After a grueling flight we fight we finally landed in London. He flights went well and we had no issues making our way through the airports. Our only setback was that Kate’s ankles did not respond well to the flying and swelled up. It has been three days and they are only just getting back to normal. That has made walking around London a little sore however that has not deterred the sightseeing. The highlight of the flight though was being able to watch kitten TV because no long hall flight is complete without kitten viewing.

We have been very lucky with the jetlag and have not suffered from it. The first day we managed to push through and go to bed at 7:20pm (now we know how it feels to be old people!). Other than waking up pretty early and feeling like we are constantly swaying all is well now.

Day two weather was exactly what we expected London weather to be; consisting of rain, rain and you guessed it… more rain. So to Kate’s delight it was a day spent at the largest mall in the UK. We perused through the shops for 4 hours and didn’t even get close to looking at all we wanted to see. The fashion here is definitely different to NZ. The variety is so vast and if you can imagine it you can buy it. To Jason’s disappointment though no one sells suitjamas so the search for those must continue.

The third and final day started perfectly with the friendliest Uber driver you can imagine. The sun was out and so along with great banter we made our way to Buckingham Palace. It was 9am and was already swarming with tourists. The Queen sadly did not invite us in for tea so it was such a waste of a long flight. Despite that rather unsatisfactory outcome we continued on with our day.

We walked through Green Park the which was guarded by spectacular gates (although quite what they were guarding I do not know). From there we strolled through Piccadilly which was an area that Jason fell in love with. The lanes were filled with mens shops that specialised in bespoke suits and accessories.

By accident we stumbled across the National Gallery. It was free entry and because we have been students for such a long time we are incapable of not taking up any free offers. Even if you know nothing about art it will blow you away. The beauty of the building and paintings far surpassed all expectations. We saw work from some of the world’s best artists such as Van Gogh, Monet, Da Vinci, Picasso and many more!

Everything is located so close together so the next couple of house were packed with sights. We went to Boris’s crib at 10 Downing Street however we wasn’t in so we will have to catch up with him some other time. Fortunately though, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey were close so our walk was not in vein. We even got to see the House of Lords (to keep Jason happy) and the London Eye, which we did not go on, which kept Jason very happy due to his morbid fear of heights.

Finally we made our way back to our accommodation via Tower Bridge and prepared for our big our which starts tomorrow.

Overall we have found London to be a great place. Jason absolutely loves it and would happily stay longer but we must say goodbye as we make our way to the city of love.