Dreams do come true, part I

I am an anglophile.

I've always been fascinated by England, even in elementary school when we learned about Jamestown, Colonial America, and the Revolutionary War.

When I was 12, Diana, Princess of Wales, died, and I was swept up in the pageantry of the British Royals, the drama surrounding her death, and the complex, flawed, compassionate person that she was.

When I was 13, I read THE BABYSITTERS CLUB SUPER SPECIAL #15: BABYSITTERS' EUROPEAN VACATION, in which Kristy et al, go to London and Paris. It was then that I decided:

One day I would go to London.

It became one of my biggest dreams, right up there with (maybe even a little higher than) writing a novel.

I am happy to announce that last month, my dream came true. On August 24, Bear and I landed in London for an 8 day vacation.

The 8 days we spent in England (plus 3 days traveling) are too much to blog about in one post, so keep an eye out for several other posts this week.

Our flight to London was a 23 hour exercise in sleep deprivation, with connecting flights (and 5 hour layovers) in New York and Helsinki, Finland. It was worth it, though, because on the flight from New York to Helsinki, we witnessed a sunset over New England:

The Northern Lights just south of Greenland (another dream come true):

Not the best picture, but there was so little light, it was hard to get a good shot!

And, only 5 hours after sunset, the sunrise over Iceland:

Tomorrow: Hyde Park, Harrods, pizza, and Stonehenge!