Returning to London

October 20, 2017

This is my fourth visit to London, the third one with Hubby.

We arrived at our hotel, somewhat disheveled and not a little exhausted, at about 2:00 p.m. The wait at passport control was much longer than we've experienced before, long enough that I almost seriously considered paying the £75 annual fee for the fast-entry option. But not really; you can eat a lot of good food, even in London, for £75.

The pub was decorated for Halloween

After checking in and quick look at the condition of our folding bikes (no visible damage -- whew!) we went for lunch at a nearby pub. Dave had steak and ale pie; I had fish and chips. Both were delicious, although mine was definitely excessive. I was hungry, however, so I managed to eat a significant amount.

... and with traditional pub decor

Steak and Ale Pie

Cod and chips

After lunch, being anxious to test out the bikes, we went back to the hotel and set them up. Everything looked good, so we set out for a ride to Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, touching on Kensington Palace, the Albert Memorial and the Serpentine.

We then went to Harrod's. In my ESL class we had done a listening exercise about this famous store and I'd promised the students I would buy some candy from the food hall. But first I had to show Dave the Egyptian room and the Egyptian escalator. While in the Egyptian room, I spied my sister-in-law's doppelganger. An eerie feeling.

True to my word, I bought two tins of candy for my class, as well as bars of chocolate for the daughters-in-law. As it was getting dark by this time, we hopped back on the bikes and rode through side streets back to the hotel. 

I was quite tickled, when riding down Mallord Street, a totally charming street in itself, to spot a blue plaque stating that A.A. Milne had lived there. I regret not taking a photo, but found these on an English heritage website.

I neglected to mention that our flight from Calgary to London was surprisingly pleasant. We were on the Dreamliner - the Boeing 787-9 -- and it was almost empty. The plane is more comfortable that many planes, as it is, and because there were so many empty seats, we had room to stretch out and move around. Not only that, but I'd totally forgotten that when booking the tickets I had requested a fruit platter instead of the normal meal. Score! I enjoyed this so much more than the regular airplane meal that I will do this all the time in future.