Look out London, Here we come!

We are packed up and preparing to leave for our 19 day trip around Europe....first stop London, England! Our friend Kristen was gracious enough to drive us to the airport and at 2:35 PM we will be boarding our flight and heading across the pond to London (with a quick stop in Chicago). After a year of planning and much deliberation, we both can't believe it is finally here.

Of course anyone that knows me well, knows that I am a meticulous planner. Thank goodness I have had the summer off, because I have been busy reading and scheduling to ensure we get to hit all of our "must sees" in each city. My sister, Meagan, and I have had a blast planning this trip together. Here is our tenative plan.


Day One
1. Arrive in London at 8:30 AM, July 15.
2. Catch shuttle transport to Novotel West hotel in London.
3. Head to Westminster Abbey, where we start a walk that tours all the major sites; Big Ben, London Eye, Buckingham Palace, Parliament, Trafalgar Square.
4. Grab a bite to eat and maybe even some afternoon tea and crumpets (I love that word!)
5. Take the Thames River Cruise which passes many of the sites above as well as St. Paul's Cathedral, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London Bridge and the Tower of London.
6. Take the Tower of London tour.
7. Take the tube to the British Library. Here I'm most excited about seeing the Magna Carta, the Gutenberg Bible, handwritten Beatles lyrics and sheet music.
8. If we aren't too exhausted, we are meeting a guy Nick knows in London for dinner and a drink.

Day Two
1. Head to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.
2. Visit St. Paul's Cathedral.
3. Catch a train to Windsor Castle. I am very excited about visiting the gardens here. They are supposed to be BEAUTIFUL. Also Marie Antoniette's home is on the grounds.
4. After we are finished at the castle, we will head back into Central London for lunch. From here, we might need to catch up on sleep and try to get over our jet lag, so we've planned a relaxing afternoon to do just that!

I just hope I can sleep tonight...with all this anticipation I'll be lucky if I catch a wink before we board the flight tomorrow. Goodbye Dallas, Hello Europe!