Five Year European Anniversary

Dear Journal,

Day one started out with a bang.  After Michael left us at TRI to descend through the wonderful securities means that we all have grown so accustomed to, we were wonderfully surprised to see the word "DELAYED" on flight 5331 to Atlanta. Knowing that we only had a 45 minute layover in Atlanta and trying not to panic I quickly pulled out my 24 page itinerary and located Delta Air Line's number!  After being on hold for what seemed liked an eternity, I was greeted by Sherry, who began apologizing for the inconvenience and telling me my options.  Since option 2 meant waiting a whole other day to fly out of TRI, we opted for option 1.

Originally, we were supposed to fly directly into Southampton.  However, with the delay, we ended up flying to London.  Delta was very apologetic and bumped us up to First Class on our Boeing 767 (more about that later).  Unfortanetly, the only setback to this whole "switch" was upon arrival to London, we would have to find other means to Southampton (since London doesn't have flights into SOU).

Our "first class" flight (Retail: $12,400) proved to be a good choice!  Ok, actually an excellent choice!  I have never been treated that well on any aircraft I have ever flown.  With two meals in less than 7 hours and amenities out the wazoo, flying first class with Delta spoiled us both.

We arrived in London safely and somewhat rested.  Well, I was at least.  Jessica stayed up the entire night watching movies.  Apparently the Curious Case of Benjamin Button proved to be very "curious" indeed! :0) We grabbed our luggage and headed for the information desk.  We were told that a bus into Southampton would be our better option.  So, off we went.  We boarded our bus ($50 for two tickets) to Southampton and arrived only an hour later than originally planned.  Whew!

Although exhausted, we still managed to explore Southampton by foot before eating once again at the West Quey food court.  There were lots of American shops and restaraunts, however we saw tons of stores we had never seen before.  Our first food experience proved to be interesting and delicious.  Jessica had her first serving of fish and chips, something she had talked about for weeks.  I, on the other hand, had a jacket potatoe with bacon and eggs as a topping.  I also had a cornish pastry with chicken, white potatoes and sweet potatoes.  The jacket potatoe was a good choice, however the pastry wasn't so pleasant.  We have plans to try a nicer restaraunt tomorrow!

It's 11:30 PM here, and we are still exhausted.  I think we will be getting some shut eye soon.  The room is definitely a little different than American rooms, however the Holiday Inn on Herbert Walker Avenue was a good choice.  We really have no complaints other than NO washcloths and only 10 channels on the television.  However, I think we will survive!  Lol!