Getting There

My day began at my parent's house in Austin, TX where I had been for Christmas. I had to fly from Austin to Nashville (3 hour lay over) to JFK to London Heathrow. It was my first time in NYC and JFK was a bitch. By the time I got on my Virgin Atlantic flight to England I wanted nothing more than to see Sabine at the arrivals gate as quickly as possible. 6 hours later my wish came true. Sabine and her father were waiting for me the moment I went through customs, ready to explain this new and mysterious world to me.

Sabine and her dad, Kamal had driven to get me and the most difficult part of the jorney back to their home was getting out of Heathrow. We arrived at their house in Hampton about 20 mins later. First order of business, call my folks, it was 5am their time but alas my father was awake and waiting for the call.

I started to get to know Sabine's parents, her mother Anna. Anna is German and Kamal is Indian and together they are the two most generous and sweet individuals I have ever met. They made me feel completely and utterly welcomed in my home and catered to my every whim. Anna made us breakfast which consisted of scrambled eggs with chives, toast and if I recall correctly German ham. The food was delicious.

In an attempt to keep me from falling asleep we thought heading out into the world would be best. Sabine had already gotten me an oyster card, a type of pass that you can load with money and use on buses and the Tube. We walked a block to the bus stop and the dork me absolutely loved that my first bus ride was on a red double-decker bus. Our first stop was Hampton Court Palace.

It. Is. Astounding.

I couldn't help but think about the fact that Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I had all stepped foot in the garden, walked the pathway and wandered through the palace. It was surreal. We wandered around from one side to another, just taking it in.
After overcoming the awe I felt toward the palace itself I changed entirely into a five year old as we made our way to the Maze. Sabine had been through the maze several times so she let me lead the way.
Because we are total dorks and big Harry Potter fans we did our best to pretend we were
in the Tri-wizard Tournament. It didn't take too long for us to find the center. Which didn't really take that long. Finding the way out was another story all together. We actually found the exit about 20 minutes before we actually exited... poorly marked signs are to blame. As we got out of the Maze Sabine pointed out that it was 2pm London Time which meant I had been awake for a straight 24 hours.


I needed help staying awake and demanded Diet Coke. I had my first appearance at a pub to get a non-alcoholic beverage. We reenergized before heading to Kingston, a town not far from Hampton. Our first mission was to got to Marks & Spencer to change my Dollars to Pounds. The high street enchanted me with Christmas lights and crowds. Our first stop was the after Christmas sale at Bentalls. The only section we really showed any interest in was that of lingerie. I got a fantastic French bra, Lejaby, for half price!

We met Anna at the bus stop just outside the store and rode home with her sharing our tales of steals and shopping. Sabine had taped a TV movie the night before, Ballat Shoes, based on the book and staring Emma Watson so we watched that before dinner. Anne gave me a peice of German cake to tide me over. I can't describe it but it was to die for. At the same time Kamal ran to the supermarket down the street and bought me some Diet Coke. Anne made dinner which was delicious, cajun seasoned chicken with roast potatos, salad and a glass of white wine. After dinner I heard some tales of Anna's "wanker" of a boss. Great fun for all.

I kept falling asleep on the couch and can't really remember what time I finally managed to make it to the bed. I'm staying in Sabine's room with her on, I believe, a King size bed. VERY comfortable.

Day 1

Today I finally saw London, central London that is. I slept in seeing as this was my first sleep in two days. We left the house around noon after having a homemade omelet with German cake and toast. We walked to Hampton train station (which is on Ashley road - took a pic for Ash) and made our way to central London.


We got off the train at Waterloo station and headed underground, marking my first ride on the Tube.

Our first stop, new Bond Street. We headed to a store to get one of Sabine's Christmas presents, a watch, refitted for her. After that we struggled through the crowd to Selfridges (the store Alan Rickman's character goes to in Love Actually). It is huge. Wait, no huge isn't the word, it's massive. The store was the size of an entire shopping mall with a a food court and all. Didn't buy anything cuz well it's damn expensive.

We left the crowds of Regent Street and walked over to Buckingham Palace. It's nice. It's big. Said what up to the Queen, doubt she heard, and kept going.

