Christine dropped me off yesterday at the airport. I got all the way to the X-Ray machine and opened my bag to grab my laptop to run it through... No laptop. So, I called Christine, (she was almost home) and asked her to get it for me from work. Thank goodness I went very early. Because I was in Idaho last week, I hadn't updated my calendar to Pacific time and thought the flight was at 5:30. It was actually at 6:30 and so there was plenty of time. As I was sitting in the airport waiting for Christine to come back with the laptop, John Hansen walked up and kicked my foot. I had to chuckle when he showed me his ticket. He was going to London as well. We were both flying business class, so he changed his ticket to sit next to me.We flew out yesterday around 6:45 from Seattle. We had the nice seats that lay out flat so you can sleep in them. John had some sleeping pills that really worked. I asked him to share, but he wouldn't. So, he crashed pretty well. I watched a movie, "The Prestige". John's video machine kept crashing so he made the flight attendants reboot the system so everybody had to restart their movies. Way to go John! :) After the movie, I layed the seat back down all the way and promptly fell asleep.
I actually slept quite well and woke up to the very pleasant greetings from the flight attendant. We were flying British Airways and had the best service I've ever had on an airline. They were very pleasant and always made sure we had something to eat and drink from the moment we sat down, actually before we were settled.
I arrived in London around noon and caught the tube to the area where my hotel was. I wandered a bit because I had no idea where it was, and had no idea how to find it, given that I had no map. So, I called up a taxi.
Taxi driving has been elevated to an art in London. The taxi drivers are extremely professional and courteous. I was quite impressed. The taxi cabs are quite interesting too. Perfectly built to be taxis. They have an amazingly tight turning radius, great head room, room for suitcases and other baggage and a great communication system between driver and rider so you don't have to yell. One taxi driver told me what it takes to get a taxi driver's license. Let's just say it's about as intense as the training to become a CPA, maybe more so.
Anyway, so the taxi took me right to the hotel and I checked in. Here's a picture from my hotel room window.
Here's a view of my hotel room. It was quite small, but comfortable for one person.
I had some time and wanted to stave off the effects of jet lag and travel, so I took a walk around London. I saw some of the more popular attractions. I loved all the old buildings. The people were friendly, but not warm. The food was not to my liking. The meat overcooked and too salty etc., but it wasn't terrible as I had been told it would be.
I saw Big Ben. It's hard to describe just how imposing this building is and the picture certainly doesn't give the full flavor of the sight. I can certainly see how folks get attached to it though. It's a wonderful piece of architecture and craftsmanship.
The ubiquitous taxis.
I have more pictures, but I'll try to post them later if I get time. Next up is Greece.
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