We have been planning London since about August, early September. I came home from a horrible day, and for some reason Seth happened to have the computer out. I mentioned that I wanted to get away for our anniversary, I was thinking something in the country, you know like the beach or mountains possibly. Out of his mouth pops, "So you want to go to London?" How often is it that your husband offers take you across the ocean to another country on vacation?!? Let me answer that for you, that would be the first! (The other times out of the country have been on Missions Trips, which are equally as wonderful, possibly more, but this was totally different) So, of course I responded with SURE!!!! My Pinterest board began about 5 minutes later and was a continuos hobby and stress relief up until the day before!
Now, fast forward 3 months and its December 28, 2016, our anniversary! Our flight was scheduled to leave at 6:30 from Augusta. We flew from Augusta to Atlanta. We had about a 3 hour lay over in Atlanta and we were starving for dinner. We passed a Carrabba's and was set on that being our anniversary dinner......well little did we know the kitchen closed at 8 and was no longer serving food. So, we walked to another terminal and ate our anniversary dinner at Longhorns in the airport. It was quite delicious and our last sip of sweet tea before hopping across the pond. :)
The flight from Atlanta to London was about 8 hours long. We left Atlanta at 11:30 pm and arrived in London at around 1:30 pm their time. They are 5 hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone. The flight was actually pretty great for me. I slept almost the entire time. I missed all the meals they served and sodas. I never even had to get up and use the restroom! (haha, this is a big deal for me on a plane) Seth said he took naps intermittently, but nothing like I was. I made sure to stay busy that whole day, so that I would sleep really well that night. It was my first time flying through the night, and I must say I really enjoyed it.
When we arrived at the airport, we had to go to customs of course. It was a long line, but did not take as long as I thought it would! Our bags came out just fine and then exchanged our money for theirs! Then, we waited on our taxi that we booked before we got there. However, because our flight was delayed they did not wait around for us. So, we had to take "the tube" from the airport to our hotel. This was a lot of walking and a lot of pushing our luggage around. I don't pack heavy, but I don't pack light. So, my legs were already killing me and it wasn't even technically Day 1. Let me also make note though that MY HUSBAND IS SUPER AMAZING. He can figure out where he is and how to get to the next spot, no matter where he is. Sometimes he doesn't even have to use the map, it's like he just knows! I always feel safe when he is leading us around.
We made it to our hotel, which was called Tune Hotels. It was a great place to stay, it was very central to all of the sights and "the tube." This hotel was not the most expensive or the most grand, but we had the BEST customer service you could ask for. The room was EXTREMELY cozy (aka small), haha. Being completely honest, we did not have room for both of our suitcases to be laid out on the floor or propped out on a travel rack. :) The bathroom was only big enough for one person to stand in. The shower was stand up and the sink and toilet were semi connected, if you will. However, we have made a deal that the hotels when we travel, just need to be livable and not disgusting. They don't have to be fancy, because we are hardly ever in there anyways. When we are traveling (except at the beach), we are on the go, go, go.
After we made it to our hotel, we unpacked (as much as we could, hehe) and chilled for all of about 30 minutes. We changed clothes and headed out on the town. The time there was crazy. It got dark at 4:00pm and yet it still felt like it was the morning time to us. Totally bizarre. We walked from our Hotel to see Big Ben, the London Eye, and the shops! We were starving when we left the hotel, yet as soon as we started to see all of the big sights, It was like our hunger was totally gone. We of course had to take pictures immediately and pose for the touristy stuff (like telephone booths). I felt like I was in a dream walking hand in hand with my handsome hubs!
Once we realized how cold we were and we had explored a bunch, ( I did not wear layers on this particular night, I wasn't prepared this night, but after that time I dressed in layers for the rest of the trip) we decided to finally find a place for dinner. We ended up at this cute little place called, "Trovia". It was tiny, warm, yet fancy. The chairs though were so very tiny. This was our first time eating out in London and boy were our eyes opened. The way they seat you is quite hilarious. The tables are so incredibly close to others. No joke, myself and the lady at the next table brushed elbows more than once throughout the meal. It wasn't just at this particular restaurant, we had this experience everywhere we went. Seating is limited and you fit in where you can. What I found to be so interesting, was that it seemed to bother no one. It was like we are all friends just having dinner. Loved it. Totally different than a meal in the states. We also came to realize quickly that ice is not served in drinks and you don't get refills. :) This is a huge thing to me because I am one to drink several glasses of drink before my meal comes. I had to quickly learn to slow down drinking habits. (and by drinking habits I mean diet coke, guys. :) ) When our waiter heard us talking, he quickly found out that we were from the states. He helped me pick out something from the menu (chips, aka fries) and chicken wings. Seth was much more venturous and dinner time than I was. He had lamb for dinner! I was sticking with what I know I like. :) Every waiter that we had in London was so genuinely kind and really seemed to enjoy their jobs. I loved interacting with them!
