For those of us here in Newfoundland & Labrador, Westjet has really been on a roll lately. Especially if you live close to St. John’s. A couple years ago, the airline introduced a direct flight from St. John’s to Dublin–GENIUS. (Read our post about it here). 4.5 hours later, you’re in Ireland. Plus, they introduced the new flight at a ridiculously low price–I think we paid $168 one-way. We can rarely fly to Halifax for that cheap, and Halifax is in the next province over. So, when Westjet introduced their new seasonal direct flight from St. John’s to London Gatwick starting May 2016, obviously we got on that right away.

We’ve stayed in London 3 times already.  Yet we feel like we’ve yet to really experience the city. It’s always been more of a stopover point for us–heading to or returning from someplace else. Sure, we’ve seen the tourist-y sights: the London Eye, Buckingham Place, the Changing of the Guard, Westminster Abbey, the Tower Bridge, Camden Market, Abbey Road, and so on. We’ve messed up 75% of the tube station names.  (I still say “Leicester” wrong). (Sorry, Caitlin). We’ve also been to alllll of the London airports. (A little on that here). But it still doesn’t feel like we’ve experienced London. I can’t even accurately define what “experiencing a city” is to me. I think maybe it happens when you feel more like a local than a tourist. Or maybe it’s when a city starts to feel like home.  We’ve already written lots about how Ireland makes us feel at home. New Year’s Eve in Sydney felt like home. There was one meal in Barcelona in a restaurant filled with locals watching a really important football match–that was definitely an experience. It’s London’s turn next.

In saying all of this, haha, we only booked a one-way ticket to London. Because we’re planning to head elsewhere once we’re in Europe.  Which kind of defeats the purpose of this post. But, c’mon, we at least have to go to Ireland again. Stay tuned.