Day 2 - The early bird catches the worm

I slept solidly thru the night and woke up.  When I looked at the clock, it was only 4 AM?  Wait, what?  Yup, that is jet lag.  Most of us woke up between 4 and 6 am, got ready and headed down for breakfast.  Unfortunately, breakfast was not until 7:30 AM.  We were the only ones in the hostel lobby hungrily waiting around for breakfast.  The effects of jet lag can take a few days to subside.  Most of us did not sleep well.  The room was hot since most homes in London do not have ACs.  10 of us crammed in one room with our large suitcases, absolutely no privacy, mini shared showers and bathroom facilities - all very much different that what we are used to in the US.  Our first day was an uncomfortable one.  Mostly, it was the environment and culture shock of staying in a hostel.  In fact, several students wanted to explore the option of checking out from the hostel and checking into a hotel.  I was open to the idea.

Today, we were scheduled for a London walking tour.  After breakfast, we headed out to the center of town to meet our travel guide.  This is a busy time in London - one of the most visited cities in the world.  Since the walking tour was a "free" walking tour, we had more than 70 people.  I've done several of these walking tours all around Europe and none have been this big.  During our walking tour, our guide did a fantastic job explaining all the sights and sounds that we walked past - Buckingham Palace, London Parliament, Changing of the Guards, and other palaces and streets.

Sights of London on our walking tour

Westminster Abbey

After our walking tour which ended by Westminster Abbey, we headed back towards our hostel for some lunch.  The area not far from Victoria station had a plethora of restaurants and shopping.  Students enjoyed some down time to eat some familiar food.  Some students also explored a few hotels to see if it would be feasible to move out to a more comfortable place.  When I asked them if they would, the cost of the hotels, the small size, and a change in their mindset had the opposite effect.  They said that they would just adjust and make the best of what they had.  They realized that London was very different from the US.  Everything was small here - the rooms, bathrooms, streets, etc.  This was a turning point.  Usually it takes a day or two to leave your homely mindset back and adopt a new mindset in the destination you are visiting.  As soon as that happened, it felt like my students were re-energized and they found their exploration shoes.  They were free for the evening and they all went out as one happy family to enjoy a few more sights and sounds of London.

I have a hunch that we will all sleep like babies, tonight......