After dinner, we walked back to our hotel and stopped at little convenient type store that was directly across from our hotel to grab some bottled Powerade and Dr. Pepper. We did so much walking on this trip it was insane. :) I so wish I wouldn't have left my fitbit on the charger back at home, I would have gained some serious badges. :) By the time we got back to the hotel, we were exhausted. I connected to their Wifi and chatted with my mom for a bit (we don't have international plan, so I was only able to text, Facebook, snapchat, FaceTime when I had wifi). After talking with her, we went to bed!
The next day began early. We woke up at odd hours throughout the night due to the jet lag and time differences. However, we ended up getting up and ready to walk out hotel lobby at about 8:30. We had breakfast at a local bakery across the street and walked to the nearest "Tube" (subway station). We took the tube to go get our Broadway tickets for the night's showing of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We bought our tickets online but we had to pick them up there.
After we went to the Abbey, we walked to Buckingham Palace
to see it and the changing of the guard. We got there just in time to get a
good place to stand to watch the changing. It reminded me a lot of the Tomb on
the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery in Washington D.C. It was very cool
to watch the history behind it all. Every corner of London has a piece of
History and I just am very obsessed with the Royals so just being in front of
Buckingham Palace was enough for me. We stayed and watched the procession and just took it all in. It was so surreal being in another country
witnessing their ceremonies that are so important to their culture and history.
When we arrived at the airport, we had to go to customs of course. It was a long line, but did not take as long as I thought it would! Our bags came out just fine and then exchanged our money for theirs! Then, we waited on our taxi that we booked before we got there. However, because our flight was delayed they did not wait around for us. So, we had to take "the tube" from the airport to our hotel. This was a lot of walking and a lot of pushing our luggage around. I don't pack heavy, but I don't pack light. So, my legs were already killing me and it wasn't even technically Day 1. Let me also make note though that MY HUSBAND IS SUPER AMAZING. He can figure out where he is and how to get to the next spot, no matter where he is. Sometimes he doesn't even have to use the map, it's like he just knows! I always feel safe when he is leading us around.
We made it to our hotel, which was called Tune Hotels. It was a great place to stay, it was very central to all of the sights and "the tube." This hotel was not the most expensive or the most grand, but we had the BEST customer service you could ask for. The room was EXTREMELY cozy (aka small), haha. Being completely honest, we did not have room for both of our suitcases to be laid out on the floor or propped out on a travel rack. :) The bathroom was only big enough for one person to stand in. The shower was stand up and the sink and toilet were semi connected, if you will. However, we have made a deal that the hotels when we travel, just need to be livable and not disgusting. They don't have to be fancy, because we are hardly ever in there anyways. When we are traveling (except at the beach), we are on the go, go, go.
After we made it to our hotel, we unpacked (as much as we could, hehe) and chilled for all of about 30 minutes. We changed clothes and headed out on the town. The time there was crazy. It got dark at 4:00pm and yet it still felt like it was the morning time to us. Totally bizarre. We walked from our Hotel to see Big Ben, the London Eye, and the shops! We were starving when we left the hotel, yet as soon as we started to see all of the big sights, It was like our hunger was totally gone. We of course had to take pictures immediately and pose for the touristy stuff (like telephone booths). I felt like I was in a dream walking hand in hand with my handsome hubs!Once we realized how cold we were and we had explored a bunch, ( I did not wear layers on this particular night, I wasn't prepared this night, but after that time I dressed in layers for the rest of the trip) we decided to finally find a place for dinner. We ended up at this cute little place called, "Trovia". It was tiny, warm, yet fancy. The chairs though were so very tiny. This was our first time eating out in London and boy were our eyes opened. The way they seat you is quite hilarious. The tables are so incredibly close to others. No joke, myself and the lady at the next table brushed elbows more than once throughout the meal. It wasn't just at this particular restaurant, we had this experience everywhere we went. Seating is limited and you fit in where you can. What I found to be so interesting, was that it seemed to bother no one. It was like we are all friends just having dinner. Loved it. Totally different than a meal in the states. We also came to realize quickly that ice is not served in drinks and you don't get refills. :) This is a huge thing to me because I am one to drink several glasses of drink before my meal comes. I had to quickly learn to slow down drinking habits. (and by drinking habits I mean diet coke, guys. :) ) When our waiter heard us talking, he quickly found out that we were from the states. He helped me pick out something from the menu (chips, aka fries) and chicken wings. Seth was much more venturous and dinner time than I was. He had lamb for dinner! I was sticking with what I know I like. :) Every waiter that we had in London was so genuinely kind and really seemed to enjoy their jobs. I loved interacting with them!
