After landing at Heathrow International Airport, the sixty in our group made our way to the hotel in two coach buses. Before leaving Heathrow, we were finally able to get all of the girls together for an inaugural group picture.
Our hotel was extremely accommodating and within minutes of our arrival was able to get all 60 guests into their rooms. It was seamless and very nice. Jackie, who never quits working, left the group to secure "hop -on hop-off" bus passes for everyone while we checked in.
After that - everyone really did their own thing. Some families had a short nap, some went off exploring on their own, and some went off in larger groups. There is soooo much to see and do here that it is impossible to list everything that everyone did. In the early evening however, most of the group (44) went up on the big ferris wheel called the London Eye that stands across the Thames River from Big Ben. From all accounts it was a great experience and a good opportunity to see this beautiful city from a different perspective.
It is senseless for me to include pictures of how everyone spent the day as few of them would reflect what everyone experienced with our individual itineraries. I have included the group picture of the girls, a picture from the London Eye, and a birthday picture of Captain Kensey who turned 19 in London today. Happy Birthday Kens, you are awesome!
My observations for Day 2:
- The streets are narrow, everyone drives on the wrong side of the road, and bus drivers have no fear. One thing that I had not considered, and keep messing up - is looking the other way before I cross the street. Yikes!
- How can a receptionist at a major hotel in London not know what and where Abbey Road is? Seriously?
- Simply sitting and listening to people here is interesting. Fewer than half the conversations that I overheard today were actually in English. This is truly a multi-cultural city and not what I was expecting.
- It is fun watching our Sting girls together. Whether they are 17 or 13, they all get along and all belong. Nice!
- Riding the "Tube" or subway here is easy. Finding hand sanitizer is the challenge.
- Finally, and this is important. The doors on the subway do not re-open like our elevators if someone sticks their body in between the closing doors. On a related note, don't try to board the subway and lead with your chin. No - not one of our group - but something I'll never forget. He did stand tall with the cliche stiff upper (and fat) lip.
Have a wonderful time Sting. You rock.
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