Our flight out of Buenos Aires took a brief stop in Sao
Paulo, Brazil then continued on to London adding up to 12 hours of travel. In London we had a 12 hour layover, but after
going through customs we only had about 6 hours of time to spend in the city. A group of us took the Underground into
Central London where we picked up a double-decker bus for a city tour. The tour took us to Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar
Square, through wealthy neighborhoods, and beautiful green parks. London seemed to be right out of a fairy tale
to me. I love the old castle-like buildings,
tile roofed houses with chimneys from Mary Poppins, the uniform taxi’s, the
double-decker buses, and I loved the many many parks. I never realized how quaint London would
feel; I always thought of it as more spread out and metropolis-like.
At Buckingham Palace we were able to see the changing of the
guard. The guards at the palace switch
shifts and actually hand over the keys to the palace to the next shift of
soldiers. The guards march and ride in
on horses from two different streets accompanied by bands. The whole process and fanfare involved about
100 guards, soldiers, and police officers to control the hundreds of
tourists. I don’t know if that is a
typical number. Our guide said the
changing of the guards would be a little special today, because the Queen was
at the palace. It’s unbelievable that
they put on such a production every day during the summer.
We also took a short boat ride on the Thames River to see
the London Eye, the London Bridge, London Tower, the Tower Bridge, St. Paul’s
Cathedral, and Shakespeare’s Globe Theater (a reproduction). Unfortunately we ran out of time, but it was
amazing to get to see so much in such a short time. Before climbing on the Underground, we
stopped to grab a quick lunch; I had a salad and tap water. I loved being able to have salad and tap
water and not have to worry about parasites or amoebas. It also seemed strange to be able to flush
toilet paper rather than putting it in a garbage can. I felt sure that the toilet would get
clogged, but of course it didn’t. Finally,
what freedom I felt being able to drink from the water fountain. The World Race makes the simple things in
life seem like amazing blessings.
Today alone I flew in an airplane, rode a bus, toured on a
double-decker bus, rode on the subway/train, and took a ride in a boat. When I sat down at the gate in the airport I
still felt like I was moving. I did not
have time to get rid of the feeling before I boarded the plane for another 10
hour flight.
