Ok so one would think that almost getting thrown in jail the first day would be a bad start. And who am I to say it is or isn't. Though I tend to be an optmist so I'll chalk it up as a great story. What I won't tell you is who almost got thrown in jail. Most of you would be surprised some of you wouldn't. What I will tell you is it could have been the most uncomfortable plane ride I have ever experienced lol!
We arrived in London with lost but excited looks on our faces and had no idea the excitement we would be in for. Layton and I quickly figured out the customs sheets we had to fill out and waited patiently behind a mob of impatient tourists and passersby. After waiting in line for a little under an hour we finally made it into our terminal.
We enjoyed a bottle of vitamin water and some delicious bagels while waiting on our flight discussing our predictions of what our trip was going to be like. What we didn't know, however, was we were about to have an excitable twist in our plans.
Quickly after getting seated on the plane we sparked up conversation with Aman, a scottish 20 something going to visit her family and discuss her honeymoon. Aman was a very worldly and well traveled Scottish girl. We quickly found out that her sister owns a bed and breakfast in Prestick, Scotland. Prestiwick, renown for its amazing golf courses and small town feel. She called her sister and gave us a huge discount on our stay and some incredible things to do while we were there.It didnt take us long after we landed to gather our bags(well after we found out that we had to retrieve them from customs :) ) and head for central station with our new directions and plans for the day. The train ride was suprisingly quiet and this was good news for someone wanting to catch some sleep.
But for a wide eyed traveler this only made us more eager to reach our destination. Soon after arriving to Prestwick Layton quickly discovered the pay per use toilet. I must say this thing was AWESOME. Sure you have to pay 20 pence to use it BUT the door slides open AUTOMATICLY like a vault dooor!! Wow we were impressed and are excited to use more of them.
We found our B&B and unloaded our bags then decided to head out to the pubs. It started off slow but around 5pm the pub started attracting more people. After our bartender showed us a few head tricks(shamrocks, butterflies...) we were a bit drunk and ready to play a game of pool. The pub scene shifted from inside to out back about 3/4 through our game so I decided to 'let' Layton win and move out with the locals. Her we got to meet the pub dog "Benji" whom prefers a half lager half water mix. And a slew of friendly old men who excitedly asked about Texas and Oklahoma as well as related with us on other levels. After enjoying a few beers at the Eagle we headed to the next pub where we quickly found dinner and another great pint in Mcewer 70. Let me tell you the beer does not taste the same here and its easy to realize why people drink much more frequently here than in the states.
After finishing dinner I excused myself to the restroom where I walked in on a 20 something male counting money. I thought this was a bit awkward so I ignored the situation. After Jami struck up a full conversation with me while I was using the urinal(yes I thought it was a bit odd at first, but we were both drunk so I dealt) we spent about 30 mins standing there talking about how he just got back from afghanistan with the royal army and my experience in Iraq with the American Army.
Soon after Layton and I decided we should go catch a nap before the late bar experience. We never made it back out, but found ourselves up very early the next morning. I woke up around 5am thinking Layton was still there, grabbed a shower and got out to find he was no where to be seen.
I grabbed some clothes and went out for an early morning walk. Grabbed a cappucino and a hagus breakfast sandwich and started strolling the neighborhood.
After meeting a few very pleasant locals and enjoying the chilly, slightly misty morning I conveniently ran into Layton at a early morn. snack show a few blocks from our room. We linked up and enjoy our breakfast at the B&B while we finished up the last of our laundry.
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