MINNEAPOLIS/ CHICAGO/ HEATHROW AIRPORT-
Waking up on Monday morning the weather was partly cloudy and about 40 degrees, the nicest it has been in awhile. Because of this, I was convinced that my only worry was to make sure I arrived at the airport on time, had my passport, and my suitcases be less than 50 pounds. Unfortunately, one of them was 10 pounds over so I had to pay an extra $45... awesome.
Anyway, while Minnesota weather conditions were decent, London's was not. To my surprise they were on national news for receiving the most snow in 20 years… a grand total of 11 inches. And of course, fate would have it that this would be the day I flew out.
After flying into Chicago we found out that all British Airway flights had been canceled. But finding out that information out was no easy task. First, we had to get our luggage at baggage claim, go up three floors, cross a skyway, and then down a flight of stairs to get on a train that would take us to terminal five, the international terminal. The picture above you can see is me all my stuff… now I know why people say to pack light. So, after going all that way it turned out that no one was working the British Airway counter. And sure enough the departure monitor to London flights for 5:05 and 9:45 both said canceled in bolded letters.
But despite the cancellation everything worked out just fine. Two of the girls I was flying with both go to school at Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee. It worked out perfectly because after we landed in Chicago we just had to drive about an hour and a half to where the campus was.
The flight to London went well, I watched four movies but didn’t sleep much, even after taking a Tylenol PM. We landed in London at 6:40 a.m. this morning (12:40 your time). Heathrow was huge! It was much harder lugging my suitcases around but I seemed to manage. We had to wait about three hours for our cab from St. Mary’s to pick us up. By that time we were all exhausted.
Our cab driver was a funny old Irish man. As soon as he found out we were Americans he asked us how we liked our President. I was anticipating that question, but didn’t think it would be asked so soon. Ironically, as he asked us he began digging for a photo album. It turned out that he had a picture taken with him and President Obama’s Grandma the night before she died. Crazy! He kept asking us questions but we were so tried it was hard to continue the conversation. My head kept bobbing, and as soon as I was falling asleep, I was startled by the loud noise his GPS made that kept saying “In 500 yards rear right!” And of course with a British accent.
Ten minutes after we were dropped off at the University, my host Mom came and picked me up. She is very nice. She felt so bad that my flight was canceled because of the snow. Which by the way, there was hardly any snow, it was all melting and there was more grass showing than actual snow.
The house I am staying at with another American is adorable. Best way to describe it would be like a three level flat, and a gated fence that leads to the door. I have tons of closet space, a TV, wireless Internet, and free long distance… couldn’t be happier. The house is about a 30-minute walk to campus. She has two cats, one very large dog, and two sons that are in high school. As I was getting settled in she offered me strawberry tea and a biscuit, delicious! After we got to talking and it turned out that she loves to run as much as I do, and has great paths that she takes every morning. Hopefully soon I’ll have the energy to join her for a light “seven” mile run haha. After that she drove me back to campus for another orientation.
Everyone in the program seems to be really nice and so excited to travel around Europe! We are already planning a trip to Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day! Later on some of us walked more into the city of Twickenham. It has a lot of cobblestone roads and cute stores… the town reminds me of Harry Potter. I walked into a cell phone store called Orange haha, I’m thinking about buying a phone. It’s only five pounds, and then I’ll get a pay as you go plan. We’ll see.
Anyway this entry is getting long, but I had lots to cover in just two days! A couple things I have learned about traveling thus far… be flexible and have a plan. Oh and be prepared for that plan to not go as planned. Miss you all!
-Britt
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