Lynda's Lovely London Adventure - Part One

author's note: I'm having trouble posting pictures today. I hope you enjoy the post just the same!

Friday - getting there is half the battle

I drove to Halifax Friday afternoon to meet my mom, my sister, and my brother Jamie at the airport. It was a little hairy getting there, as there seemed to be an abundance of snow squalls along the way. Safely ensconced inside the airport, we headed through security to wait at our gate.

We waited at the gate a long time.

Apparently, there was a snowstorm in St. John's, where our plane would be stopping on the way to London. We were delayed leaving for two hours.

What's a family to do? Well, we discovered a tiger (a dead, stuffed one) in the terminal, had an Uno throwdown (which I lost), and tried to catch glimpses of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics on the airport bar tv's (well, really it was just me who was desparate for any sight of Olympic coverage).

At last, we boarded the plane and took of for London directly, avoiding the stormy St. John's airport.


Saturday - no sleep makes Lynda very cranky

After the novelty of flying wore off, I tried to get some shut-eye. Easier said than done while slightly reclined in an uncomfortable seat and surrounded by strangers who make noise. So I watched the in-flight movie (Shakepeare in Love!) and watched the hours slowly roll by. At 5:00 a.m., they turned on the lights in the plane and fed us breakfast (waffles, fruit, and roll). At 8:30 a.m. (London time), we landed at Heathrow airport.

After collecting our luggage, we had our first adventure with the London Underground. Let me just say that riding on the Tube with luggage is a little tricky. However, I was impressed that we purchased Oyster passes for the Underground, which gave us unlimited access to transportation for the week with minimal cost and fuss. No standing in line to buy tickets!

We managed to arrive at the hotel at around 10:30 a.m. Check-in time was at 1:00 p.m., so we headed out on our first sightseeing trip: Platform 9 and 3/4 at King's Cross train station (guess who picked that one!). It was only a short tube ride away.

I was overcome with excitement. They even have a luggage cart attached to the wall!



Several pictures later, we headed back to the hotel. On the way back, I had my first sighting of the Mr. Darcy bus! Is there any more lovely sight than Mr. Darcy's picture plastered on the side of a red double decker bus? I think not.

We settled into our hotel rooms for some much needed sleep. At this point I had been up for over 24 hours. I can count on my hand the number of times this has happened before.

No sleep makes me cranky.

It also makes my family cranky.

I think it would make anyone cranky.

After we napped, we ate supper at a Mediterranean (I think) restaurant. I paid $4.00 for a glass of Coke.

Then it was back to the hotel for some more sleep.


Sunday - never go sightseeing in the rain

We awoke on Sunday to steady rain. Undaunted, we headed out for Portobello Road (street where the riches of ages are sold), which is around the Notting Hill area of London. It takes a while to walk there from the tube station. It takes even longer to get there when you initally start walking in the wrong direction. I discovered that day that riding the tube messes with my usually excellent sense of direction. It's difficult for me to figure out where north is when I come up from Underground. Thus, my body does not know which way to go.

We got about halfway to the main market on Portobello Road when it was decided that we were too wet to continue. I glanced longingly down the hill and snapped a few photos.

So it was back to the hotel and off to the Science Museum, for some indoor enjoyment. Kat and Jamie and I enjoy science in general, so it was an afternoon well spent. They even had a whole exhibit devoted to math, which pleased my sister (a math major) to no end. Alas, there was no ear exhibit.

Then it was off for a ride on a double decker bus to see the sights of London. We got to ride on the top deck! Another tube adventure brought us back to our home base, where we suppered at another restaurant and then went to bed.

In Part Two of Lynda's Lovely London Adventure -

Buckingham Palace, pigeons, art, Guys and Dolls, pigeons, stair climbing, statues, bowls, and more pigeons.