Mind the Gap... My London Adventures in 2004

This month marks the five year anniversary of the best trip I've ever taken!  Just for the record, I want to note there is a distinct difference between a trip and a vacation in my mind... Vacations= beach, relaxing/ Trips= go, go, go.  I've had some great vacations too just a different ball of wax.  Anyway, I digress...While in grad school a few girlfriends and I decided on a whim to buy tickets to London over Spring Break.  We stayed with friends and did a whirl wind, sleep deprived, four day tour of the mother land.  I think I'm in desperate need of another one of these and maybe that's why I wanted to reflect on some of my favorite memories from that time.

The three photos above were taken at the airport.  We were giddy with excitement and anticipation.  For me this was my first (and only so far) trip outside of the U.S. (unless you count Canada but I'm not sure that actually counts).

What would London be without seeing Big Ben?  After our Red Eye flight into Hethrow we immediately unpacked, showered, and headed into the city to check out Mr. Ben, WestMinster Abbey, and the London Eye.  I think we were going on about two hours of sleep.  But I remember feeling so invigorated.

We enjoyed the London Eye at dusk.  We got to meet some fellow tourists from Texas of all places.  I just couldn't get enough of this fabulous city and the great accents (not the Texans, the British)

I'm sure the locals thought we were the most annoying Americans but we just had to all cram into that phone booth.  It was calling our name:)

After a full day of sightseeing we decided to take in a show.  I don't really remember how we came down to deciding on Mama Mia, but forever after the music of ABBA has been associated with this trip!  It was the PERFECT play to see as the upbeat music kept us awake (that and our pile of munchies that we obnoxiously chewed on during intermission) and the lyrics were then stuck in our head when we were on the tube, went to Oxford, visited the Globe Theatre, and toured the queen mum's home.  This trip had absolutely no drama.  It was just pure, sleep deprived fun!  

The photo below was taken during intermission of Mama Mia by the poor lady whose lot it was to sit next to the loud American girls.

Here we are in Oxford.  What a great town.  I felt smarter just being there.  We visited the libraries and the chapel behind us was said to be where "Alice in Wonderland" was written.  It was a rainy foggy March day and we ended that evening by going to a local pub and enjoying conversation.

Molly and I struck a pose above with some of the guards of Windsor Castle.  Our tour guide, Moe, was a delightful little man whose accent alone would have made the tour unbeatable.

This picture was taken on our final day in London at our friend's flat.  It was a Sunday and after church we took a drive through the countryside.  We were exhausted.  How we managed to stay awake still amazes me.  I think it might have had something to do with the massive amounts of chocolate we ate.

So to the girlfriends who accompanied me on this trip of a lifetime I say thank you for the memories!  I hope to do it again some time.  This time others are welcome to enjoy the experience with us.  New friends, husbands, family... but I just know it will never be quite like that crazy trip in March of 2004:)