Getting to London & Glasgow

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Geo: 51.5002, -0.126236

The flight over was pretty uneventful. Our plane left late but we still had time for our connection in Newark. We got lucky and had an empty seat between us on the flight from Newark to Heathrow – one of the few on the plane, so we had a little more room – but oh how we long for 1st class and those nice roomy seats that recline all the way.

Landed at Heathrow, got a UK SIM card – but the key to unlock our cell phone didn't work.

Now we're on a train to Glasgow. We can't get the free internet that we had spent points on before leaving - the code didn't work. So we're unconnected. Charlie's concerned with the electronics. But there's a certain amount of freedom being unconnected. And we should have wifi at the place we're staying tonight. Nice scenery, and we practically have the train car to ourselves.

We'll be staying with "Sam," which we arranged through AirB&B.

A little about AirB&B. 5 of our 8 stays have been booked through AirB&B. It's a much cheaper alternative than hotels or regular B&Bs. People offer rooms in their homes for rent. Kind of like Home Away except not as classy (or expensive). Those who have stayed with hosts previously write reviews of their place: was it clean, were the hosts friendly, was the bed good, did you have to share the bathroom? So you type in where you want to go, narrow down by price, check out the ratings and accommodations and book online. They accept credit cards (a rare thing with British B&Bs) and a small fee is added for AirB&B. If the host is able to accept you, you've got a place to stay. We've used this service 3 times before – on trips to New York, Florence, Italy and Charleston, SC, and each experience has been good, although it really should be called AirB because you seldom get breakfast (but you mostly can use the kitchen). So you get to stay with real people in real homes with local flavor. We think it's a great alternative. We'll report on how these all go.

Made it to Glasgow and Sam's. He's away so we have the apartment to ourselves. His girlfriend met us with the key. It's definitely a "bachelor pad" - a modern guy's apartment. But it's close to the train station and the car rental place so very convenient. Not bad for $46.00. We ventured out a little for some food but we're too exhausted to do much. Maybe next time, Glasgow.

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Comments

[Carlos & Velma]

So glad we will be able to see and hear about your adventure.

[Bill]

What a great looking bird!! (Just scrub that U-word off of the top!)