London
Buckingham Palace
Mid-December I was given my first London layover. Knowing my brother was home for winter break from college I called him quick to see if he’d be able to make the trip over with me. He’d been to Canada before and that was the extent of his international travel.
He was able to get to the airport quick enough but sadly since he was flying standby he didn’t get a seat on the flight I was working.
Luckily Chicago to London is a route that’s flown multiple times a day so he was able to get on the next flight, arriving only a few hours after me. Better yet, he got first class and as a newly 21 year-old was able to enjoy a glass of scotch.
He thought this was hilarious.
Usually after working those overnight flights to Europe I take a hefty nap when I get to my hotel room. With being nervous for him to make it to the hotel alone and being all jazzed up about having a fun day I had no nap.
Once he arrived we chugged some coffee and took off.
We walked around and saw sites such as Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and Big Ben which was sadly under construction. After seeing some necessary sights and taking a picture by every red phone booth we could find, we decided to get an aerial view.
Sunset from the London Eye
It wasn’t the cheapest activity but figuring we only had one day and it was my brothers first European adventure, we thought to take full advantage of our time by going up in the London Eye.
The view was incredible and gave the best view of a city new to us. If you’re gonna shell out the money to do this, I recommend going at sunset.
With our monuments checklist done for the day we ventured into the first restaurant that offered fish and chips. I’m always up for trying the popular local food.
Since it was around Christmas time we tried to go to the Hyde Park Winter Wonderland. We quickly changed our minds when we saw the line and opted to enjoy a pub instead.
The Christmas decorations were throughout the city and even present in the pub we chose.
London is such a fun city to explore, even more so when you have a brother you can do it with.
Full flights stopped my brother from getting on the flight I was working again but luckily enough he made it on the next flight out instead of having to sleep in Heathrow.
If you want to see a highlight from my London adventure click here and click through my pictures below!
