The London Trip

It's been quite a while since I've posted an update on the blog...we got back from our vacation/babymoon earlier this week and as much as I don't want to admit it, I've been feeling the effects of some jetlag. Anyhoo....on to the good stuff.

I've always wanted to go to London. I've had several opportunities to go for work and for various reasons outside of my control, the trips have always been canceled. I finally decided that it was time to take matters into my own hands and just book the damn trip already. Plus, with the impending arrival of Baby Miller I knew that the opportunities for Miller & I to take extensive vacations like this would be few and far between for the next several years.

The first couple days in the UK were actually spent in Oxford visiting The Killough's. Kent had just finished his term so it was a great time for us to visit. We even went with him to turn in his final term paper!! Since he was in a celebratory mood due to the end of term & Miller was in a celebratory mood since he was on, you know, vacation, the Killough Oxford Pub Tour commenced. We spent the remainder of Friday & all day Saturday strolling around Oxford taking in the sights & pubs. Sunday we all took the bus to London and headed town to the Thames River for The Boat Race. This could easily be classified as the end-all-be-all of sporting events for Oxford University and the fact that several of the Oxford boat crew members are part of Kent's MBA program just made it all the more exciting. We met up at a park with several of Kent's classmates to enjoy the great weather, beer (water for me), and the race (the equivalent of English tailgating). Oxford won (!!) and we all headed back to the hotel to get ready for the dinner/ball/party to honor the winners. We got all dolled up (Miller even wore a tux!) and had a great time celebrating the win.

Oh yeah...Sunday was Miller's birthday too.

Monday morning, the Killough's were on their way and the vacation continued for the 2.5 Millers. We took the opportunity to sleep in (it was a late night at the ball) and by the time we were ready to get up & about, a lot of the day passed us by. We were anxious to get out and see some Corgis, so we took a long leisurely stroll through Hyde Park. No Corgis. Damn.

Tuesday we hopped on the Tube and headed towards the Thames river. We strolled around to see Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, the Churchill Museum & Cabinet War Rooms, Trafalgar Square, and walked up the mall to Buckingham Palace. We were sure to see Corgis at the Palace, because the Queen has 5. Right? WRONG! Still no Corgis.

Wednesday we went to the Tower of London and visited the Jewel House (where they keep the Crown Jewels). We strolled over to "the city" and intended to visit the Bank of England Museum. We were met by a string of "bobbies" (aka: the police) trying to keep the crowds under control. Yeah...we walked right into the G20 protesters. Oops. Needless to say we hightailed it out of there and moved on to St. Paul's Cathedral.

By Thursday, our feet were in desperate need of a break so we decided to venture out to see Stonehenge. It's about 90 miles west of London so we knew it would be an adventure getting out there. We had to maneuver the Tube to the train station, and then take a train to the town of Salisbury. To say that we didn't know what were doing is an understatement, because we were supposed to switch trains at a station along the way and we missed our connecting train. (We were literally standing in front of it and didn't know if we should get on or not. By the time we realized it was our train it was pulling out of the station.) We figured out the next train to Salisbury, so we were finally on our way. Once we arrived in Salisbury, we hopped on the bus that would take us to Stonehenge. It was a pretty incredible sight and I have to say that it was probably one of my favorite things about the trip.

Friday we attempted to go shopping. We headed up & down Oxford Street (on the recommendation of multiple people) to hopefully snag some great UK fashions. I was really excited to hit up H&M and other discount retailers, but it was pretty discouraging once I walked in. Shopping for trendy fashions when you're 7 months pregnant is no bueno. I was so discouraged by the fact that I couldn't try anything on that it just made the entire day of shopping a bust. I probably could have purchased items that I'll be able to wear post-baby, but my spirits were already crushed at that point. Needless to say, Friday was the throw-away day of the vacation.

Saturday was our last "full" day of the trip. Miller was pretty adamant about going to the Imperial War Museum and I really wanted to take a ride on The London Eye. Along the way we stopped at (yet another) English pub to have fish & chips and I decided to have a Guinness. Not to worry...I only had a half-pint...but it was still damn good.
We spent the rest of the day just walking along the south bank of the Thames river. The weather was GREAT and it was nice to just people-watch. We passed a couple parks and kept peering around to spot any Corgis...still none.

Sunday was our day of travel to the airport. We had an early flight back to the States on Monday so we decided to check out of our hotel and move to a new hotel at the airport (to reduce travel times in the morning). It's a good thing we did because it was pretty hectic (especially with our large bags and my inability to lift anything). We did manage to squeeze in a quick stop at the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Overall, it was a great trip. Miller & I were both severely disappointed that we didn't get to see any Corgis on vacation, but it just made us appreciate Riley that much more when we got home. We were pleasantly surprised with the food. English food isn't bad, but it is repetitive. The thought of eating anything fried and/or mashed potatoes is really not that appealing. More than anything, I'm just glad we were able to get away before the baby comes and I'm so glad I finally got to go to London!!!

If you'd like to see more pictures from our trip, check them out here

Editor's Note: 101 in 1001 goals completed on vacation:
30. Travel to Europe
36. Go to a museum
61. Drink a Guiness
88. 72 hours = no computer/internet

Today: 28w6d