Reconnecting with Friends

After coming back from our trip, J and I hosted a "We're Back!!" party to reconnect with our Seattle friends. Aside from the fresh Costco strawberries we strictly served drinks and snacks that we encountered during our world travel which included Coopers Pale Ale (Sydney), Estrella (Barcelona), Tsingtao Pure Draft (Beijing), San Pellegrino Limonata/Aranciata (Rome), Malbec (Buenos Aires), Dulce de Leche (Buenos Aires), assorted salami from Salumi's and marinated mozzarella (Rome).
 
For a little bit of entertainment, J and I decided to have a friendly photo contest during the party. He and I each picked and anonymously displayed 5 of our "best" photos and asked our friends to pick their three favorites. The winner got to decide our next vacation destination! Here were the winners in descending order:
 
1. Kaikoura Peninsula, New Zealand
2. Bluff Cove Lagoon, Falkland Islands
3. Buenos Aires, Argentina
4. Amsterdam, Netherlands
5. Barcelona, Spain
6. Great Barrier Reef, Australia
7. Barron Falls, Australia
8. Paris, France
9. London, UK (tie for 9th)
10. Tongaririo Crossing, New Zealand (tie for 9th)
 
Right now, I'm thinking the Maldives. =)
 

3 days in London - The Sights

It was so nice to be able to walk everywhere again! London streets felt intimate and charming. The city reminded me a lot of Boston.

  1. The Parliament House - probably one of the top two most beautiful buildings we've seen on our trip so far!
  2. Me, J and clock tower that houses Big Ben.
  3. Westminster Abbey
  4. The crowd waiting to see the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace (highly over-rated tourist attraction, IMO)
  5. St. James Park
  6. A duck with a puffy head who lives in St. James Park. Can someone identify it for me?
  7. Underneath the London Eye
  8. Above the London Eye
  9. The Thames River
  10. This is *the* London Bridge. I kid you not!
  11. The 4 o'clock Parade Horse Guard - even the horse's bum get inspected
  12. The Apple store on Regency Street

3 days in London - Friends

Many of our friends from the Flying Kiwi (the tour bus we took in New Zealand) are from the UK. Unfortunately, the majority of them are still tromping around Australia, but we were able to meet up with Claire and Danielle in London.

  1. Claire and her friend Chris drove 3 hours to meet us in London! We walked along the Thames and visited The London Dungeon.
  2. We had a great time chit-chatting with Danielle over a 3-hour lunch along the South Bank. The three of us lunched on the restaurant terrace with a view of the Thames while soaking in the rare London sunshine.

3 days in London - The Food

The food in London turned out to be pretty tasty and relatively affordable! Pub grub and breakfast tasted pretty similar to its equivalent in the US. After trying the Indian food in London we began to appreciate the fact that we have some pretty awesome Indian food in Seattle. The only disappointment (for me) was Wagamama, a westernized Japanese restaurant that J's been dying to try throughout our trip.

  1. Egg, bacon, sausage and chips - £3
  2. Egg, bacon, sausage and beans - £3
  3. Salmon risotto with a poached egg (1 of 2 courses)
  4. Pan-seared snapper (2 of 2 courses) - £15 for 2 courses
  5. 12 oz. Rib-eye steak with chips and a glass of house wine - £20
  6. Scottish salmon with roasted potatoes - £14
  7. Grilled tuna steak (rare) with cous cous - £15
  8. Fish and chips - £9
  9. Bangers and mash - £10
  10. Chicken pie with steamed vegetables - £8
  11. Grand chicken madras thali - £11
  12. Wagamama ramen - £8
  13. Beer art (shamrock drawn on the foam of a glass of super-chilled Guiness) - £3
  14. Pims (a British summer specialty recommended by our friend Danielle) - £4

Day 193: We've come full circle

J and I have made it back to London which means we've now officially finished our OneWorld Global Explorer RTW ticket! It's quite amazing to think that we set out from here 7 months ago with 3 pages worth of flight information detailing the 16 air segments of our RTW ticket. The itinerary seemed so daunting to us back then and we felt like it would take us forever to complete it. After making this circle around the world I can tell you that it all flew by in a flash!

Overall, J and I really liked the OneWorld Global Explorer ticket. Although the complicated fare rules made the initial planning difficult, we now look back and are very appreciative at the various restrictions that we first found frustrating. Too many options is not a good thing. The ticket really helped us prioritize our destinations and allowed us to map out a feasible route at an affordable price!

In case you are considering buying a OneWorld Global Explorer ticket here are some of our words of wisdom:
  • When it comes to baggage allowances go with the lowest common denominator - 1 bag weighing no more than 23 kgs. We learned this the hard way.
  • American Airline is a great alliance member to buy your OneWorld ticket from. They actually have a specialized division staffed with knowledgeable and competent service representatives who has all been trained to handle this OneWorld RTW ticket.
  • We booked our itinerary on the phone, but the OneWorld website recently launched an application to let you book/manage your ticket online!
  • Quality of airline: British Airways and Quantas = awesome; Cathay Pacific, American and Lan = pretty good; Iberia = awful.
  • It's a great value, especially if you are able to buy it in Canada. =)
Current Location: London, UK