I am in London! I flew out of Salt Lake City on Monday at 11:20 (flight was supposed to leave at 11:20 but a ground stop in Chicago delayed us an hour.) I have been stuck in Chicago twice on other trips so I was nervous when the news of the ground stop came while we were on the plane waiting to leave. But I had made sure to have a 3 hour layover in case of problems. I arrived in Chicago and only had an hour before boarding my next flight. I had plenty of time, but then the Chicago flight was delayed an hour getting off, which made me a bit nervous, but I didn't care as much about getting London late, so much as I got there period.
The flight got off finally and I sat on the right aisle seat in the middle section of 5 seats. The only other seat taken in that row was the left aisle seat, leaving 3 seats in between us empty. After dinner I lay down curled over two seats and was the most comfortable I have ever been on a plane! I still didn't sleep, but I was able to turn on some music and rest for hours and not arrive completely exhausted.
At London Heathrow going thru customs was a breeze! I didn't even need all the paperwork I had been told to have on hand. Whew! The trip so far has been smooth sailing! I got my luggage almost immediately, exchanged my cash dollars for pounds and headed for a cash machine to withdraw some more. Wah wah. I tried I think 7 different cash machines all of which rejected my request for money. I had some cash so I wasn't completely out of luck but it was making me nervous. I don't get my loans for another week or so and if my card ended up not working that would be a huge problem. I headed for the underground to take me into central London where I was going to meet up with the son of the lady I am staying with a couple of days. Just before the entrance of the underground was another cash machine, a different brand than some of the others I tried and finally it worked! I love money. It buys me stuff and gets me places.
I rode into King's Cross Station and headed to a coffee shop where I would meet Matt. he was standing outside and asked if I was Rachel. Turns out he'd already asked a couple girls with bags if they were Rachel and one said yes, and how did he know her name? But she replied in a British accent so he knew it wasn't me. (and can I just say it is taking all of my energy to not say anything in a British accent! I really really want to and the weeks before I left everyone was talking to me in fake British accents. The real thing makes me ridiculously happy.) We loaded up my luggage into his car, which he was leaving for his parents who were coming in on a later train to the same station. He took care of me for an hour before he had to leave for rehearsal, then I sat in a coffee shop eating a muffin and reading my Kindle and thinking "I'm in London baby!" An hour and a half later Gloria and her husband David arrived and took me to their house, got me settled in and fed. I was exhausted by 5 or 6 but I managed to keep myself awake until 9:30 even though I'd only had 3 hours of sleep in 2 days. Whew. Slept so well and laid in bed long after I had woken up.
I was really nervous to leave home after my Dad's heart attack and stroke a week ago; I'd considered cancelling the whole thing and staying home, but I am so glad I am here! It is going to take a great deal of adjusting though.
