Lots of Rain, Wicked, and Kind Strangers

Edinburgh to London.

Method of Travel: Train

Day One:

Our first stop after arriving in London was our hostel. We took a bus most of the way and then walked for what felt like forever. Note to self: Make sure you get off at the right bus stop next time.

Next stop? Food. We walked one street over and were lucky to find PRET. This Panera-like fast food restaurant was our lifesaver. I'm pretty sure we ate here at least once everyday we were in London.

Our two favorites: PRET and Starbucks

Our hostel was right next to Hyde Park so we walked around that for a bit. We walked down a beautiful street with all the consulate houses. We then turned by Kensington Palace. Which...no big deal...is where Wills and Kate are going to live. (PS I'm hearing the royal baby is on the way. So excited!!) If you know me, you know I absolutely love Kate Middleton so this was so cool for me.

Day Two:

It pretty much sucked. It was cold. It was rainy. We didn't have a lot of warm clothes. We didn't have rain boots. And we didn't have umbrellas. All of that combined just made for a miserable day.

Our plan was to go to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards. Along the way, we realized our feet were soaked so we stopped in a sports store to buy rainboots. Ten pounds for boots? Yes, please.

We were a little late to get a good view of the guards, but we did get to see a horse freak out, fall, and then run off. The guard on the horse fortunately was okay but it was touch and go for a minute.

We spent the rest of the day inside museums. We saw the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, and something else that I can't remember. I'm telling you...it was a long, miserable day. There was one point when we stopped in someone's front stoop and about gave up. We were not loving London so far.

We had tickets to see Wicked that night. I had never seen it before so I was really excited. We finally made it to the theater. We were wet, tired, and just a little down. The show did wonders for our mood, however. I absolutely loved it! We sat beside a couple from Connecticut and struck up a conversation during intermission. The woman worked in London a lot so we were asking her the best way to get home on the tube. Unfortunately the show started again just as she was starting to answer us.

At the end of the show, she immediately grabbed my hand and said, "Follow us outside. We're going to pay for your taxi home."

Oh my word. Seriously?! I almost started crying. We were so incredibly thankful for that sweet gesture and could not give her enough thanks and hugs. That a complete stranger would pay for a taxi ride home was just the best way to end the night.

London started to grow on us after that :)