First of all, we had a wonderful weekend at Skyler&Ann’s lovely wedding. We got to be with Mom,Madison, and Dillon&Renae and Max a whole bunch and we loved every second. We also got to be with Grandma Jul and Max&Rose and that was just so good as well.

Wednesday- I’m laying in bed looking at the slats of Morgans bunk above me listening to people snore. We flew from San Francisco into London this afternoon. We had good flights and floated in over patchwork greens and brick houses. We spent a couple hours at McDonald’s because Levi and Abe flew 4 hours after us. So we took a taxi and ate lunch. McDonald’s here has lots of different things like mozzarella sticks and crispy Italiano sandwiches and tiramisu or caramel mcflurrys. It’s a treat. We rode a red, double decker bus back to the airport to meet the guys and then we all caught the London Underground, otherwise known as the Tube, over to our hostel. We are staying in a huge room with bunk beds everywhere that have burnt orange privacy curtains around them. We went to a Greek place down the road for supper and then I went to the hostel. The rest went out and about for a while longer but I unfortunately came down with food poisoning so I went to bed.

Thursday- We had breakfast at the hostel this morning. The buffet had fresh yogurt, granola, and toast with tomatoes, cheese, and meat. This is always a common breakfast when we’ve traveled in Europe and we sometimes skip lunch and have an early supper if we have one of these breakfasts. We left the hostel and took the tube to Buckingham Palace where we watched the changing of the guard. It was a long process with lots of men in red and a noisy band. Abe was sure he saw Prince Charles and Camilla but none of the rest of us were convinced.

Then we walked to Trafalgar Square and went to the National Gallery. A lot of museums here are free, as was this one. We spent awhile looking at Rembrandt, da Vinci, and Raphael. It was delightful, partly because it had a/c, and we left with full brains. We found a place called Poppies where we ate fish and chips for lunch. It was delicious, although not ideal for my food poisoning position which has been a problem all day.

After lunch we took the train to Kings Cross Station, which if you have read Harry Potter, will know its an important stop. In the HP books, Platform 9¾ is iconic so we stopped and saw it and went to the Harry Potter shop. Abe, Madison, and I all geeked out for awhile. The kids got coffee in the Station and we caught a train over to the mission house. Gary&Bonnie Barkman are the tract people and welcomed us into their darling flat for supper and night. They are so cool. I teach their grandson Lucas in Enderby so I have heard lots about them and finally get to meet them! We had a fun evening relaxing and chatting and singing. Mrs. Dot Unruh from Idaho has also been visiting them and after a little passport mixup, she ended up staying another night so we have been honored to get to know her also!

Some assorted notes: 1. London has been quite clean in comparison with San Francisco, for example. 2. There isn’t a/c anywhere here and they’re in a “heat wave”. 3. There are police everywhere. 4. London is full of green & trees.