Mind the Gap...

After a wonderful flying experience on Virgin Atlantic (their economy is like business class on other airlines, free drinks and all!) we arrived in London.  The weather was a bit chilly and rainy but since we barely slept on the plan and were jet-lagged, it made for a great first day to catch up on our Zzzz's.  After a nap we went to see the Queen at Buckingham palace and took a stroll in Green Park.  By that point the skies had cleared and the crisp weather felt like Fall.  In London, I noticed, it's all about the layers and people rock boots and leather jackets year-round.

We rented a great little flat in the Highbury and Islington area of Central London.  It was well located on a cute, quiet little street and surrounded by lots of great Thai and Indian restaurants.  If you know anything about Bill and I, you know we love ethnic food and as Curry is the national dish of England, we were in heaven!  We ate Indian food every night, screw fish and chips!

We also went to the Tate Modern and Bill and I really enjoy going to Contemporary Art Museums and adding our own commentary to the bizarre displays sometimes there.  However, we also got to see some truly great artists and take in the work of Andy Warhol, Matisse, Picasso, Diana Arbus, Monet, Pollack, and my all time favorite sculpture "The Kiss" by Auguste Rodin.  It was brillant! 

  

Two friends of mine also live in London, Titus and Seyi, so it was great meeting up with them to catch up.  Titus took us to a delicious Indian Restaurant (per our request) and Seyi took us to a fabulous 'see and be seen' trendy spot in London, The Huxton Grill, later on that night for drinks.  We had a lovely time and it was especially great seeing Seyi (we were roomies in NYC and go way back to our college days in Gainesville together).

The next day we went on the double decker sight-seeing tour to visit all the attractions like Big Ben, Westmeinster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park, Tower Bridge, etc.  Then we took a cruise down the Thames River to see the sights from a different perspective.  It was a great day and we had a wonderful time in London despite the rainy weather (it rained everday).

Then it was back to the flat to hit the hay early as trains in London don't run past 12:30am and so we had to get up at 3AM to catch 3 buses to the airport for our 7AM flight to Istanbul. Ya, I'm not a morning person but I managed to do it anyway and it did sort of add to our adventures navigating the streets of London and seeing them all quiet and empty at that hour.  It was hilarious watching all the drunk people getting on and off the bus at that hour, lol!

We made our flight and arrived in Istanbul to stay with our next airbnb host, Verity.  More on Istanbul in the next blog :)  Cheers!