Horses outside Hyde park
last update: 08-Sep-2006 11:28 AM
1:25 P.M. Frantically trying to leave the house without forgetting anything. (And I think we actually managed to do so. Susan just reminded me that we left the power outlet converter here. Luckily for her, a few of the B&B's had hair dryers).
2:40 P.M. Got through security at D/FW (the fools!) and had an hour before boarding, so had lunch at Fridays. (Like I said, not everything is interesting, but there it is...)
5:08 P.M. In the air. We're
watching a stewardess that has been doing this too long. she has
a models smile that looks like it's been pinned onto her face.
she's fun to watch though because she is constantly making
adjustments to her smile. People are funny.
My first drink in the air is Baileys on ice. yum.
5:55 Switching over to UK time. *poof* it's midnight.
2:20 am. I just woke up from a 1 hour nap. Susan is sleeping on my shoulder (she shrunk herself).
5:26 am. Sunrise and moonrise all at once. the semi-full moon over the right wing is pretty. Breakfast was Orange Juice, banana, yogurt, milk
7:48 am. In a train (which just started moving) on our way from the airport to Victoria Station.
The country between Gatwick and Victoria Station is pretty but much of it is obscured by trees (but then, I probably wouldn't want to look at trains all day either.) The trains are relatively boring modern-looking vehicles, no romance yet.
8:43 am. In the London tube. People are quiet with eyes on the ground. If there's anything that needs to be brought over from London, it's the tube system. It's easy to use, goes everywhere and I never felt like I should be looking over my shoulder (unlike Manhattan).
9:20 am. In hotel. It took us some time to get here (mostly tube time) and we had to explore a bit because the maps we have are not all that precise. Susan is trying to stabilize. She began having allergy problems on the plane and they seem to be getting worse.
11:26 am. Took a 10 minute catnap in Hyde park. It's really pretty here, the sun is shining and the breeze feels good.
Horses outside Hyde park
Roses
A tree to
stand in
This was the neatest tree in the park. I have no idea what it's called but the tree is large enough to stand under (and then some) and the branches grown out from the trunk and down to the ground, forming a nice green canopy.
12:42 P.M. Lunch at Prince of Wales pub. Quiche, shepherds pie, coke, cider. Did some of wandering in London afterwards
6:15 P.M. Went to the hotel @ about 3:00 and had a 3 hour nap. Susan's been having trouble with her allergies. It's really dry here. Now we're up and about again.
7:15 P.M. Running around again. Just after leaving the hotel we ran into a public concert with "The Latin American Fiesta da Cultura". Unfortunately we hit the encore and didn't get to hear much.
Trafalgar square & Susan
Just some neat London buildings
Ran through Trafalgar square, saw Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. The Abbey is closed so I wasn't able to see the inside. Susan was disappointed that she couldn't take me through, she saw it on her last trip to London and wanted to take me in. I was pleased just to be able to see the outside.
7:59 P.M. Big Ben is bonging and we're hungry. Off to find some food.
Big
Ben
8:28 P.M. Balti house near the Abbey. Strong red chutney with poppadom and kingfisher beer. I had curry chicken and Susan had (that red chicken that Indian places have, can't think of the name now). The food here is very good and spicy. The service is a bit spotty but the food *is* good.
10:07 P.M. Saw the Tower of London, walked halfway across the tower bridge and turned back (it's cold and windy) and now headed to the hotel via tower hill tube.