Soooo where to start. Well, to explain, my sister and mother are NOT travelers. They take pills to calm themselves because they absolutely HATE flying. And by pills I don’t mean over-the-counter herbal remedies, I’m talking about the pills you hear celebrities going to rehab for (hello, Lindsay Lohan - well, not METH but you get it). And that’s still not enough, usually. So the adventure at the airport included massive stomach problems for Sara because of said pills and crying from anxiety. Suffice it to say, the crew of the plane was worried. They asked at least three times if she wanted to de-board because otherwise they would have to make an emergency stop in Greenland (and if you remember from 5th grade geography, that’s the icy one) where the flight would be canceled. In other words, we would have been the most hated people in fuckin Greenland. They strongly “suggested” she leave the plane, but she sucked it up (and the pills finally kicked in and she fell asleep).
So we made it to England! All four of us. And after another small snafu with the taxi situation, we made it to our 2 bedroom flat in Holborn. Holborn is right near Soho and Russell Square, if you happen to know London geography. It’s very cute and clean. There are cute pubs around us and some nice restaurants and a shopping center called the Brunswick which we’ve eaten at quite a bit.
Soooo where have we been, you ask? Well, I will spare you the minute details as I feel everyone and their mother has been to England/London. Let’s see, we’ve been to: Russell Square, Soho, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, the West End, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace/Gardens, Notting Hill/Portobello Street Market, and yesterday we went to Paris. Basically, London is a gorgeous city which is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. The architecture is just beautiful and there is just so much history here. I have so many pictures (yes, they will be uploaded to facebook when I am no longer on an internet connection that has a limit). I think if I had to pick one favorite place so far in London, it’d be Trafalgar Square (see pic below right). It had these beautiful views of London and I got to climb up on one of the large monuments to take pictures so it was even better.
We also got to check out the gay part of Soho. Yes, the Roderick family went GAY! Ahaha no. Still just me. Though my father does like musicals…Like most other “gay” areas of cities, Soho seems a bit like “boys town”, but it was very cute and I look forward to going out there at night sometime this year. And I know some of you might be happy to hear that the British have their own version of Q Bar like where we went out to EVERY time we went to Castro: Ku Bar. Hope it can live up to the legendary-ness (there’s gotta be a better word for that that is escaping me right now) of Q Bar. 
Ok, onto Paris (see pics below). We went to Paris yesterday for the day – it’s about a 2 ½ hour train ride. Well, what can you say about Paris? I know what I can say: crazy drivers with death wishes, beautiful monuments and sights, and people who like to sit and watch fountains. Don’t get me wrong, I like water shooting around in a fountain as much as the next person, I just wasn’t aware this constituted a social activity. To explain, as we walked from the Louvre to the Arch du Triumph (excuse my spelling), we walked through a large garden/park area where at 2 different fountains people had oriented their chairs along the outer ring of the fountain watching the water. I guess I can’t knock it till I try it. And furthermore bravo to any of those people who had perhaps driven to get to said fountain for making it there alive. I know I wouldn’t have if I had had to drive in the clusterfuck that is Paris traffic.
The Requisite Eiffel Tower Picture
Today we went to Harrods. I would call it a department store, but really, it’s just SO MUCH MORE than that. They have a large candy/chocolate shop, gelato, meats, cheese, bakeries, fudge, sushi bar, fruit and vegetables, cafes, perfume, Gucci, lingerie, women's clothes, men's clothes, Versace, and everything and anything a department store could ever have...and more. Today we also had Indian food for the first time since we’ve been here. It definitely lived up to what everyone has been saying. I got the Chicken Tikka Masala (I know, white girl food, but I wanted to be able to compare) and my dad got Chicken Vindaloo. Yummy is all I have to say.
We leave London next Monday and will be driving up to Durham then (hopefully we make it on the other side of the road in one piece). Definitely excited to see Durham as London has, I think, given me a view of “England” that may be quite different to Durham. However, I did hear from a local that Newcastle (the next town over) is like the “Miami” of Northeast England. And I heard they also have a gay area so that’s exciting too! Yes, I am focused on locating the gays.
And ok, I feel a bit guilty about writing this blog because I know people in way more “hardcore” places where they don’t speak the language, or where they barely have internet access, and I feel like England is kinda like the US, but better dressed. Oh yes, I pretty much ALWAYS look underdressed for activities like walking, eating, or anything in public. I think people know I’m not a local merely based on the fact that I am not wearing stockings and high heels. Anyway, I feel ridiculous writing a blog here, but if it seems like people are fine with it, I shall continue writing it for all of you.
