Stumbled upon my first email sent home from my dream trip. Thought it was relatively entertaining so decided to share

11/5/10

Hello dedicated fans of Vic & Little Vic traveling the world!
Just writing to let you know that we arrived safely and happily in LONDON!
Big trip, but Little Vick loved it the whole way kicking up a lot of turbulence in my belly. The plane flight alone felt like that could be my entire trip – it felt like 6 weeks. Luckily I enjoy flying but by the last 8 hours the novelty was wearing off I have to admit. Thank God for the great selection of movies on the plane.
We had a stop over in Kaula Lumpa & Dubai which I appreciated just so I could stretch my complaining legs out.  Dubai is the most fascinating place – a city in the middle of the desert! I had never seen desert like what I witnessed flying over Dubai before….endless rolling hills of just sand and the odd struggling tree that really might as well give up now if it’s waiting for rain. It was 37 degrees when we flew in and I think it was still winter!!! The sunshine was dazzlingly bright and the airport was a real sight. Hundreds of different cultures in the one place. Most of them wanting to buy duty free all at once. I was quite taken with the men dressed in their little full length, white desert outfits with matching head pieces. I thought people only wore those kind of things in Laurence of Arabia films.
Ate too much so I looked like a real heifer lump when I got off the plane much to Sonia’s delight. I was so blessed to have my friend Sonia (friend from high school – Timboon days) waiting for me and to collect me when I arrived. I felt very important walking through the big gates into Heathrow knowing someone would be there and looking for me – although most people were already looking at me being that I have a nice bump to keep me company along with my 50 litre backpack!
The underground trains seem very handy but why does one of the most populated places in the world have skinny (narrow) trains resulting in less people being able to get on them? I let Sonia know they wern’t quite up with Connex fatties which carry the masses in Melbourne. Although I am hoping to find them much more reliable.
When I walked out of the underground station I was bombarded straight up with stereo typical English things EVERYWHERE which gave me a fit of the squeals and giggles, which then only gave Sonia the giggles as I was acting so ridiculous and because she’d forgotten about how different London is to Australia and how noticeable that is for someone experiencing it for the first time.
Some initial things I noticed: the police have round Mr Plod hats on!! Ha ha – are they in costume? Totally having a photo with one of them. Maybe he’ll get his baton out too and then totally look like he should be in a cartoon. Speaking of cartoons – the taxi’s!!! Ha, they’re also these round little things that look like they should only exist in a cartoon. And there really are red buses driving around everywhere (some of them double deckers!)!!!!!
On the way home (on one of the red buses) we saw police pulled over and with their lights switched on and I instantly felt like I was in an episode of “The Bill”. Everything here is so stereotypical of movies and shows which I thought exaggerated English charm but it’s totally a full little world of all of those little things. Wow. All these things and I’d only travelled to the airport and then to Acton, the suburb where I’m staying with Sonia! Imagine what I’ll see today actually out and about playing tourist???
Sonia has kindly given up her bed for me and is residing on the lounge room floor. I tried to convince her that I would be totally fine on the floor and Little Vick would be quite cosy and comfortable in my sexy placenta cushion but she wouldn’t hear of it. I think she just wants to be able to watch TV during the night, just quietly She lives in a shoe box, kind of in the back of a car park/lane way, but her housemates are friendly and it’s homely. One of them has a cute English accent which I’m find entertaining.
So it’s 6.30 am here currently. It gets light here just after 5 at which time I think it must be time to get up and be productive. I’m going to go into London city today with Sonia when she leaves for work. I have no idea what to see. I really need to get up on my Lonely Planet reading, but I’m just going to trust I will love soaking up further stereo typical London things and just watch the people and places go by and take lots of photos. So my moto for today is:
1. Get lost and look foolish, but survive and actually make it back to Sonia’s house
2. Not let Jet lag have me
Hope everyone is well at home. I’m having a GREAT time!
Love Vicki & Little Vick xxx

Me upon arrival to my London home at 23 weeks pregnant !