quite warm, probably high seventies, but tomorrow is forecasted to be much cooler. We could feel the cold wind blowing in tonight. In addition to the much anticipated football game, excitement continues in London tomorrow. The Queen will travel from Buckingham Palace to Parliament tomorrow as the new Houses convene.

We haven’t quite planned our day tomorrow, but the list of activities keeps growing! Tomorrow will surely be better than the first half of today!