My favorite part about making my schedule each month is seeing what days I have off. These are not the days I plan to commute home and tell my friends, family, and beloved boyfriend who all miss me oh so much that they're long lost jet setting best friend, daughter, and girlfriend will be back in town. No. That is not my first thought on my days off, at all. Instead, I immediately check open time and the swap board to see which unappreciated international trip I can snag and spend 24-hours exploring a foreign city, all while getting paid and staying in a hotel for free.
Will it be Barcelona, Spain? Tel Aviv, Israel? Athens, Greece? Hmmm. Decisions, Decisions. Well sometimes the old senior momma's decide they want to be greedy and not post anything. Or decide that they only want to swap their trip for another. And let me just tell you... no one in this world would swap their trip to Athens, Greece for my trip to Minneapolis.
Well this month I was lucky enough to snag my first trip across the pond to visit good old London, England.
This trip was a big deal for me! Not only was it the first time I had been to England, but it was the largest aircraft I had worked. This was no little plane. Not the typical narrow body aircraft I had gotten so accustomed to flying as a baby flight attendant. This one had two aisles and twice as many people, complete with a business section that had seats that lay completely flat and a crew rest with bunk beds in the lower hatch of the airplane. As soon as I stepped on board my head started spinning. Where do I sit? What does this door do again? Service... uh what? After I crammed my brain with a refresh of everything I had learned in training it was just a hop, skip, and a 7 hour flight across the Atlantic Ocean. This time I actually had other new hires that had never seen the city so I was not alone in my explorations.
So we spent the day on top of a typical red double-decker bus touring the city on a "hop-on, hop-off" tour. We started our adventure through the tube (the London subway system, don't forget to "Mind the Gap") and ended up in the heart of the city in Piccadilly Circus. We hopped on the bus and made our way through Leicester Square, caught a view of the Royal Courts of Justice, St. Paul's Cathedral, The Monument, The Tower of London and of course across the infamous London Bride and Tower Bridge. We then hopped off and hopped back on a boat down the Thames River to see London by water. We boarded the boat with the perfect view of the Tower bridge and cruised down past where Shakespeare's famous Globe theater used to stand and the London Eye, which is the world's largest Ferris wheel (that will be on my next adventure to London). The boat tour ended right at the House of Parliament and Big Ben right at the chime of 4 o'clock. After admiring Big Ben and the gorgeous surrounding buildings we walked to Westminster Abbey, the site of the royal wedding of William and Kate and the funeral of Princess Diana, then continued our stroll to Buckingham Palace. The flag was up so the queen was in. By this time my poor aching feet and cold body were ready to call it a day due to my lack of poor packing... I'm still working on that.
Finished out the night at a English pub eating the pie of the die and a British pear cider. YUM! Best meal I have ever had abroad. This is where the story gets good. Overall, I was completely satisfied with my trip to London. I had seen all the basics and I was completely prepared to plan my next trip back and see all the things I had missed. Went to bed that night actually looking forward to going back home. Early that next morning I got the call...
"Brittany... this is Lisa your flight leader..."
My heart sank. Oh My God! I had overslept and missed pickup! I am in so much trouble!!! The conversation continues...
Me: "Yes...!?"
Lisa: "We've cancelled. We will be working the late New York flight back tomorrow. Go back to bed and enjoy your second day in London."
WHAT!? This can't be real life. Best news ever. Now instead of my 1 day in London I would now have 2.5 days. Perfection. I love it when flights screw up on my behalf. I smiled and informed all my friends back home I would not be making it home because I was stranded in London. Darn.
After delightfully turning off my alarm clock I went back to sleep and woke up whenever my little heart desired. This day turned out to be quite terrible weather wise, but who cares. I was in London. It could rain all day for I care. I ventured out in the rain to a restaurant where I had the best chicken and hummus I have ever eaten, my cashier's name was even Harry Potter. True Story. What's the best thing to do besides sleep on a rainy day? Shop! And that's exactly what I did. I shopped until I had true London-er style complete with a cute little jacket and Britney Spears hat that I'm still not sure if I can pull off back in the states. Ended the day with a trip to the London Museum of National History and drinking pitchers of Pimm's at another pub. If you ever have the chance to drink a Pimm do not turn it down. Delicious. 
London is a beautiful city with a beautiful history and so much to see. It is definitely on my top 5 list of best places I have ever been. My advice when going to London:
1. Pack good shoes
2. Pack a warm jacket, a light cardigan will not suffice with their rain.
3. Don't waste your time on British TV. It's awful. Unless of course you're feeling daring and frisky and want to flip through and night and see the free porn. Don't worry it's right between BBC News and their version of MTV complete with the "Geordie Shore." I will still have nightmares.
4. Drink a Pimm. Drink a Cider.
5. Visit the Queen and fall in love with the city!!
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