Day One

I guess day one is actually day two but since I have not yet slept, it is all one day to me. Because of that reason this will be somewhat brief but I had to atleast let everyone (meaning mom) know that I arrived safe and sound without any major problems.

So, I took off at 5:30 pm Chicago time and landed 6:30 am London time-only a 6.5 hour flight. Normally 6 hours would be more than enough time to fly but for this flight we each had personal tv screens and about 40 movies to choose from-I barely even scratched the surface when they announced our final descent! Besides being tired when we landed, the flight went off without a hitch. Getting off the plane was exciting-I was finally here!

However, my excitement was premature because I still had to get through customs. The UK Border security was not as pleasant as the flight. When I approached the desk a young and very mean looking man started asking me all kinds of questions that I really wasn't prepared for like "what is the address of where you are staying while you are here?" and "what is your profession?" He didn't like my answer of "um, I don't really know" very much. I tried to answer his questions as best I could but I was really tired and my head was fuzzy and besides that he was making me nervous with his interrogation. I felt like I was guilty of something and that he was going to find me out even though I had no idea what I had done wrong. I knew I was a gonner when he asked what I wanted to see while I was in London and the only thing I could think of was the London Eye. My mind went completely blank. Of course I know what I want to see while I am in London, I have been studying this for 4 months! And yet all I could say was that I had it written down somewhere and could show him if he wanted. He gave me a "you are such a dumb American" smirk and eventually put me out of my misery by letting me pass but I felt like I failed a test. It seemed like I had just told him a bunch of lies but when I went through all of my answers I realized I told the complete truth but I sure sounded like an idiot-way to represent your country Monique. Oh well, they let me pass and that was the goal-although I have noticed a strange man following me all day long...

From the airport I took a coach directly to Bath and met my travelling companion Christy here. I had to use sheer will power to keep my eyes open during the drive but it was so incredibly beautiful that sleep was just going to have to wait. It is incredibly green with rolling hills and random groups of cattle strewn about the countryside. My arrival in Bath was greeted by a downpour which is awesome because I got to wear my new rain coat-I think this is the first time I have had a real raincoat and I took great pleasure in putting it on. Christy and I have kind of just wandered around this afternoon looking in shops and walking down the cobbled streets seeing what this place is all about. We had a delightful conversation with an Englishman at the small cafe we went to for dinner-he talked for over an hour about life here in Bath and his travels abroad and found his company just what we needed to make our first day a success. We're already in with the locals! Just kidding, I don't think I will ever be accepted here until I burn the tennis shoes and jeans and start to say "cheerio" but one thing at a time-I'm still just happy I got through that stupid border security.
Tomorrow is our first official sight seeing day so I will have more to tell then. Right now I am off to bed so cheerio! (is that even an appropriate use of the word?)

Europe Eve...

Okay, so I leave tomorrow and I'm trying to get ready to go. So far my packing experience is not nearly as effortless as I thought it would be.
Over the last several months, I have taken the time to do my research about my trip to Europe. I have read oodles of articles, tips and travel guides about what I will and will not need and they basically all say the same thing: don't bring anything and it will all fit in your backpack just fine. They then proceed to list all of the things you must have even though they just told you not to bring anything. Well, I got exactly what they said, which in my mind really is nothing, and now I am mad because what do you know, it doesn't fit!
At the beginning of my packing experience I must say I was extremely confident, and even downright cocky, because they led me to believe that my preparation would make my packing experience a joy. Well, it is not a joy and now I am wondering which of the "nothings" on my floor can be left home. The debate right now is between the toothbrush and deoderant because if I take both then it won't leave room for my ipod. Which would you choose?