Day 1: LONDON, 3-10-11The 'travel gods' were not angry - they were rolling in the aisle laughing. We spent a couple of days with the family in Washington. Before departure, United let me check in and pre-board for the Heathrow flight. Carol was told she had to check-in at the airport counter. This has never happened. When we called and asked why, five people said five different (and inaccurate) things. In the end, the problem was that United switched aircraft and the seat Carol had no longer existed so she could not check in. Problem solved. Turns out that my seat did not exist on the new plane either. Everyone in the cabin got reshuffled. We arrived in London early and, contrary to what we were told, no one met us at the airport. The agency forgot to inform the pick-up service we were coming in, or the pickup service dropped the ball. Then the hotel did not have reservations for our early arrival. However they did put us up in a room temporarily until they sorted out the mess. We rested and slept until noon London time and ate a light lunch. We then ventured out on our own - and got semi-lost. We have both independently and together been to London several times. It still radiates majesty and power and intrigue. The driver who eventually picked us up at the airport did a first class job of introducing us to parts of, and lore about, the city as we went to the hotel.
The rest of the infinitely long walk was to sites that are familiar to all tourists. It was at times cold and windy and, surprise, a lot like London in March. But the walk was great. Piccadilly Circus (circus means a roundabout) was mobbed. The kids sat all around the monument in the center of the Circus, which reminded me of Amsterdam. The mime in the picture came alive and blew a kiss (at least to women) when money was put in his hat. We had an early dinner at our busy hotel. We're also headed for an early bedtime because tomorrow we plan to travel to France for ze lunch in Lille. |