London

Because of a change in flight schedules some time ago, I was not able to fly from Sofia to Iowa in one day.  After my 22-hour door-to-door trip in October, splitting the journey into two days didn’t seem like such a bad idea.  This also meant an overnight in London, which had its own appeal.

I have a number of good friends in London, and this presented an opportunity to see a couple of them.  The three hour flight from Sofia on Sunday went smoothly, and I was in the arrivals terminal fairly soon after landing.  The Underground line into the city was closed for repairs, so we made plans to meet near Paddington Station, the terminus for the Heathrow Express.  It was wonderful to see Edel and Michael, and made the two-day return trip entirely worth it. 

 

It was great to be in London, too, even if only at Heathrow, my hotel in Slough, and the neighborhood immediately surrounding Paddington.  London is a special place to me.  Fifteen years ago this spring, I spent my last semester of law school studying in London.  It was not only the first time I lived abroad; it was also the first time I lived outside of Iowa.  This time was very significant to me for a lot of reasons, and it marked the beginning of my international travel.  I’ll admit, London may seem like a fairly “easy” first experience abroad, but for a kid from a town of 220 people in eastern Iowa, it opened the door to the world.