First Stop: London

     So after a very turbulency plane ride, and the slow realization that the fear of flying I have developed in the past year just wont go away, Misty and I arrive in the London airport without a clue of what to do next. We decide we need to store our outrageously huge suitcases for a few nights at the airport, so we find the counter, and read the stupid sign that says each bag, no matter how large, will cost 8 pounds per night. We each wanted to store our huge suitcases and one of our carry ons, but that would equal 32 pounds each! No way. So we walk away from the counter and into the busy airport where we proceed to open up all of our bags, reshuffle them and CRAM a carry on into each huge suitcase, all while the guys at the counter are laughing at us and our cheapness. From there we navigate the tube (subway) like pros and get off at our stop, only to realize in our haste to store our bags, Mist left the address of our hostel in the huge suitcase that is now pretty far away and in storage, so we proceed to wander around london with huge backpacks asking randos if they know where our hostel is. Eventually we find it 45 minutes later, miraculously one woman knew the exact location of it. It is in the middle of a park and very pretty and cheap!
    You never realize all the things you took for granted knowing back in your home country, like when you go into a restaurant do you seat yourselves or wait? Because it's not displayed on signs!! So the first couple times I just walked up to someone working there and asked, I now know that in the UK you always seat yourself. Then in one place after sitting for 30 minutes I again found out at this specific place you go up to the counter and order, no waiters come to you unless they are bringing your food. It's these little things that we take for granted back home, and the fact that drivers are not about to run you over in a crosswalk.
   Anyways, london was pretty but the people were sometimes rude, Mist and I hoped Glasgow would have a different feel to it, a small town feel in a bigger city, and we were right. The people in London were a little snooty, but I like the people here just fine. So in London we explored the biggest park I have ever seen that contained a peter pan statue, which mist loved, and probably the coolest tree I have ever, which I climbed and which was slightly scary.
    If you snore incredibly loudly, please do NOT stay in a hostel. It's the night before our plane takes off to Glasgow, we have to be up at 3am to catch a bus to the airport, so we try going to sleep at 9am, only to have the loudest snorer ever go to sleep shortly after. After about 45 minutes of attempting sleep, I walk over to mist's bed were we suppress giggles for about 10 minutes because we can't believe this woman is snoring this loudly. We decide to go watch TV for a while, Nurse Jackie was on which was awesome! After a couple episodes, we try again to go to sleep and meet failure again. So we stay up til 3 sipping coffee and chatting, only to walk in the middle of the night to the bus stop on a creepy london steet, SCARY! But we made it on the bus and onto the airport.
    So you know how we said we stored our bags?? Well they don't open shop until 6am and our plane leaves at 6:55. damn. So I go up to the checkin counter and get everything checked in except the bag, and talk with the man who says he thinks we will have enough time and not to worry. Well that would be great if the guy who was supposed to open the counter didn't show up to work 25 minutes late. So we haul ass back to the check-in only to find out that we cannot proceed or check the bags because we are too late... I cant hold back any longer and tears full of rage come down! I am not sobbing, they are just silent tears of anger! The man checking two crying girls in now looks terrified, and begins typing. He can get us on the next flight free of charge, thank God!!! Now mist and I sit waiting to board the next plane, laughing so hard at our stream of bad luck, and saying that it can't possibly get worse, which it doesn't. So that was the London experience, it sounds awful, but looking bad it's rather hilarious. Glasgow is much better, and today we are going on a hike!
Love you T
C