We grabbed a wrap for a late lunch at a place called Pret A Manger. We both had the Jalapeño Chicken wrap which I can report contained absolutely no Jalapeños. We walked down to Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square, where all the movie premieres take place. Then we strolled along the West End theatre district before finding a dinner place, Garfunkles - the only thing I wanted on the menu was the American Hot pizza. How typical. At which time I got my jalapeños and decided that pepperoni here tastes like bacon.

I fell out of love with London today. Maybe not love, maybe just wonder. I was getting on the tube and this gentleman out right pushed me. Felt like I ran into a wall, rather than bumped into someone. I'm told you're suppose to just push back on the tube, that it isn't rude, but I think there is a difference between navigating through a crowd and pushing and being rude. I found the latter today and didn't care for it. Maybe that's what people in New York City are like as well. Not something I'll stand for.

Before Dinner we had a reservation at the Absolute Ice Bar. That was an experience. For 24 bucks you can drink a vodka cocktail from a glass made of ice in a room made of ice, with tables, chairs, and booths made of ice.
It was quite the experience and we had fun taking pictures etc.


The parka they gave us to stay warm made me look huge though...

We ended the night with my first musical, Wicked. It was mesmerizing. I'm totally a supporter of the Wicked Witch Of The West. She rules. Must see again. We took the tube back to Richmond where Kamal picked us up and brought us home.

Day 2 & 3

When I'm in a new place, sleeping in a bed with another person, I tend to wake up several times in the morning but force myself back to sleep if the other person isn't awake yet. It is that reason that I didn't wake up until 11am. The sun was out and the sky was bright blue, something I had yet to see. We had planned to start the day out in Camden but since it was a beautiful day we called to see if there were any tickets still available for the London Eye.

We had a quick breakfast and made it into central London by 2. The day before when I had asked I was told we wouldn't be doing much walking more tubing, well apparently when our plans changed so did that meaning I made the wrong shoe choice. We went up in the London Eye, which in my opinion wasn't great. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it but with the time it takes to get through the line, etc. I could have found a better way to occupy my time. Oh, and the sun was setting to the West, making any pictures in that direction difficult to capture. If you aren't from here you don't really know what it is your looking at, other than a few landmarks, there is no guide, etc. It was fun, but not worth the 30 bucks.

The inside view of the London Eye -

The Green Gherkin -

The other side of the London Eye -

Walking to Westminster bridge -


After that we walked across Westminster Bridge and by the Houses of Parliament and my new buddy Ben. (Dad you might know Ben-day-ho but mine buddy Ben is Big - don't mind my humor ppl I know it's bad).


Turned around to get one more of the London Eye - I love this pic -


Had a breather at Westminster Abbey.



Then we walked up to Trafalgar Square and down the Strand. We found a TGI Fridays and had a cocktail. I had something called a Gremlin - it was good.


Dinner was at Sabine's friend Laura's house with their friend Kate. Laura cooked us steak, roast potatoes with carrots and parsnips. The dinner was very good - and we started on a bottle of wine as well. I want to first say that they were both very nice to me and did their very best to make me feel comfortable. We had a good time and Laura let me borrow some shoes and steal a little perfume.

We went out to a pub, to have a few drinks and met up with their friend Sam. I left my cameras at Laura's - so I stole this one from her. Pictured back row (l-r) are Laura and Sam. Front Row (l-r) are me, Sabine and Kate.


Everyone proceeded to get pretty drunk. I didn't care to be that drunk so I stopped after a few glasses. We moved to another pub, then to a bar. Along the way Sam told Sabine that she didn't think she was English anymore but American. This became the topic of conversation for the rest of the night. I personally don't think Sabine could do anything to become American that includes obtaining our citizenship. In my mind she will always be English.

Along the way the topic of my nationality was brought up. I started to get more and more pissed off. The general consensuses of almost everyone I met that night was that they disliked Americans. I've never been in this situation before. In Australia everyone loved me, they didn't condemn me from their prejudices against Americans. Laura told me that Americans are arrogant. I'm not saying we aren't but I think everyone is. I've met Australians that pitied anyone not lucky enough to have been born in Australia, Canadians that have told me their country is superior, and to this day I have yet to me and English person that doesn't know they are superior to the rest. I really felt that I wasn't given a chance but immediately stamped as American.

Throughout the night the girls got too drunk for my taste. Kate tried to dance on a table and spilled everything including a beer on to my nice new coat. I had given my wallet to Sabine to carry and at one point in the night the club employee picked it up off the floor and asked whose it was. We closed down two bars. I've never been in a bar when they turn on the lights and tell you to leave. I guess that just isn't who I am, or what I'm interested in.

