London, 2015

Ryan had some meetings in London, so we decided to take advantage of all those frequent flier miles he's been racking up. Ryan flew out on Saturday, and I joined him on Wednesday. Ryan and I had been adjusting our schedules towards London time for a few days, and I was able to sleep for a good portion of the flight over, which was great for beating jet lag. On Wednesday I successfully navigated my way from the airport to the hotel. I was not so lucky on my afternoon run. But thanks to google maps (and a little help from Ryan) I made it home safe and sound.



Ryan showed me around London and we ate at an Indian restaurant in Knotting Hill and wandered around the city until I called it a night.

The next day I had great time exploring the city. I started the day at Westminster Abbey. I was the first one in line and able to enjoy it without the crowds.

From there I made my way to Buckingham Palace, where the Queen was in residence--probably awaiting the birth of Princess Charlotte who was born two days later.

I then took the tube to the Victoria and Albert museum. I intended to see the Alexander McQueen exhibit, but the wait was too long so instead I checked out a cool fashion through the ages exhibit.

As I wandered toward Kensington Palace, I stumbled upon the Natural History Museum and the LDS Visitors' Center. I stopped in for a quick tour and met some very nice sister missionaries.

I was starting to get hungry, so I found some food at the Royal Albert Theater. And from there I went to Hyde Park. It was wonderful. So green and peaceful. I found my way to Kensington Palace. I'm not up on my royals, and when the usher told me that Kensington Palace was the current home of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge I had to google it to know that Kate and William were close by.

After the tour of the palace and the gardens I rented a Barclays Bike and rode through Hyde Park. It really is amazing how much more ground you can cover on a bike! It really was fun, and was nice because there weren't too many cars.

My next adventure was a different story. I had signed up for a "Secret London Bike Tour." We started in this somewhat sketchy graffiti tunnel where Banksy frequented during his early days. Then we went all over, joining right int with London traffic.  I was amazed at how easy it was to ride with the cars when you were following a guide. We even rode over the Tower Bridge. The scariest thing was that near the end of the 3-hour ride my cell phone died. Ryan and I were in the middle of texting each other to make plans for the evening. Thankfully my guide let me use his phone (and Ryan's phone number is one of the few that I have memorized!) and we hooked up.

Ryan and I had dinner at Nobu with some of his friends. Then we wandered around SoHo (I think--I was just following Ry) and got a waffle. If you've only got one real day in London, make it count!