After dinner, we walked back to our hotel and stopped at little convenient type store that was directly across from our hotel to grab some bottled Powerade and Dr. Pepper. We did so much walking on this trip it was insane. :) I so wish I wouldn't have left my fitbit on the charger back at home, I would have gained some serious badges. :) By the time we got back to the hotel, we were exhausted. I connected to their Wifi and chatted with my mom for a bit (we don't have international plan, so I was only able to text, Facebook, snapchat, FaceTime when I had wifi). After talking with her, we went to bed!
The next day began early. We woke up at odd hours throughout the night due to the jet lag and time differences. However, we ended up getting up and ready to walk out hotel lobby at about 8:30. We had breakfast at a local bakery across the street and walked to the nearest "Tube" (subway station). We took the tube to go get our Broadway tickets for the night's showing of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We bought our tickets online but we had to pick them up there.
The next day was one of my most favorite days, it was very
busy but oh so fun, New Year’s Eve. First things first, we rode the tube to Westminster
Abbey. Just the mere sight of it was breathtaking. There was so much history in
that building from decades and centuries ago to history of my time (like
watching the Princess Diana’s funeral to the wedding of William and Kate), I
was in total awe of it all. We purchased the London pass, which allowed us to
enter in without having to purchase a separate ticket. We did a self-guided
tour that had headphones that you could play information from through the
Abbey. It was absolutely my favorite part of the trip.
After we went to the Abbey, we walked to Buckingham Palace
to see it and the changing of the guard. We got there just in time to get a
good place to stand to watch the changing. It reminded me a lot of the Tomb on
the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery in Washington D.C. It was very cool
to watch the history behind it all. Every corner of London has a piece of
History and I just am very obsessed with the Royals so just being in front of
Buckingham Palace was enough for me. We stayed and watched the procession and just took it all in. It was so surreal being in another country
witnessing their ceremonies that are so important to their culture and history.
After we left the palace, we went to the gift shop (of
course), I bought an ornament from their along with some souvenirs for my
family. From there we walked to Kensington Palace, where PRINCESS KATE AND
WILLIAM LIVE! I so wanted just run right through the gates and find her, but I
decided to act like I had myself together. (hehe) Of course, a picture was
taken. We hit a couple of stores, and made our way back to our hotel to get
ready for the New Year’s Eve Firework Show on the London Eye.
We got there found a great spot on the bridge and waited. It
wasn’t nothing like New York at New Years. We had room to move and was able to
actually enjoy the evening. However, I did have to walk forever and a day to
find the bathroom. Seth was so sweet though and helped me find one. We came back found a
spot on the bridge and watched the fireworks shoot off the London Eye. It was
another bucket list moment in the books! Seth is always making my dreams come
true!
On New Year ’s Day, we went and rode a double decker bus and
enjoyed all sorts of things off our bucket list for London. We had high tea
together, then we rode the London Eye, found Princess Diana’s memorial, went to
a Disney store in London, walked through Piccadilly Circus, found Abbey Road
where the Beatles were, toured Little Venice, found the National History
Museum, and so much more. We had a great time and everything was magnificent. Our final night we got dressed fancy for dinner and went on a beautiful midnight stroll in the streets of London. It was the most picture perfect night and is one that we will remember forever.
The next morning we flew back to the states and had a crazy
funny ride home. It was a trip of lifetime and I look forward to many more
trips with my precious husband. He never ceases to amaze me with the trips he
plans for me. I love him more and more every day as he is constantly pursuing my
heart. Our adventures fill our lives, we love seeing this world that the Lord
has created. This world is His masterpiece and we enjoy experiencing it!
Living to make Jesus famous,
Amy and Seth DuVall
until next time....xoxoxox
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