I love to travel. If you haven't figured it out already, it's pretty much my favorite thing to do. However, over the past few days, I have learned that it is not all Pinterest pictures and good food. Traveling can be dang hard. You walk a lot and sweat a lot and sometimes you get real hungry.
This last Friday I set off at 10:30 PM from Atlanta to London. It was almost an eight-hour flight, and I slept for maybe two hours on and off throughout the entire trip. We arrived at the London airport at about 11 o'clock in the morning, and we went immediately to the place where we're staying. Except immediately actually meant three hours later. From the airport we had to ride the Heathrow Express, catch a line on the Tube, and walk even more until we finally arrived at our house. I was wearing leggings, boots, and a cardigan, and I thought I was going to die. Thirty pounds of luggage on my back and thirty more being rolled behind me. My shoulders felt like they were about to fall off. I was exhausted.
Following this, we decided to walk a mile down towards St. Paul's Cathedral, which sounded bearable until we started walking again. As we searched high and low for somewhere to eat, every place we walked into was closing. We were soon a group of four tired, hungry girls wandering around London streets. Our dinner ended up being a drink and bag of chips (not even the cool British kind) from a small convenient store. It seemed to be a rough beginning of our trip.
Until we walked into St. Paul's. The moment we walked in, my breath was taken away. The place was gorgeous. From the walls to the ceilings, the place was covered in extravagant decorations. That evening the choir presented their Choral Evensong. Their voices filled the cathedral, and finally I sat in silence simply in peace.
So, yes. Traveling is hard. It is hot and sweaty and difficult. It makes you tired and hungry and cranky. But, oh, it is so worth it. To see sights you've never seen and meet people from completely different backgrounds, it makes every drop of sweat and blister and ache worth it all.
