I'm back from London! I had a great time and saw lots and lots of the things you go to London to see -- Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, etc. I'll post the pics in a few days, but first let me tell you about my little adventure getting there and back.

So a couple of days before my trip, my back started to hurt. I have sciatica, but as long as I stretch regularly, I can usually keep the pain at bay. Even then, it's painful but not unbearable. Usually.

I don't know if it was the stress of flying or what, but I was in full-on pain. By the day of the flight, I could barely even walk. When I went to put my sneakers on to go to the airport, I couldn't even lift my leg enough to put my sneaker on. I felt awful. If it was going to be like this in London, what was the point of even going? I had a little breakdown, I must admit. The timing just seemed to work against me. But after a little self-pity and crying jag, I decided to go on the trip, leg be damned. Oh, and I also took lots and lots of pain pills.

Thank goodness we decided to get premium seats on the way there. The premium area was almost empty, and Neets and I were able to get our own rows. The seats were really comfortable and they reclined enough that I was able to lay back and let the pills kick in. I slept the entire flight there. Man, if you can do that, it's awesome. You literally close your eyes and wake up in another country. If only all trips could be like that.

Anyway, when we landed in London, my leg was starting to feel a little better. I continued to take the pills the entire time there, just to keep it under control, but thankfully, after that little burp of a start, I was able to walk around London and enjoy the sites. And are there sites to see! We stayed in the Trafalgar Square area, and so we walked around there and checked out the stores. We also visited Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, Oxford, Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral, Harrod's, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Green Park, Hyde Park, St. James Park and the Princess Diana Memorial. Phew! I'm tired just listing all those things; imagine visiting all of those places ... in four days!

But that wasn't as exhausting as the trip back. First, we had to wait at the airport for an extra four hours because our flight was delayed. That's four hours we could have instead spent in London, but hey, what can you do? But then there was the woman sitting next to me who apparently had tuberculosis or some other awful disease. She coughed and coughed and coughed without ever once covering her mouth. Gross. And her daughter, who was sitting next to her, was also sick and apparently also didn't know she should cover her mouth. She also didn't seem to notice that it would be kinda rude to put her bare feet across her mother's lap and have them be right next to me. And then, I had to take the vegetarian meal, which was disgusting, because the chicken meal had mushrooms in it. Why do the British love their mushrooms so? It's such a hit-or-miss food, why do they put it in everything? There are plenty of people who don't each mushrooms. I can't be the only one, right?

But that, my friends, was not even the worst of it. Having the flight land at midnight instead of 8 p.m. was sucky, as was tuberculosis lady and gross food. But the absolute worst was getting detained by Homeland Security for over an hour because there's someone with the same name as you with an arrest warrant out for them. That, my dear, sweet friends, really sucks. Because once you're in the detention room, you can't use your cell phone, you can't communicate with the people who are there to pick you up, you can't pick up your luggage -- you pretty much can't do anything until you're told you're clear. And that can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. In fact, they can hold you for up to 24 hours if they need/want to. It's great being an American citizen, what will all the rights and freedoms we have, eh?

But let's not focus on the negative. The vacation itself was great. I saw so much beautiful architecture and learned so much about the country's history. And two big thumbs up to Neets, a fantastic tour guide! She'd been there several times before and knew what we should see and what we could skip, and how to get around to all the places. Thanks, Neets!