London

I had a week to explore this great city in the UK during the winter.  I was warned about the weather being pretty dreary and that it would ruin my stay.  Was even encouraged to travel to a much warmer destination and ditch this trip! My mind was made up bad weather notwithstanding.  I had a great host awaiting me and a chance to reunite with family members I had not seen in 15 years!

I’ve been obsessed with London for as long as I can remember.  I grew up watching a lot of British television. The British accent always sounded very sophisticated and enchanting. Not to mention the English Premier League and the British monarchy which are both fascinating and impressive.

Upon my arrival at Heathrow Airport, my lovely hostess, a friend I had not seen since college was there to welcome me! A first of many more great reunions to come!

I noticed that the cars and houses are a lot smaller in this part of the world! Must be a European thing.  We set out for Chatham, Kent.  A charming town outside of London. This meant I would spend a lot of time on the trains commuting back and forth.  I found the tube to be rather confusing!!  On the bright side, I did make friends on the train.

When I had a day to finally explore London, I made a stop at the iconic tourist attractions; London Eye, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and got to see the famous River Thames. There’s is nothing quite like experiencing a place in person!  Next up on the agenda was to visit an English Pub and partake in some much needed refreshments. Tea and scones were just not appropriate.  Imagine my surprise when our the bartender greeted us in Swahili!  He picked up on our language and chose to surprise us! He’s from Qatar.

My last night in London was spent at London Hilton on Park Lane.  The service at this location was top notch!   The hotel overlooks Hyde Park. Trader Vic’s bar and lounge had a great selection of cocktails and the decor was very impressive!  There was a DJ churning great variety of tunes that included very familiar African songs.

By the time I left London I had acquired a fake English accent that only lasted through my flight back to Atlanta.