London

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to experience a lot of firsts. For starters, it was my first time going to EUROPE!! I went to our London office with my co-worker, Missy, to work but we also managed to squeeze some fun in there too! It was a little sad that I couldn't bring Eric with me, but he's happy that I can take full advantage of my job by visiting foreign countries. I haven't traveled to too many places, but here are my first impressions of London. Enjoy!

Waiting for the plane in KC.

We flew out on Monday night and arrived Tuesday at noon. On the flight into London I had 3 full seats to myself. Unfortunately, I couldn't sleep the WHOLE time because they made an announcement that woke me up. I failed to find a giant London sign so this is as good as it gets. Me in my tired glory.

We had a lot of work to do, so after we checked into the hotel, we went straight to the office...after grabbing some food of course. I learned that hot chocolate is not as sweet in London. We Americans like our sugar and I definitely prefer milk chocolate over dark chocolate. 

Here's the view from our office! We had to walk over water to get there. 

 That night, Missy and I had dinner with a supplier. It was a huge reality check that service in London is not so awesome. I later learned that it's because they don't get paid off of tips like they do here, so there's no incentive to be speedy. Placing an order, getting the food, and getting the check all took forever. And to top it all off, it's customary to have a coffee after a meal (which I don't drink). I thought I was going to die during the coffee because I was SOOOO tired. 

Missy's meal: head and tail. Gross. 

My ravioli at the Italian restaurant. It kind of had a weird flavor to it. 

 On Wednesday we celebrated Missy's birthday!! After work, we hit the town...

 and saw WICKED!! Check out our awesome seats :) I was still exhausted, but the second half was so amazing that I woke right up. 

 After telling Eric about my Wicked experience, I said something about the main girl being name Gar-linda. He's like, "Um, no, it's Ga-linda." Apparently the accent changed a few minor things, but I didn't know any different!

 You can't be on a global team without experiencing different types of food every meal. This was my first Persian meal (and we had more Persian food the next day). It wasn't too shabby. 

This made me giggle. I love how people in the UK speak English but it's still different. 

On Friday, Missy and I needed to take a break from the office. We went on a walk along the water and checked out the sites. 

One of my many London boyfriends. 

 This is the Little Venice of London. I've never been to Italy, but apparently it's full of white buildings and this spot along the water looks a lot like it. I thought it was cute. 

 I didn't think anything of these boats until I learned people LIVED IN THEM. And yes, even though you live on a boat, who says you can't have a garden?

 Yummy Pad Thai!

 I have to give a shout out to London. Thank you for these reminders! I automatically look left toward traffic but this was a life saver, literally. 

Love it!

 FINALLY, we got to Saturday which was our fun day! I rode the train for the first time! And I appreciated this sign since SO many people smoke in London. I had to hold my breath a lot walking along the street.  

Train Station

Phone booths were EVERYWHERE! Literally every 20 feet on some streets. I think it's charming :)

 And people in London refer to public restrooms as toilets. Just a fun little tidbit for my 5 readers out there. 

 Our main tourist trip was to Windsor Castle where the queen lives when she's not at the Buckingham Palace. 

Gorgeous.

 We toured the castle grounds and part of the inside. Unfortunately cameras weren't allowed inside (not that it stopped Missy haha) but I was a good girl. 

 Next we grabbed some lunch at a local pub by the castle. I had my first ginger beer (and a bite of fish and chips thanks to Missy). For some reason I was expecting it to be like delicious butter beer from Harry Potter. I think ginger beer is an acquired taste, but I can't wait to try butter beer at Harry Potter Land whenever I go!

 The Crooked House is a coffee shop we passed by. Awesome! The restaurants are so small that people eat on the main floor and the top floor. 

 After our trip to Windsor, Missy and I headed back into the city to try to catch some pics of the main sites before the sun went down. 

Big Ben

The Eye

My favorite part of the whole trip was walking around and seeing the beautiful architecture. London has so much history, and although I'm not a history buff by any means, I appreciate the beauty!

Well, that's the gist of my trip!