Well, to all my friends and family keeping up, I'm back in Houston, safe and sound! I even got to sleep in my own bed last night :) It was awesome.... But here is the last night (New Years Eve) in London. From Chester, I took the train back and found my way to the Heathrow Express. The "hotel hoppa" bus service from the airport stinks. You have to pay 4 pounds to ride and hotel shuttles are not allowed. Stupid Heathrow!
I stayed at the Holiday Inn Ariel because it was the cheapest on Expedia. It was fine...just needed a night to sleep before the plane ride.
The lobby was decorative...
Now, THIS is the traditional European hotel room. Lol if another person had been in this room it would have been a tight squeeze when getting around.
After I dropped my luggage at the hotel, I was out to the City to get one last look at London before leaving. My goals were Buckingham Palace and the London Bridge. So I studied the Tube system map and made it (quite easily) out to London.
First stop was Buckingham Palace. So, not what I expected. But still glad I was there.
Nice statue in front of the Palace.
Now, THAT'S a gate!
The palace from across the street...
And more up close...
From the gate, with my camera right inside the camera :) Couldn't see any guards, though. Guess it's just a day thing?
The coat of arms on the gate.
I thought maybe there was more to see so I walked around the entire grounds. Big mistake, that was like a 2-3 mile walk lol. In the freezing cold. But I liked the old walls with the spikes. Very protective lol.
Then I took the train to London Bridge station. Saw this Chapel as soon as I got out of the station. I have the name on my map, I'll have to look it up. Very Medieval though.
London Tower Bridge....so pretty. I walked up and down the London Bridge (which is just a normal bridge) but I loved the viewing of the Tower Bridge. So pretty!
Stopped at a cafe to get something to eat. But I couldn't understand the Middle Eastern people who were working at the cafe. I didn't want to eat pizza again but I think that's all they had. They had more on the menu but I think they were trying to tell me it wasn't available. I just got a can of Fanta (my obsession over there lol).
The concierge at the hotel had said the Tube was going to shut down at midnight for the holiday (which I just couldn't fathom-how are those 250,000 people going to get home??) but it was so busy on New Years Eve that I decided to take the underground back to Heathrow.
I was so hungry so I sat in the bar/lounge area of the hotel and had a salad and some drinks. As midnight approached I decided to stay downstairs and watch the coverage in the bar.
36 seconds til 2011!!
Happy New Years, Big Ben!!
They do a BEAUTIFUL, MAGNIFICENT firework display over the River Thames. It was quite awesome.
Over the London Eye!
Insane!
And, that was my New Years. I left early that morning for Houston. It was a LONG day of flying but was happy to see my Daddy as I came down to baggage claim. Was excited to be home and even got to spend some time talking to Michael last night. Things are back to normal and fabulous! Going to wander around Texas when I can. School starts again on Wednesday. And the boys come January 10 for MEGA CHRISTMAS and a THREE WEEK STAY!! Woohoo, life is good. Thank you to all those who kept up with me and especially to God, who truly looked out for me on this journey. I had MANY talks and leaned on him more than you'll ever know. Such a fabulous experience for me. Can't wait for the next one!
I stayed at the Holiday Inn Ariel because it was the cheapest on Expedia. It was fine...just needed a night to sleep before the plane ride.
The lobby was decorative...
Now, THIS is the traditional European hotel room. Lol if another person had been in this room it would have been a tight squeeze when getting around.
After I dropped my luggage at the hotel, I was out to the City to get one last look at London before leaving. My goals were Buckingham Palace and the London Bridge. So I studied the Tube system map and made it (quite easily) out to London.
First stop was Buckingham Palace. So, not what I expected. But still glad I was there.
Nice statue in front of the Palace.
Now, THAT'S a gate!
The palace from across the street...
And more up close...
From the gate, with my camera right inside the camera :) Couldn't see any guards, though. Guess it's just a day thing?
The coat of arms on the gate.
I thought maybe there was more to see so I walked around the entire grounds. Big mistake, that was like a 2-3 mile walk lol. In the freezing cold. But I liked the old walls with the spikes. Very protective lol.
Then I took the train to London Bridge station. Saw this Chapel as soon as I got out of the station. I have the name on my map, I'll have to look it up. Very Medieval though.
London Tower Bridge....so pretty. I walked up and down the London Bridge (which is just a normal bridge) but I loved the viewing of the Tower Bridge. So pretty!
Stopped at a cafe to get something to eat. But I couldn't understand the Middle Eastern people who were working at the cafe. I didn't want to eat pizza again but I think that's all they had. They had more on the menu but I think they were trying to tell me it wasn't available. I just got a can of Fanta (my obsession over there lol).
The concierge at the hotel had said the Tube was going to shut down at midnight for the holiday (which I just couldn't fathom-how are those 250,000 people going to get home??) but it was so busy on New Years Eve that I decided to take the underground back to Heathrow.
I was so hungry so I sat in the bar/lounge area of the hotel and had a salad and some drinks. As midnight approached I decided to stay downstairs and watch the coverage in the bar. 
36 seconds til 2011!!
Happy New Years, Big Ben!!
They do a BEAUTIFUL, MAGNIFICENT firework display over the River Thames. It was quite awesome.
Over the London Eye!
Insane!
And, that was my New Years. I left early that morning for Houston. It was a LONG day of flying but was happy to see my Daddy as I came down to baggage claim. Was excited to be home and even got to spend some time talking to Michael last night. Things are back to normal and fabulous! Going to wander around Texas when I can. School starts again on Wednesday. And the boys come January 10 for MEGA CHRISTMAS and a THREE WEEK STAY!! Woohoo, life is good. Thank you to all those who kept up with me and especially to God, who truly looked out for me on this journey. I had MANY talks and leaned on him more than you'll ever know. Such a fabulous experience for me. Can't wait for the next one!
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