JFK 》LHR

Travel has long been a dream of mine, and it's coming true today! I'm sitting at my gate in JFK bound for London and still it's hard to believe I'm writing that! Some have asked for details, so I'm planning to give updates on this blog while on my trip. 

How it started

I was asked to join this girl's trip after a few others backed out. Although London wouldn't be first place on my travel bucket list, it might be in the top 10. So this was a golden opportunity I did not hesitate to grab! Knowing about it at the beginning of this year gave me time to save up and anticipate it, which can be just as much fun as the actual trip!

Travelers

Gloria Rolin (Florida)

Karma Swarey (Alabama)

Rhonda Kaufmann (Florida)

Sharon Faircloth (Florida)

Melanie Koehn (Mississippi)

Michelle Goossen (Manitoba)

Wendy Smith (Pennsylvania)

Seven lucky London Dreamers.

The common denominator for us is that we've all lived in the Florida panhandle. After much debating about dates, working around school schedules and baby arrivals, we finally settled on the last part of September for departure. 

The Journey

Last week we realized Hurricane Helene threatened the Gulf Coast at the exact time we planned to leave. Those in its path did much soul-searching and stressing. Gloria and Karma decided to fly out a day early in hopes of bettering their chances. Even though some flights were being canceled in Atlanta, they made it through! The other three from the South opted to keep their original plan of leaving today and hope for the best. Currently they're enroute to Atlanta, without any bad news yet. Thankfully the weather must not be dire enough to halt all air travel! 

We plan to return on October 6.

Where we're staying

We'll be at an Airbnb in London the whole time. Check it out here.

The plan

Gloria is a seasoned London traveler and we'll be relying on her to guide us. She asked us all to list our top 3 "must see" points and several of the Dreamers got together and compiled an itinerary. As a whole, we don't feel the need to visit every tourist stop. Many of the Dreamers have a strong interest in food and shopping experiences. 😅

Behold, the itinerary

Saturday, Sept. 28    

 Arrive!   

 Acclimate   

 Borough Market-open till 5:00   

    

Sunday, Sept. 29    

 Church-Highbury/Islington with Subrina and missionary couple   

 Sunday Roast at nice pub 🤓   

 Evensong at Westminster Abbey   

    

Monday, Sept. 30    

 Tower of London / Tower Bridge   

 Buckingham Palace   

 Kensington Palace   

 Diana Memorial   

 Hyde Park   

    

 London by Night Bus Tour   

    

Tuesday, Oct. 01     

 Full English Breakfast   

 Shopping Day   

      Charity Shops   

       Book shops   

 Hang out at Picadilly Circus in eve   

    

Wednesday, Oct. 2    

 Sussex and Seven Sisters Tour   

 Supper in Brighton, late train back to London 

    

Thursday, Oct. 03    

 Windsor Castle and City Browsing   

 High Tea   

      

Friday, Oct. 04

 Cotswolds Day--   

    Take train to Moreton-in-Marsh   

    Take bus to Stow-on-the-Wold See Hobbit door? 

    Walk to Upper Slaughter, 1 hr., 12 min   

    Walk to Lower Slaughter, 22 min   

    Walk to Bourton-on-the-Water, 34 min   

 Leave open for other options, then take bus back to Moreton-in-Marsh to catch train back to London   

Sat. Oct. 5 

  Little Venice 

  Exploring

My flight

For those who track such stats, here you go. You're welcome. ☺️

London is 5 hours ahead of New York (EST) time.

That's the scoop so far! What vital information have I missed?