Kate found herself a Kiwi that joined us on the journey. Stephen, the Kiwi, was obsessed with American Football. He heard me talk and asked where I was from. Sabine interjected with, Tennessee, so he made a reference to the Titans and how much he loved Vince Young. I came back with the only thing I know about Vince Young and that is that he went to University of Texas. Stephen then proclaimed that he was an Oklahoma fan and we spent the rest of the night debating College Football. The irony here is that I hate American football, sorry if you love it, but I just never have.

He also got a kick out of mimicking my accent. By the end of the night I had obtained the most patriotism I've ever felt in my entire life. We stopped at KFC (the only thing open at 3am) and grabbed some food before getting a taxi back to Laura's. Laura got this pic of Sabine apparently in the wee hours of morning (according to the clock behind her head).


Once we got back to Laura's we were sitting around in the living room and Laura knocked over some champagne glasses and they landed on me. My new pants were covered. I felt lovely. I didn't have anything to change into either. Sabine and I shared a full size bed and wore Laura's husband's shirts, and I slept in champagne covered jeans. We woke around 11am and Sabine had a nice old hangover. I tried to get out of my funk about the anti-American day I had before.

We got our stuff together, I put my painful shoes back on, and we hopped the train to Hampton where Kamal came and picked us up. We showered, and then headed back out again. Sabine's friend Amy had a birthday the day before we were meeting here at a pub in Twickenham called the White Swan for a roast.

I have to say I do love this pub culture. I love pubs. I can handle pubs. It's bars and clubs I don't car for. I met Amy, the birthday girl and their friend Jess. Then Sue came in, who I had met in Nashville in August when she came to see Sabine. It was good to see her again. Then Anna and her husband Rob came along, with Sarah. The whole group went to secondary school together and I just love that they are still so close.

I noticed something at lunch. I don't want to over generalize, but every English person sitting at that table ate their meal in the same way. They had their fork in their left hand and their knife in their right for the entire meal. The difference, I usually situate my utensils in that manner only if I'm cutting something, then I set my knife down and move my fork to my right hand. I very rarely, if ever, eat with my fork in my left hand. I found it funny that there is this difference between the two cultures.

They ran out of Chicken roast so Sabine and I had the pork. The meal was good, the meat I don't care for to begin with, but I did eat some. The roast came with roast potatoes, carrots, turnip crisps, gravy, and the meat. It was very good. We sat and talked with the group for hours. I had a blast. We walked back to the bus station and took it back to Sabine's parents house where we walked back form that bus station.

I called home and didn't have that nice of a visit because my cousins were visiting my parents and being very loud in the background.

Sabine's mom made us a WONDERFUL diner. This woman can cook. She made us salad, with gnocchi. I had never had gnocchi before but it was wonderful. I must find a recipe and make it myself.

During dinner we watched an Australian film called Strictly Ballroom. I thought it was pretty poorly acted and written, but it was something to pass the time. We are going to bed early tonight, in hopes of waking up early and doing some more stuff in London.

Day 4 so far...

I woke up around 3am to a nightmare. I didn't get back to sleep until somewhere around 6-7am - we set the alarm for 8. Sabine let me sleep until 9. She took a shower, I did not and was ready to go by 9:30. We walked to Hampton and took the train to Waterloo and then headed up to Kings Cross to go to Harry Potter's Platform 9 3/4. Sabine gave a good Mrs. Weasley impression, "Platform 9 ¾ this way!"


Unfortunately we were too early to catch the Hogwarts Express but we did get some fun pics.


Next stop, the British Museum.


Here we saw the Rosetta Stone and then walked around the ancient Egypt exhibit and saw some mummies.

We also saw the ancient Rome and Greece exhibits as well.


We walked form the museum to Covent Garden and had lunch at a Portuguese restaurant, Nandos. It was great I had a gilled chicken pita and coleslaw. Very good. I really liked it.

Then we went shopping, shopping, shopping. I didn't spend a dime it was great. We then hopped on the train to Richmond and did some more shopping. I did buy a thank you card and some stamps though.

On the train I asked Sabine if we could go to Windsor tomorrow but then when we got home she told her dad we weren't going to do anything tomorrow. So I have decided that I will go out on my own and see some of the things we missed.

