Day 1 (November 11)

This was actually travel day number two, as Eileen, Jeff and I all took flights that began the evening of the 10th.

The plan was to sleep on the plane coming over. But my flight started at 6 p.m. and I was so wired that even my melatonin didn't help. Plus every time I would start to nod off, either the flight attendant would ask if I needed something (yes, SLEEP!), someone would cough or talk loudly, or the plane would hit turbulence. So I never really hit deep sleep.

Fortunately, although I got to our hotel (the Marriott Regent's Park) at like 9:30 a.m., they had the room ready. When you've been on a plane for six hours, through two major airports, and you can't figure out how many hours it's been since you last really slept but you know it's been a lot, let me tell you there is nothing better than a hot shower and a double espresso.

We opted to push through the day, so after unpacking and showering, we went on a This is London! walk. It included a boat ride on the Thames, and we actually saw all the major highlights during the walk. During that time there was also some drama of trying to get my international cell phone to actually work (it did after approximately 15 tries). It was really weird to actually be there and seeing all these attractions in person.

After the walk, we went to a Wagamama's for noodles, and then walked over to Picadilly Circus before taking the tube home. We were exhausted but it was still way too early to sleep, so we went to the hotel pool for awhile, which actually helped us wake up enough to go to the Marks & Spencer (M&S) Simply Food not far from the hotel for some breakfast food and other groceries.