Lovely London

From Gail:

It's an effort to recreate our last three days (Sunday, Monday & Tuesday) in London whilst (that's British for while) still suffering from jet-lag, but here goes anyway:

We started off our journey to London by leaving our apartment at 6:30 in the morning to catch a bus to Gare du Nord where we caught the Eurostar train which traverses the English Channel underwater. When we got to the train station, the elevator was broken, so we had to lug our 50 lb. suitcases down about 25 steps. We navigated the station with some difficulty, but finally ended up in the right line to board the train. We had to go through a customs check there, too. The train was very clean and modern, but nothing special. For some reason, I was thinking it would seem like we were on the QE II or something elegant like that. The world sped by at about 100 mph and 2-1/4 hrs. later we found ourselves in the land of people speaking the Queen's English.

Oddly, I kept fearing speaking, even though it was my native language. I found myself beginning to speak in French (in my brain) or else not talk at all (quite a weird thing for me). We found our way out of the St. Pancras train station (right next door to Harry Potter's King's Cross Station) and into a London black taxi. It was quite funny that the driver spoke with such a strong British accent that we could hardly understand him! BTW, all "Black Taxi" drivers go through 2 years of training and must know every street in London. He got us right to our destination with no problem.

By 10:30 (there's a one hour time difference from Paris) we were at the gate of our new apartment. Once again, we were amazed at our luck in finding really nice accommodations (see photos below). There was a welcoming basket inside the apartment with biscuits (cookies), crisps (potato chips), Belgian chocolates, coffee, tea, wine, milk and butter. Laura (the owner) came back shortly with a loaf of freshly baked bread.

After settling in a bit we headed off to explore the neighborhood and ended up at a local pub where Kat had her olives.

We went back to the apartment, ate some pasta we had and watched "Notting Hill" on the dvd (or was that Monday?) and went to bed.

Monday dawned partly cloudy but not raining and we headed over to the Kensington High Street area for breakfast and to shop. We ate at a cute restaurant called Angelina's (I think) Patisserie. Breakfast was yummy. Unbeknownst to us, we were right in front of Harrod's department store. We hadn't really planned on going there, but we did and all I can say is, "awesome." I've never seen a place like it. Of course, our favorite place was the floor with "Pet Kingdom" where there were over-the-top pet toys and accessories along with live animals for sale, including kittens, puppies, guinea pigs, rats, hamsters, and bunnies. From there we headed on to our shopping area. Lots and lots of stores, many found in the States, too (H&M, Urban Outfitters, etc.). Stopped for a snack (and food) at Whole Foods (yes, THE Whole Foods)--all three floors of it. Stopped by Kensington Palace, too. For dinner, we ate at a cute pub in Notting Hill. We love pubs! Kat had a burger and I had the requisite fish and chips.

Thoroughly exhausted (at least I was), we decided to spend Tuesday doing a hop on-hop off double-decker bus tour of London to see the "important" sights. Had lunch at Pret a Manger (French for "ready to eat"). We boarded the bus and 2-1/2 hours later we were still on it, having not hopped on-hopped off even once, except for our first "hopping on"! My legs, knees, and feet were grateful. Saw Buckingham Palace (from the back), Tower of London, the Thames, and so much more. We then headed to a cafe for coffee and cake. Yum! After that, we headed back to our apartment and packed to go home (me) and to Scotland (Kat). After that, we headed back to our local pub (same one we ate at the first day) for dinner.

My impressions of London:

1. I loved it, even though I thought I would not.
2. The British are so civilized and polite. Instead of "Watch your step," they say, "Mind your head," or "Mind the gap." Signs say, instead of "No littering," "Please help keep London tidy."
3. The food there is unusual, but not as bad as I expected. We discovered that "rocket", which appeared on many menus, is a type of green, like mustard greens.
4. While extremely polite, the British are much more relaxed than the French, and seem to be more openly friendly.
5. London is very crowded and congested with traffic. Luckily, the Underground, or Tube, and buses run every couple minutes, even in the outskirts of the city.

Wednesday morning, Kat headed to the bus stop outside our apartment door and caught a bus to the youth hostel where she was staying that night. It was located very near King's Cross Station. (I do hope she took a picture of Platform 9-3/4 and will post it here.) I took a taxi to Paddington Station where I boarded the Heathrow Connection train to the airport. Heathrow is huge, huge, huge and very busy. It took me almost a full hour to get through security, but I finally did, and had an hour or so to shop and spend my remaining GBS pound notes. Bought a couple necklaces and some food for the flight home.

Soon I was winging my way home on a non-stop flight back to SFO. As on the way to Europe, I only slept 20 min. or so, so jet lag is made worse. I'm beginning to think people over 50 should not travel to other time zones!

This has been a wonderful adventure and I feel privileged and honored to have spent it with my sweet daughter, Kat. I will never forget these past two weeks. And off to Scotland Kat went, on to fulfill more of her dreams. It's been an amazing 2 weeks!

On the Eurostar

Kat sleeping with her mouth closed...

...for a few minutes, anyway!

View from the train window


St. Pancras Station, London

Our living room downstairs (that's Kat napping on the couch)

Another view of the living area


Living and dining area downstairs

Kitchen area downstairs

Stairs (looking downward)

Upstairs "gallery" and sitting area

Bed

View of the sitting room from the bedroom

Bathroom

This one's for Uncle David...the owner collects MGs

Around the 'hood

Lunch at the pub


Potato skins with gobs of fat (yum!)


You've seen pigeon deterrents on ledges, right? Well these spikes are to deter people from sitting on the ledges outside Harrod's!

They even have cupcakes in Harrod's!! Of course, we had to sample, but only a little one.

Kensington Palace (doesn't look very castle-y, does it?)

SOME OF MY FAVORITE SIGNS IN LONDON:

Wait...did the "i" fall off? Is this a toilet with bedroom en suite?

Oh...THAT'S what they meant!


I'm surprised this doesn't say, "Give Way, Please."

In the Pret a Manger bathrooms. Only clean waste is allowed...how civil!
(Yes, I know what it really means.)

And no, the men's room door shape does not have any holes in it.


This is totally out of focus, but it's a butter packet that says, "Free Range Butter." What? Butter packets running around with no fences?

Gotta love the British place names!


This is my favorite. 20th century scaffolding--watch out! That old stuff could fall any minute!


Time to leave London...A wonderful time was had by all!

Over and out.