October 4
We had arranged with Peter, the
taxi driver, to pick us up at 9:30. Our
flight would only leave at 1:30, but the drive out to Heathrow, especially during
the morning rush, can take quite some time.
Peter was there early, and called
from outside the building at about 9:10!
We were ready for him, but it took a couple of trips down the elevator
to bring all the suitcases and then do a final check through the apartment to
make sure all the lights were off and the iPhone was left charging on the counter.
We got quite a tour leaving
London as we were on the east side. There is no ring road in London, so we
travelled along the river, past Buckingham Palace and the London Eye on our way
out. We found out that Peter and his wife live 90 minutes outside of London, near Brighton. He drives into London every day for work! He owns his own cab, and his wife is his "guv'nor". We arrived at Heathrow in oodles of time, arriving about 10:30.
I had checked us in on-line the
night before, but before checking our bags I headed over to the tax refund
line. You have to get a customs stamp first and then line up for the
refund. While you are supposed to be
able to get the VAT back on goods (20%), few shops offer the correct forms and
then the exchange company takes an administration fee. However, as I had purchased a tapestry at
Hampton Court, I would be able to receive a refund of £42 ($65). April guarded the large suitcases and I took
my carry-on with the tapestry to the refund line-up. You have to be able to
produce the item(s) if asked. After
about 20 minutes in line, I hadn't moved an inch and there were probably 50
people in front of me, all looking like there were expecting large
refunds. I noticed that carry-on items
could refunded past security, so I went back to where April was sitting and got
our boarding passes and luggage tags.
It was a slow go through security
and April’s bag was set aside for searching.
One woman was there with wine and she was drinking it rather than throw
it away! When the guard finally got to April’s bag, it was discovered that she
had a small tube of toothpaste that hadn't been taken out of the bag. No problem once that was discovered and we
were free to go.
The VAT refund line up was a lot
smaller on this side of security, so April sat down for a coffee and I went and
got the custom stamp and then applied for the refund. Although it was a short
line-up, I was behind a tour group from China and they had considerable
language challenges in processing their requests. However, I was able to get through in 15 minutes or
so, far faster than it would have taken on the other side of security.
Heathrow is huge, and so they
only announce gate numbers about 45 minutes before departure. As well, there
are notes as to whether you will need 10, 20, or 30 minutes to walk to your
gate from the duty free and food court area!
Luckily we were at a relatively close gate.
The plane left exactly when
scheduled, but it was probably 25% empty. The flight was smooth, and we flew
over Iceland, Greenland, and then northern Canada. A woman seated across the aisle from us had
come from India and was going to a conference at the University of Calgary business school.
She had to fly from northern India to Mumbai, Mumbai to London, and then London
to Calgary. She would arrive on October 4th and then was leaving on the 7th! I can’t imagine how terrible her
jet lag would be.
Getting through customs was easy.
I had given April some receipts as I was probably $100 over the limit, but they
never questioned the balances or asked to see anything. April’s customs officer asked her what she
had bought. Mine, once he heard I had
been over to Paris, asked if I had brought back any French cheeses or foie gras! I can’t imagine a lot
of people would bring cheese or foie
gras back, but it must be a problem.
Ray picked us up outside arrivals
and they dropped me off at my place before heading out to Fairmont for the long
weekend.
The trip to London and Paris was
fantastic. Yes, we had some challenges with the apartment in Paris, but it gave
us a taste of how life is for Parisians. The museum and transit passes were
great time savers and the subway systems in both London and Paris are
unbelievable efficient. Listening to choral evensong in the Chapel Royal in Hampton Court, sitting in the audience as Simon Callow became Charles Dickens, sharing a table with strangers at Le Chartier, eating at a Jamie Oliver restaurant - all these were wonderful unplanned adventures.
We have lots of great pictures
and memories. When I got home, I got another lovely surprise. When I was putting
my 20€
mustard jar from the Saturday morning flea market in Paris into the china
cabinet, I turned it over and saw “Baccarat Depose”. I then looked up Baccarat
mustard jars and much to my surprise, here was my jar:
I thought it was cool enough to
be able to say that I had picked it up in a flea market in Paris. Now I can say I picked up this piece of
Baccarat at a flea market in Paris!
I have to thank April and Ray for
the wonderful trip. Thanks to Ray for giving April a trip to Paris for their
anniversary and thanks to April for thinking of bringing me along! We had lots
of great adventures, ate wonderful foods, drank many glasses of wine and walked
enough to wear off all the calories.
À bientôt!
No comments:
Post a Comment