We start our trip

Wednesday September 19 – Thursday September 20, 2012

In the early spring, April told me that Ray had given her the gift of a trip to Paris.  She was looking for a travel companion, and I would never say no to Paris!  When we got together to discuss the logistics, April mentioned that it would be lovely to go to England as well, given 2012 was the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. I am hardly the monarchist that April is, but who can say no to London?

Over the next few months, we would read books, watch Teaching Company DVDs, and meet over dinner to plan our trip.  Four months after she had first mentioned it, April and I flew to London on Air Canada flight 850, which left Calgary at 6:40 PM and would arrive in London Heathrow around 10 AM, Greenwich time (which was 3 AM Mountain Daylight time).  When we got to the airport, there was a huge line-up for the London flight. We had already checked in on-line and printed out baggage tags, and it seemed ridiculous to wait so long just to drop off our bags.  We stopped an Air Canada agent who told us we were in the right lane, but then a couple minutes later he came back and said follow me. He took us to the domestic drop off where we walked right up to the agent.  Only after we had put the bags on the conveyer belt did we realize that she hadn’t given us the baggage tags.  We crossed our fingers that our bags would end up in London England and not London Ontario!

Before we boarded, April was sitting at the gate and I went in search of a snack.  Walking along, I noticed Lisa Elmore.  Lisa had worked with me more than ten years ago and I hadn’t seen her since.  She had sent me a note via Linked-In a few months previously, letting me know that she was going to go to law school in England in the fall.  As luck would have it, not only was she on the same flight, she was in the seat behind us. 

The flight to London was mostly smooth, though there were a few bumpy patches and April would state “oh, I don’t like this!”  I’ve never had much luck sleeping on planes, but I did rest for a couple of hours. April wasn’t able to rest at all, however.  We landed at 10 AM local time, got through immigration unscathed and picked up our luggage.  We had considered taking the tube into London as it would only be 5£ each, but as it now felt like 4 AM and we hadn’t slept, we decided to take a cab.  Traffic was very light, but the ride in still cost 56£ ($100).

Arriving at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Vanderbilt hotel on Cromwell Road (former residence of the Vanderbilts), we were too early to get into our room.  We checked-in and left our bags at reception and headed out. We walked down to the Victoria and Albert museum, just a few blocks from the hotel.  We wandered the museum for a couple of hours, looking at the sculpture, plaster casts, miniatures and costumes.  

Starting to flag, we headed back to the hotel and stopped for fish and chips in a restaurant called Billy’s.  We ordered the small portion of fish and chips, and I ordered tea and April ordered coffee and cream. The waiter replied “coffee and milk?” April said, “No, I want cream with my coffee.”  “Cream”, he asked, with an incredulous look on his face.  “Yes, cream” said April, wondering what the issue was.

A few minutes later, the waiter brought me my tea and then came back with April’s coffee and cream.  Clearly, he was unaware of adding liquid cream to coffee, and so she had a plate of whipped cream!  After a good laugh (and our fish and chips), we headed back to the hotel. We were able to get into our rooms and agreed we’d meet at 6 PM. 

After a welcome bath and change of clothes and rest, we met at 6 and decided to go to Harrods.  We went to the closest tube station (Gloucester Road) and each bought an Oyster pass. You prepay whatever amount you want and then record the card when you enter and leave each station, and the system deducts the amount of the trip from your balance.

We travelled 2 stops and got off at Knightsbridge to go to Harrods. The department store was filled with Louis Vuitton, and other designer accessories and clothes.  We went down to the Diana and Dodi memorial that is still attracting visitors. 

I was on a mission to get a Tottenham Hotspurs outfit for Archie.  My son-in-law, Mat, follows the Tottenham Hotspurs soccer (aka football) team.  After looking through children’s wear (where you could by children’s t-shirts for 100£), I went to the sporting area.

When I asked the clerk if they had any Tottenham Hotspurs children’s clothing, he looked at me as if I had something wrong with me.  “Tottenham, why would you want that?”  I explained my son-in-law followed the club and wanted me to get something from the team for my grandson.  “He mustn’t like his child very much” said the clerk. “Are you sure you don’t want an Arsenal shirt?”, he joked.  He did take me to a rack where there were a few Hotspurs shirts, far too large for Archie.  “You can look and these and consider re-thinking your position”, he joked.  When I told him that could lead to a divorce between my daughter and son-in-law, he smiled and said “she should be considering a divorce anyway!”

We ended up in the food section and picked up some croissants to eat in our rooms for breakfast the next day.  Back on the tube, we then grabbed a BLT baguette for a small supper before heading back to the hotel. The city is always bustling. It’s difficult to tell when you can cross the street.  At most corners there are walk and don’t walk signs, though people don’t seem to take them very seriously.  At other corners there are no signs and so we just go with the crowds, hoping they know what they are doing!

Well, that’s it for day one.  It’ll be a long day tomorrow as we take a bus tour of Oxford, Stratford, the Cotswolds and Warwick Castle!