Before I knew it we were landing at London Heathrow Airport! The landing was a dream, super smooth. It was nice to use a normal toilet after nearly 8 hours on an airplane … weird and maybe too much information but it’s true. Baggage claim was easy enough although I spent more time waiting for my checked luggage than I did going through customs and immigration combined. The UK offers E-gate for certain countries, including US passport holders with compatible passports, so you walk right through as long as you don’t have anything to declare. 

In order to get from the airport to the hotel, I had to use the train and tube systems in London. This was probably the one thing I was most nervous about, even to the point of dreading it slightly! The trains and tubes are nice, I’m just not familiar with them and it was a little overwhelming to figure it out solo. That being said, I did it and this trip is stretching my personal growth, so win-win. I found it helpful to write out the train and tube for quick and easy reference. This helped me check signage more quickly. I did not buy an Oyster or prepaid card for this trip because it didn’t make financial sense so I used my contactless credit card and use the tap to pay options to effectively enter and exit the stations. The Oyster card is worth considering but do the math to confirm it is fiscally responsible for your trip. From Heathrow airport, I took the Heathrow Express train from LHR terminal 3 to Paddington Station, then the Circle Line tube from Paddington to St. James Place. The train and tube was clean, a little busy at some stops but nothing crazy. I learned that not all of the tube stations have lifts and you have to be prepared to wrangle your luggage up and down accordingly. I had some GBP bills from a previous trip to the UK and was able to skip the ATMs. It was a short walk from St. James Place to my hotel.