Day One: London

I cannot tell you how excited we were to be headed to Great Britain. Our bags were packed, reservations made and double-checked, and we read everything Rick Steves had to say about this most interesting of islands. After a harrowing 16-week wait for our passports to arrive, we were finally leaving.

Our flight didn’t take off until 7:30 PM, which gave us time to be casual all day. Most of the day was spent putting the finishing touches on our house. We are house-swapping with a couple from the small town of Llanfechain in Wales.

We arrived at SFO without a hitch. Sheri sat in the back reading our Rick Steves Bible and slowly drifted off to sleep. For the first time, we would driving into the International Terminal (on purpose). Nick, Brittney’s boyfriend, dropped us off. In we went and began our half-hour wait in line to check in. Making it past that point, I was singled out for a very thorough search. The nice man wiped down everything in my 50 lb camera bag, checking for traces of explosives. My only fear was that it would detect my numerous emissions. But I was given the green light. We ate a leisurely dinner and made our way to the steel tube with the word “United” painted on the side that would be home for the next ten hours.

The flight started off well. And there seemed to be a bit more leg-room than I am accustomed to in coach. In fact, this was confirmed by my asking the question to a flight attendant. We were well prepared with special neck-pillows and eye-coverings that came in very handy. I felt sorry for everyone who came totally unprepared to sleep on an airliner. That was, until I fell asleep. I awoke a couple of times to see an amazing sunset. I then noticed we were over Hudson bay. I awoke again over Baffin Island, Greenland and then did not wake until the flight attendant handed me a British immigration card to fill out somewhere over Scotland. Before I knew it, we landed at Heathrow and our adventure really began.

For being such an acclaimed international airport, the busiest I am told, Heathrow was a dump. It looked like the old Detroit airport. I would have expected something more impressive. We made it through customs and immigration without any wait. Thankfully, they accepted us and our American dollars at the rate of two dollars for every pound.

We met our driver just as I was about to look for a phone to call him. He was a quiet, unassuming man from India. He was kind enough to point out some major sites along the way. We arrived at our hotel in downtown London in about an hour. We drove past Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and Big Ben. All of the above attractions, we decided, look much smaller in person and are very crowded by other city buildings. It was surreal to see in person sites you have seen in pictures since being a child.

Our hotel check-in went very smoothly. They even received a package for me. It was a GPS unit I rented for driving about the English countryside. More on that to come. As I really had to use the bathroom when we checked in, I sat upon the throne and began my reign as King Pewie. As I was in the process of voiding I was startled by a phone that rang right next to me. Without thinking where I was or what I was doing, I answered it with noises still emanating from some unknown place beneath me. Quickly hoping it was one of my daughters, my hopes were shattered and the embarrassment meter went off the charts when it turned out to be the woman at the front desk. I am certain she heard every explosion and knew exactly which phone I was using. “How’s the room, Mr. Peterson?” she asked. “Everything is great, thank you so much,” and I got the giggles. “Is everything to your liking?” I was not sure how answer as I was really enjoying the part of the room I was currently using.

Our hotel is situated directly across the Thames from the Tower of London. To stay awake, and to get our bearings, we walked across the London Tower Bridge to the Tower of London. We accidentally walked right past Lloyds of London at one point, something we weren’t expecting.

It’s so strange to look at sites that are 900 years old and still standing. London is a city of history and tradition. And, as we realized, America has done everything to be as opposite as can be, For example, to turn on a light switch, you flick the switch down. You also drive on the opposite side of the road. Brittney found this out when she was almost hit by a double-decker bus that screeched to a stop, missing her by only two feet. She looked the driver straight in the eye. It was our first close call.

Although they drive on the left, they keep to the right when walking on the sidewalk. That makes mo sense. They also have a lot of what we call, “obvious” signs and cryptic signs. In the obvious category is instead of “Exit” they say “Way Out.” In the cryptic category, the non-worded sign for an exit is a green background with a running man (makes sense so far) standing between a white square (what?) with a bent arrow (more, what?). They also drive lorries (trucks) that have advertising on them. And their toilets have about 3 cups of water in them. When they flush, things don’t spin around. They get deluged by a huge blast of water. More later in this missive.

To quote the great Winston Churchill, “We are two great peoples separated by a common language.” We could not get the camera out quick enough to capture the side of one lorrie that said “Menses Jubilee.” I know that has a totally different connotation in our country. And when Sheri scraped her wrist and began to bleed, she quickly found an eating establishment and said, “Can I have a napkin? I’m bleeding.” To us that makes perfect sense. But to the Brits, she said, “Can I have a maxi-pad? I’m bleeding.” So you’ll understand why she received the British look of horror.

Americans don’t look all that different than the Brits. But, as we discovered, one important clue that you’re an American is that we’re always tripping, and watching each other trip. You see, Europeans are used to uneven 1,000 year old steps, cobblestone streets, uneven embankments, and other unusualities (I just made up that word because it sounded British). So we trip on everything. There is an unusuality right outside our hotel. Just as my daughters notice the aforementioned unusuality, they speak, “Who would be dumb enough to trip over that?” I did. In fact, I got my foot completely soaked. Silly dad. But Sheri has tripped over the most things thus far. I am certain she will break something before this trip is over.

Jet lag really happens. The time difference was +8 hours. So we left on Wednesday evening and arrived Thursday afternoon. The battle was to try and stay awake. Sheri was the first to drop. Brittney was next. Elissa and I fought the good fight and she went out with me for evening walkies. The city near the Thames is beautifully lit at night. We experimented with a little evening photography and you’ll see the results on the link to the photo website here.

Another note of interest is that everyone who serves here (in stores and restaurants) is not from here, just like in California. It’s hard enough to understand a fast British accent. But a British accent from someone with a foreign origin with a British accent is even more difficult. Then try being surrounded by a bunch of loud drunks in a pub. You feel really dumb really fast. You are speaking the same language but you cannot understand each other. I had to remember that we are the ones with unusual accents here.

Our first day was over. And to top off the day, I learned something important. Guys, you’ll know what I’m talking about here. You cannot sit on the loo and do a courtesy flush without getting a big surprise. The toilets here do not release a slow stream of water causing your leavings to twirl about and gently disappear. Instead, a fire hose opens up from a secret hole under the lid and blasts your shame away instantly and decisively with 50 gallons of water completely soaking anything (like your bits and pieces) that happen to be in the neighborhood. Best to stand and not be courteous using British toilets.

Tomorrow will be grand as we begin our adventure in earnest. Toodles!