I would recommend visiting the city to anybody if you have the time and money because there is so much to see and do that you need to spend at least a few days there as well as be prepared to drop some serious dough. Bar tabs add up pretty quick in this town but but once you tell yourself you're only here for a few days, the beer will flow like wine. The city also has a ridiculous amount of tourist activities and if it makes me a nerd that I filled my days visiting museums, smirking at the proceedings of British Royalty and poking around old churches, then so be it. But as interesting as London was, I wouldn't have had the time that I did without my host Gemayal. It was nice enough that he put me up in his flat and insisted that I sleep in his bed while him on the couch, but he also took me out to some sweet bars, translated English english which is very different than english back home, and helped me get around the city when I was confused. His room mates were also great and had no problem putting up with me for my stay. I also got to hang out with my Uncle Rob and his family who recently moved to London. He has a one and a half year old son named Dillon and it was the first time I got to meet my cousin who, because he can't pronounce his own name, calls himself Ling Ling.
This picture was taken when I was on a river boat cruise along the Thames after the sun had just set. I think I took about fifty pictures of the Big Ben considering I have been wanting to see it ever since my grandmother gave me a Big Ben puzzle when I was four (and subsequently, every year after I have received some sort of Big Ben gift). I was bummed that I didn't get to go in the tower but nonetheless, still in awe.
This next picture was taken at one of my favorite tourist attractions in London even though I had never read of it before I accidentally stumbled upon it on my way to the National Art Museum. The Texas Embassy Cantina, located in the heart of London, is a Texas themed restaurant that served as my oasis in the middle of a full day of touring. The story goes (check their website to be accurate) when Texas was an independent republic, a few Texans visited London and established an embassy. England wanted Texas to remain independent forever and offered to defend the country when need be but eventually Texas became a state and the embassy closed in 1845. Now this restaurant stands as a memorial to this unlikely friendship but more importantly it provided me with a home away from home. The restaurant was decked out in all kinds of Texas decor, had only Budweiser on tap and was even showing a Duke/Virginia Tech basketball game, a novelty considering US sporting events are hard to come by outside of the country.
But after all the London sight seeing and bar hopping, Thursday evening rolled around and I was off to Heathrow for a ten hour flight to Johannesburg. The flight wasn't bad at all considering the couple I was sitting with moved two hours into the flight and I could stretch out on the entire row and before I knew it I was going through customs at the Johannesburg airport.
While in Johannesburg I would be staying with family friends Paul and Marion, and their three children, Sam 15, Jo 10 and Thomas 8 (I think). I know these people because when Marion went to study in the US during college, she lived with my grand parents in Texas. I had only met her once before when she and Paul visited my family when we lived in D.C. but I was so young I barely remember. Their visit coincided with my fifth birthday and she still has pictures of that day, me wearing a full on Ninja Turtle outfit and cake smeared all over my face.
When I arrived at the airport, Paul and Marion had sent their driver Edward to pick me up. I had never been picked up by a driver at an airport before and it was pretty cool, even if the sign read "Ben O'Neill." We loaded my bags in the car and drove to Paul and Marion's home located a little less than a half hour from the airport and fairly close to down town Johannesburg in a suburb called Houghton. I knew they lived in a nice place but I didn't realize how nice until I got there. I've attached a few pictures of their beautiful home but a picture really doesn't do it justice to how nice this place is. One of the best parts is the view off of their backyard, a sweeping panoramic looking north over a forest, spanning miles and miles.
In my next blog, which I promise won't take as long to post as this first one did, I'll include more of the things I have been doing since I've been in Johannesburg. Today I'm off to the Apartheid Museum and later this week I'll be doing a bike tour of Soweto. I hope this post finds everybody healthy and well, and if you get a chance any updates through email would be great.
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