Landing in London

I made it to London! The 13 hour flight from Singapore was surprisingly okay – I read a few books, and watched random things on screen. The pilot really, really loved his A380 – he came on the speaker a few times and was clearly happy to be flying, keen to communicate when there was turbulence (giving people a time warning so they could use the bathrooms before he turned the sign on), and told us how much he loved the plane! He also joined the cabin crew at the plane door and farewelled all the passengers as we disembarked in London – with a big smile on his face. That’s work-life passion goals right there.

I had a couple of hours of easy transit (through Heathrow – yes, it was very straight forward), onto the new Elizabeth Line train/tube and then a second train to my friend’s place. First night in London was early to bed and the joy of laying flat in a bed for 12 hours. Bliss!

The goal for London Day 1 was to get out into the sunlight and walk around, to move after hours of sitting on planes. So Liana, her son (4.8 yo) and I went to Southbank and wandered around. We ticked off a few landmarks and checked out Tate Modern.

The last time I was in Europe was 21 years ago! Matthew and I did one-year living in the UK in 2003-2004, the classic OE (overseas experience) – but we didn’t live in London. We lived 1.5 hours north in Warwickshire, and so, for us, London was an occasional weekend visit for concerts, exploring and visiting friends. We knew a bunch of high school and university friends (all 20-something) doing the UK thing. And then two decades went by…..but my friend Liana is still in London (thanks for having me stay!!) – and we still look exactly the same 🙂