July 7: Arrived in London!

After over 8 hours of flight time, we landed at London's Heathrow Airport. Beth had secured beforehand something called Oyster Cards, which act as pre-paid tickets for all public transit in London. These allowed us to get onto the Underground (the "Tube") Piccadilly Line all the way to Finsbury Park, where we then transferred to a double-decker city bus to take us near to Mount View Rd. This is where Beth's late aunt Sylvia's sister Pauline and her husband Dave live, and they welcomed us into their home to stay for this first leg of our travels.

Pauline and Dave have a lovely English garden in their backyard they have cultivated over nearly 50 years; and we all enjoyed tea and scones in the afternoon sunshine. After settling into our rooms and brief catnaps, we enjoyed dinner (chicken, string beans, rice, fruit for dessert) with them too. Then it was quick to bed to try and adjust to new time zone, before our first full day of London fun.