MFH (My Favorite Husband) and I landed at Heathrow Airport after a 15 hour flight and 3 hours driving from our house to the Birmingham, Alabama, airport.  We were a little tired around the edges but super excited to begin our new adventure in the UK!

First things first was getting through customs.  To get through customs, you have to survive the incredibly long line to get to the customs agent.  It took forever!!!  Once we got there, we were greeted by a chatty boarder agent.  *If you want to know this man’s wedding anniversary, how many children he has and where he goes to church, just give me a shout!

Once we had satisfactorily answered his questions, we were rewarded with a nice, new stamp in our passports.  YAY!!!

 

Now, a friend of mine very graciously arranged for his cousin, who is a chauffeur, to pick us up at Heathrow and drive us to our hotel.  How nice was that!?!  It really was SUPER nice because MFH and I were toast.  It was terrific to have that all arranged for us.

The cousin bundled us into his vehicle and drove us along the M25 to our hotel.

Our hotel was in the Westfield Mall next to the Stratford Tube Station. When I had made our hotel arrangements, I had no idea how convenient our hotel was going to be.  Sweet!  We were able to take a 10 minute walk and simply hop on the tube to wherever we need to be.  Easy Peasy!!!

The very next morning after we arrived, that same friend offered to take us on a ride on his tube.  He drives the tube each day and wanted us to see what it was like.

He and I had been FB friends for quite a while and had met in real life in Berlin for the Berlin Marathon last September.  We had tons of fun in Germany!!!

After picking up some coffee, #doubleespressoamaerican, he gave us a ride in the “cab” of the tube.  Passengers, as a rule, weren’t allowed in here so this was a huge treat!!!  *thanks again for the ride, Doug!

After the tube ride (which was pretty awesome!), MFH and I decided to do some sightseeing.  We WERE tourists, after all!

We went to the Queen’s House in Greenwhich~Too cool!!!

 

 

Then off to the Maritime Museum.  We saw the Royal Observatory.  All of it was way beyond what I can explain.  It was just that awesome!!!

I think that was probably MFH’s favorite touristy thing we did.

Next, it was off to Trafalgar Square.  I got goosebumps there for two reasons.  One, it was COLD!  and two, I couldn’t believe I was at Trafalgar Square!!!  *I’m such a dork*

We went and looked at paintings and the National Gallery.  I’m a huge Rembrandt fan.  MFH likes stuff a little bit more modern.  Lucky for us, they had both!  #winning

While we were there, I found a painting that I would swear was a predecessor of Paxton.  What do you think?  I bet that dog is just waiting for a Nutty Bar!

 

The last totally touristy stunt I pulled that day was standing in the middle of the road to take this pic:

I wanted to see what the finish line would look like before they put everything up for the race.  I ran down that exact spot!!!  That kind of stuff gives me chills.  I love it!!!

 

While there, MFH and I tried lots of local food.  I like everything pretty well except mushy peas.  I tried three different restaurants to like those green things.  Just couldn’t do it.  *shiver*  No offense to my UK friends intended!!!  Everything else was wonderful and delicious!

Met lots of other friends over the course of our 10 day visit!!!  They all were simply wonderful and made our visit so special!

This guy jumped through hoops to meet up after his trip to the Expo.  It was great to met you Jason!!!

Mark took us on a tour of the Olympic Park.   This was where the Olympics was held when it was in London.  Very cool tour!!!  Thanks again, Mark!!!

We visited Big Ben.  (Big Ben is BIG!)

 

AND, I rode the London Eye!!!

Now, MFH didn’t want to ride the London Eye.  I did.  We were agreeing to disagree on the London Eye thing but then, my friend, Lou, well, she saved the day!  Lou, her son and I rode the London eye together while MFH was content to keep his feet on terra firma.  You can see him on the ground.  The guy with the yellow cap?  That’s MFH.  He’s the cutest!!!

Here’s some pics of the London Eye:

 

After that ride, because I was freezing, I had the best cup of cocoa I’ve had in my entire life!!!

 

I think we’ll stop here for this blog.  We’ll pick up the rest of our visit on one last blog.  I can’t come close to telling you how much fun we had in the UK!!!!

Thanks for following along on our adventures!

#IRun4Aiden