Joined by my teammates Sarah, Jackie, and Jenny, I boarded the plane in NYC. I could barely sleep during the 7-hour flight to London. I think I was far too excited. I must have dozed off a bit since I remember waking up to a voice over the public address saying "Welcome to London".

When you arrive in a foreign country the first thing you do is go to immigration and passport control. When we got off the plane there were bright yellow signs pointing us in the right direction. As I approached the immigration officer with my passport in hand I felt like I was on a mission.  The whole process is a bit like a secret agent film. I was asked a few detailed questions: Where to? How long will you be staying? What is the purpose of your visit? Once answered, my passport was stamped and I was on my way to the city.

We took a taxi to our hotel. I think that a taxi is a great way to see many parts of a city when you first arrive. It was difficult for me to see out the windows with four people and our luggage. To my surprise, though, I did spot Big Ben and Parliament!

We are staying at the Mad Hatter Hotel, which is in a part of London called Southwark.  Our hotel is just a few steps from the River Thames and some of the major sites along the river like St. Paul's Cathedral and Shakespeare's Globe.

My first official "on-location" assignment was to film my introduction. The pressure was on because I was the first to get in front of the camera.

Tomorrow morning we leave for Stratford-upon-Avon. I am looking forward to learning about Shakespeare before he became an actor and playwright. I am also eager to see what life is like outside of London.

I am off to bed now. The jet lag has really hit hard and I want to be ready for the drive to Stratford.

The weary (but excited) explorer,

For Extra Credit:
Learn about Sir Francis Drake, an explorer from Shakespeare's time.

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