Just got home and got ready to go out... more to come.

The Rest Of Day 4 And All Of Day 5

So we got ready to go out for New Year's Eve, my first by the way, and I wore a skirt and shirt that my mom got me before Christmas. I think I looked pretty good, straightened my hair and all! Our first stop of the night was Sabine's school friend, Sarah's house. The house was filled with new people, and some I had met at the Pub for Amy's birthday. Sarah's siblings Simon and Ruth were there, Anna and Rob were there for a bit, Sue and her boyfriend Lee, Maria (a new face for me), Jess and her boyfriend Sean and Sarah's friend Andrew. Jess was slaving away in the kitchen cooking up some Thai Curry so while we were waiting we sat around and they had me eat some English candy. We had a good talk about politics as well at which point I tried to explain the electoral college... man I shouldn't have fallen asleep in American Gov.

Jess was making two different types of curry - green, which was mild - and red, which was spicy. Since I hadn't tried curry before, ever, I thought I'd stick with green. Sarah came around to get our orders and her response to that was, "Oh you're American you haven't gotten any taste buds any way." Then after she brought it she kept asking if I need to add any sugar to it. I really liked the jokes though, they were all in good fun. I did have to keep reminding her I'm not a Yank... I'm a Damn Yank there is a difference.

As it got later we decided to head to a Pub, the name of which I can't remember. It had a decent crowd but not too bad. The bouncer was dressed in an interesting tux with a hat that looked like he stole from Abe Lincoln. We pretty much just spent the night talking and getting to know one another. Here are Sabine, Sue and Me.

Then Sabine, Maria, her cosmo, and me -
Jess, Sue, Lee and Sean -

Sarah, Me and Andrew -

I talked to Lee about the Greeks, Andrew about politics, Maria about wine, Sean about my name meaning Ireland (he's from Northern Ireland). Sarah and Ruth got a kick out of the fact that not only was I in a sorority but I was also a cheerleader, so there I was in the middle of the Pub doing cheers I can hardly remember. Then I attempted to teach them to line dance, note to self people don't pick up dance moves when they are buzzed!

Midnight came along and we all had some champagne and counted it down. Everyone clinked some glasses. Apparently Sabine told Sue about me heading out on my own my last day and before we left Sue came over to ask if she could go along. I don't know if that was Sabine having her take me out, or if it was Sue's idea, but I welcomed the company. At one Kamal came to get Sabine and me so we said our goodbyes and headed home. Good news is that I know have lots of new Facebook friends!

I woke the next morning at 9am and began to get ready to go out with Sue. She lives in Teddington which is only 2 train stops away from Hampton so I had planned to walk to Hampton station and just meet her at the Teddington station.

Kamal was so adorable, he insisted on giving me a ride to Hampton station so we left the house around 10. It's only down the road so we got there very early. He parked and walked me in to make sure that I got my ticket. I had a few minutes before the train got there so I walked down the street to a mailbox and sent my postcards. Then I rocked out to some music on my iPod while I waited for the train.

Sue had told me to get in the first carriage and that she would get in it as well when the train stopped. Sure enough I saw her on the platform and she got on with me. We decided that we would go to Camden first, then down to Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey, and then to Kensington.

We took the tube over to Camden to wander around and it was fabulous. I found my part of London I think, aside from the drug paraphernalia, I loved it. It reminded me so much of the Drag in Austin. I just felt at home. We wandered around the market and I saw so many things I wanted to buy but had to resist since the space in my suit case is limited.

The art work, the craftsmanship, the uniqueness of the people was so refreshing. I could have stayed there all day just soaking it in.

We took the tube to Green Park and walked by The Ritz on our way to Buckingham Palace. I wanted to go again because it was on the way and the first time around I hadn't seen the horse guards with the big hats and red coats. When we got to the Palace we overheard someone asking the police officer if the queen was actually staying there and he told her she was not. So I guess I was wrong earlier in the week. Unfortunately there weren't' any red coated horse guards on duty - only some gray suited ones way past the gate - I didn't even get to try my hand at making them move.... rip off.

Then we walked back to Westminster Abbey. The bells were ringing SO LOUD. We wanted to go in and look around but it was 10 ounds a person and I didn't really feel like paying so we just skipped it. Next time.

