Easy Day in London

Hello, hello,
So a rather unexciting day in London today. I accidentally got sucked into "The Help" and was up until 2am reading, so didnt wake up until about noon. I milled around here...made myself a cup of tea and toast with Marmite, which I've missed dearly, and watched a little bit of NCIS :) I left for Kingston around 2pm, making a stop at Salisbury (the British version of Vons or Target) to get a phone. We decided that I'd need a basic phone here to contact Renee/Mike in case of meeting for lunch or tea. Renee had gotten me a basic 10 quid/pound prepaid SIM card but we were having problems finding a phone/charger to use. What I didn't know (because the US hasn't gotten its act together with SIM cards) is that you have to get a phne from the same company as your SIM card (ex. TMobile SIM card, TMobile phone). I accidentally picked up a Vodafone cell phone so when I took it into a phone store in Kingston, they informed me I'd have to put money on the Vodafone card...anyways after much ado, I put 10 pounds on the Vodafone SIM and went on my way. I wandered around Kingston, had lunch and walked in and out of shops (very difficult not to shop as there were so many shops we don't have in the US!).

And then I began my adventure for the day...making my way home. I made the mistake of going out of Kingston a different way than I came in. I ended up making a HUGE square...I must have walked apprx. 3-4 miles trying to get home. I was up in Richmond (a town up from Kingston-upon-Thames which is where Renee and Mike live). Right s I was about to give in and ask for directions (I had been walking for an hour and a half at this point) when suddenly, my instinct told me to turn right and there I was! Thrilling! I decided to go and read for a little while in the beautiful park along the Thames before going back to the house. Renee returned around 630pm and we went to the local pub where Mike met us an hour or so later and we had dinner there :)

That summarizes my Wednesday adventurs I believe :) Tomorrow I'l hopefully venture into London...though not sure what I'll be doing! Hopefully not so much walking!

XOXOXO

Sara

PS. The picture is from my lunch in Kingston

Safe and Sound!

Just a quick message to let everybody know that I am safe and sound in London. The flight was very, very easy (thank you Mom and Dad!) and I slept a little. It's about 5pm here. Renee has just gone out to buy me a cheapie SIM card for my week here so they can contact me as easily for lunch etc. So far it sounds like tomorrow I'll just wander around this area (Kingston-Upon-Thames) and then Thursday I'll probably go into town. I fly out at abot 10pm or so on Sunday. that is all I believe!

All my love,
Sara

Official Intinerary for the Trip!

Alrighty,
The official itinerary for the trip has come out (which I know everyone wants to know about!). Here goes...

I leave San Diego on Monday, August 29th at 8pm for London, where I'll spend four days with my lovely Aunt Renee who has graciously allowed me to stay with her!
I then fly to Delhi on Saturday (Sept. 4) and land in Delhi at 11:10pm, where I will be picked up by Rajiv, the head of the program. All of us come in on various flights to Delhi on the 4th. We stay in Delhi til the 7th (getting details such as visas etc organized) and then we fly to a rural airport and drive 4-5 hours to get to the city/town of Gangtok, Sikkim (see the pictures on the side as there's a map of the area). We'll to a lot of travelling around the area but be based in Gangtok.

Finally, on Nov 8, we travel by road to Bhutan, and then on the 14th from Bhutan to Nepal to trek to the Everest Base Camp. Finally, I'll return to Delhi Dec. 4, then a possible drive to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. At that point, it's likely that the family will come over to India and we'll do some more touring!

As always, feel free to comment, email me or just about anything!

XOXOXO,

Sara

Test Post

Hi everyone,
I just wanted to set up the blog before I left and give you all the address to make sure it all works. Feel free to comment below to show that you can or whatever you'd like :)

XOXOX,
Sara