May 21-23, 2022

Every trip down memory lane, much like every other trip, must start with a safety briefing of sorts, and here’s ours: no matter one’s best intentions, no matter the hours spent on excessive – nay, obsessive – planning, no one can fight the Toronto Pearson International Airport and win.

The plan seemed easy enough: Mark, Susan, Jeremy, and Sam would fly on Saturday afternoon from Saint Louis (STL) to Toronto (YYZ) and endure an awkward five hour layover before Jordan arrived to connect with them to London on the 11:30pm flight. We miscalculated on one and only one front: putting all our eggs in a single AirCanada-shaped basket. Jordan had a flight straight from Tulane Commencement to Houston, and from Houston to Toronto. A delay from Houston to Toronto left her with negative 20 minutes to get to the London-bound gate. Despite negotiations with airline staff (on both Jordan’s and Susan’s ends), pleading with God, etc., Jordan had to watch AC858 roll past the window of her incoming plane and zoom off into the night sky…without her.

Nevertheless, she persisted. This was nothing a short 3 hour nap on the airport floor, a heated exchange with an outsourced customer service agent, some Timmies, and 18 hours in the airport couldn’t fix! Remember this eternity in Toronto for later though; YYZ is a recurring character.

Meanwhile, the gang (minus one) convened in London on a classically cloudy Sunday morning. Avery and Ismael took a more unusual route through the Reykjavik airport to get there; fun was had, purportedly.

Morale was a little low. After all, the trip’s most obsessive planner, Jordan (some prefer the term drill sergeant, though she would prefer voluntary guide), would not be arriving till Monday morning. Nevertheless, Mark roused the troops for an evening stroll through Piccadilly Circus to get a quick taste of London and inspire everyone for the big event the next day: double-decker tourism.

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The morning of Monday, May 23 dawned – you guessed it – cloudy and cool. Mark strolled on down to Paddington Station, just a few minutes from our London Airbnb, to meet Jordan coming in on the tube. He treated himself to a meaty breakfast sandwich while he waited, one of the UK’s best features.

Mark could barely contain his joy – no, not because Jordan was there. Rather, the Pecks would finally be able to ride the hop on/hop off bus! He had hyped up the concept endlessly since his trip to London in the fall. Though dubious at first, we can all say retroactively that this was the best way to get a sense of London. There is nothing better than getting prime views of London architecture 10 feet above the unwashed masses below. Just how the royals of the past would have experienced London, of course.

But first, we could not get to the Marble Arch bus stop without a walk along the gorgeous canals of little Venice by our Airbnb and a hearty English breakfast at Mimos Cafe.

See below for a massive dump of photos from the day, including but not limited to: Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Oxford Street, Big Ben (or London Ben, as Ismael would say), City of London, and the Thames! Note some sexy rain jackets making an appearance mid-tour, as the London skies very predictably opened and closed on us (a little dual on/off action ;)).

The day would not be complete without a little vegetation (aka flopping on the couch) and completing the true British experience. This was accomplished by a marathon of Taskmaster and takeaway from Nando’s. The following photos have been dramatized and may or may not represent our actual night in.

Further tales from the day such as a double pit stop in the Oxford Street Microsoft Store or an ill-fated attempt at a pub crawl probably require a Peck to explain in person.