Then we headed to Kensington to get something to eat. Carluccio's Italian restaurant was the winner of the day for lunch. I loved it. I had the pasta e fagioli (which looked and tasted nothing like the soup of the same name at Olive Garden) and a small salad. It was quite good. Sue and I had some great conversations too. I loved the time I spent with her. At lunch I explained that this time last year I would have never thought I'd be in this place at this time. It really amazed me. I was sitting having lunch in London with a native so far away from my whole life.

After lunch we walked to the Natural History Museum. The building itself is absolutely wonderful.
So beautiful. We went to look at the dinosaurs but there was a queue so we decided to move on and checked out mammals, including the huge blue whale, then on to reptiles and such, and on to Darwin.
Lastly there was a huge more than 1000 year old sample of a tree from California, made me happy to not be the only American in the room, yeah yeah bad joke.

Next we headed to the Victoria & Albert art museum and look at the artifacts from throughout the centuries. We stayed primarily at the Cast Courts and then Renaissance time period things. We started to get tired so we didn't stay too long. We then walked to Royal Albert Hall - which just from the outside was magnificent.

After all that was done we headed back to Sue's flat. We took the tube to Richmond and then hopped a train to Teddington. We walked down the High Street to her flat which is the outer buildings of a Church that had been converted to a music venue. I loved her flat. She and her bf have more CDs than I do - that is outrageous. I must send her something in thanks. Sue made me my very first cup of tea which I had with some of the best chocolate biscuits. It was divine. Sabine came over and we tried to check in to our flights - but to no avail so we just checked Facebook and saw pics that ppl had posted from New Years Eve.

We stayed just a bit longer chatting with Sue before Kamal was there to pick us up to go home. We came home the wonderful aroma of Indian Curry cooking. It was delicious. Anna is such a wonderful cook it was such a wonderful treat. I had never had it before and really enjoyed it. Now I am all packed up and am sitting here watching Sabine and Anna pack her things.

I hope to get up early enough to run to the grocery store and get some biscuits to bring home tomorrow morning!

Getting Home

We woke up very early, showered, and then I tagged along with Kamal to Tesco Express to get some croissants for breakfast. While I was there I decided to grab two packages of Cadbury biscuits one for the office and one for me. When we got back to the house I decided to take some pics of the house to show all my American friends how different it was.

From the front -


The Entry - The Kitchen -

The Refrigerator -
Harry Potter's Room -


After breakfast the four of us, Anna, Kamal, Sabine and I caught the bus to Heathrow. Their car wasn't large enough to fit two peoples luggage and four people. The bus ride was long and I was very uncomfortable. I felt bad about having so much luggage but I had to pack for summer in Texas and then winter in England. No win situation. Things got kind of hairy at the airport because Virgin didn't know anything about our connecting flight in NY to Nashville. We got through it though and headed to a lobby to wait until our plane started to board.

The flight to New York was long. I spent it watching Waitress with Keri Russel (which I recommend), The Invasion (just cuz Daniel Craig is in it), and Harry Potter and The Order Of The Phoenix. Sabine and I weren't sitting together so we would get up and talk from time to time. At one point an announcement came on asking if any Doctors or Nurses were on board to please make themselves known. The commotion was at the back of the plane so I couldn't see what was going on. Sabine was back there though so when things settled down she told me what had happened. Apparently a girl had passed out and then started throwing up. It was apparently a big deal and once we landed they asked us to keep our seats until the medics could take her off the plane.

I got through immigration pretty easily, and waved to Sabine as she waited patiently in the non U.S. Citizen line. I waited at baggage claim for her and her immigration process actually took less time than the it took the bags to get there. We had some problems getting through customs because stupid people don't understand how to form lines and then rushed to the Delta terminal. This is where all hell broke loose. We got so damn angry. No one knew what to do. No on knew what we should do.

So Sabine and I split up she got in line at the ticket counter and I got in the security line. They let me through at the exact moment they gave Sabine a new boarding pass and informed her that the flight we thought we had 20 mins to catch was now an hour late. We were livid.

We went to get some food and a beer, we were only allowed the beer and it was the size of the Sears Tower. Without and food, and only the beer, we both got rather drunk. So we decided some Burger King would sober us up. We made it to our plane, which we almost missed due to some more stupid people, and then sat on the tarmac for close to an hour, hour and a half. We got home late, but Sabine's boyfriend Jesse was there to pick us up and take us home. I had never wanted my bed more.