Hotlanta and the Arrival

I took off yesterday from El Paso and arrived in Atlanta at around 3:30 local time. I was debating whether or not to go into the city because I didn't want to risk missing my all too important flight to London. But curiosity got the best of me, and I decided that I probably wouldn't have an opportunity to wander around Atlanta by myself again. I took the MARTA subway system into the center and saw the headquarters of CNN as well as the World of Coca-Cola. It was a beautiful day with light humidity and a cool breeze. I'm happy that I went. Atlanta is a cool place. Now to the good stuff. The flight to London was incredibly unbearable, even when I had an aisle seat with limited carry-ons. I guess I've started to become my father and realize that airplanes were not made for people my size. I didn't get a wink of sleep. So I've been awake for about 31 hours now. As soon as I'm done with this entry I'm heading off for some much needed sleep. We got into London about noon local time. There was a group of about 9 of us on the plane out of Atlanta, so we banded together and decided how we were going to get to the London Centre. We decided to go with the Paddington Express train that left Heathrow and arrived at the center of the city in 15 minutes. We then walked about a quarter of a mile to the center. The BYU London Centre is located on 27 Palace Court which is just north of Kensington Gardens. There is a library, a large classrooms and a few dorm rooms. When we arrived we were given a set of bedsheets with a room assignment. I'm with the other guys at the top of the building on the fifth floor. When I got settled I started on my first London Walk. A London Walk is a set of planned walks that we must complete by Saturday. They are pretty much self-guided tours through various neighborhoods in the city. To start off, we choose to go on the walk closest to us in our immediate neighborhood. It has been raining all day. I just got back from taking a walk around Kensington Gardens with some other students. It was a short, drizzly walk but, incredible. I'm sure I'll be able to appreciate more of it when I'm not so tired. So far I'm still taken back by the reality that I'm actually here. What an incredible place.