London

Two weeks in London was the perfect way to end the trip. It was such an easy city to be in and it was beautiful. I was reminded of Paris, the two having very similar architecture, and histories that wove together so tightly.

On our first full day there, we took part in a walking tour led by New Europe. It's all donation based and very casual, with lots of other backpackers, so we were a very young crowd traveling together through the city. It was the perfect way to get acquainted with such a big and overwhelming place. Without the tour, we maybe wouldn't have realized just how easy it is to walk from one area to another. I think people associate London with being a crazy city that consists of the Tube as the only way to get around. And while we spent a ton of money on our Oyster Cards, we walked so many places.

We also lucked out with our accommodations. On a gamble, I had booked the cheapest London apartment that I could find, having carefully weighed the cost of an apartment versus hostel. Thankfully, the apartment won! But. Having gone with the least expensive option I was super nervous about where we would find ourselves living for two weeks (don't tell Amy how nervous I was). Amazingly enough, the apartment was in one of the poshest neighborhoods of London - South Kensington. I regret not having taken a picture of our street, with the row of white townhouses, all matching perfectly, and the rows of luxury cars out in front. Also, it had a private garden in the back that we had access too, allowing for picnics and it turns out, drinks with our landlords on several occasions.

Our landlady, Holly, was the best. She opened the door to two girls with huge backpacks and bags and probably a ragged appearance, but didn't seem to mind -- after the shock wore off. We didn't realize at that point that Holly and her husband were socialites of some sort and that Holly rented out the basement flat as a little side business, just something to do, but also probably part of the reason that the rent was so low (they don't really need the business... if you get my drift). But Holly, bless her heart, decided to invite us up for cocktails that evening and we graciously accepted.

Over the two weeks, we had drinks with Holly and several neighbors multiple times. It was so fun to get a spur of the moment phone call inviting us up and we felt really honored to even be included with the company that she kept. It was all way too lovely and surreal for two backpackers who were used to hostels and cold sandwiches. Thank goodness we had packed some nice clothes (and also done a little shopping).

Our days were spent going to just about every museum we could handle. Britain thankfully has free admission to their public museums, so we had the best time going to the Tate Modern and the Tate Britain, as well as the National Gallery and a few others. Some of the best art is in London. We also decided to go the West End one night to see a play, since London has such a huge theater scene. We had bought the cheapest tickets to Wicked that we could find and no surprise, they were in the very back row of the theater in the balcony. Regardless, it was wonderful.

I love London. I would go back in a heartbeat.

Suck it Heathrow

Our view from the Holiday Inn in Gatwick.

Well, we have made it as far as England.

Since leaving on Tuesday evening, everything was going quite to plan, even better in many respects. I had used miles to book my flight from Seattle to Heathrow and because of this I had to sit in Economy Plus due to availability. What I thought was just the bonus of a few extra inches of leg room actually while still in economy ended up being a super posh section with great seats and by coincidence, a bulkhead with no one next to me except for some guy on the end. The only problem was that Amy was back in economy and I had a guilty conscience. Thankfully, I have realized as of lately that I can be very persuasive and about 2 hours in to the flight, I got approval from the cabin crew to move Amy up by me. So far that flight has been the best part of our trip.*

After killing time in Heathrow yesterday, we decided to check in to the Sofitel attached to Heathrow instead of spending 18 hours camped out in the arrivals section of terminal 5, guarding our bags and sleeping in shifts -- not appealing at that point. All well and good except that this morning it turned out our flight to Spain actually departed from terminal 3, a train ride and miles of moving walkway and tunnels away. After literally running (yes, running) with our packs through Heathrow, we missed our flight. We were crushed. Yes, it was all avoidable looking back, but nothing we could do now but buck up and problem solve.

All airlines from Heathrow to any airport in Spain were booked, seeing that it's Easter weekend in one of the most pious countries in the world or the available seats cost anywhere from 600 to 800 pounds -- not possible on our sad budget. Faced with either skipping Spain all together or trying to fly out of london next week, we pulled one last move of buying some internet and seeing what other airports had to offer. Thankfully, we found a flight to Malaga on easy jet leaving tomorrow (4/10), therefore not disrupting our itinerary by more than a 24-hour delay, a 20 GBP bus ride to Gatwick airport and a cheap (110 GBP) stay at the Holiday Inn. What a difference 24-hours makes in our luck and lifestyle.

So tomorrow we try it again. We have a hostel booked in Grenada for tomorrow night but can't find anything for Saturday as of yet. At that point we'll either hope for a cancellation on easter eve or try a different city. Or see if someone takes pity on us and offers their couch (sorry mom).

More to come, just send good thoughts that we get the hell out of london airports. We're ready for some better food (nachos with cool ranch doritos? sausage sandwiches? mean) and some culture. Now please.

*A tip we discovered: Either be very persuasive (bordering on manipulation) like I was, or use miles to buy an economy ticket on British and then upgrade to economy plus for $300 dollars. So very worth it, it's the most fun we've had so far...