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Published: June 11th 2017
We landed in Heathrow last Friday (Oct 21) about 9 pm, after a 5 hour flight from Cairo. It was another one of the old Egypt Air planes, with the monitor that comes down from the ceiling, so no individual entertainment system. The man sitting in the window seat moved a couple of rows ahead where there was more room so we could stretch out a bit.
I think we had the worst seats possible in the plane, the row ahead of the emergency exit with seats that do not recline. Luckily there was no one in the aisle and middle seats ahead of us, and I was mostly sitting sideways across the window and middle seats, so it didn't matter when the woman in font of me put her seat back a bit.
I had a vegetarian pasta dish that wasn't bad, and then the lights were dimmed in the cabin. Unexpectedly I actually managed to sleep on and off over the next few hours. After landing we walked quite a distance to passport control, were we waited in the long "non EU" line up, thinking that soon there would be no differentiation as the UK will be
leaving the EU. We picked up our checked luggage and soon found Antony, Susan's cousin, waiting for us at arrivals.
Antony drove us to Susan's other cousin, Carolann's home were we are staying for 5 nights. It is in Ealing and was less than 1/2 hr drive. We had tea and biscuits with Carolann and Antony and then hit the hay, tired after all these days of travelling.
We enjoyed our second day of not setting the alarm, and didn't get up till about 8 am. Carolann made us a lovely English breakfast (fried eggs, mushroom and tomato - bacon for the others) and bread. We had several coffees (they don't have brewed coffee, just instant). We then decided we would head into central London to join London Walks' "Little Venice" walking tour. I found London Walks online and printed off the brochure to take with us. They have lots of different walks, the cost is 10 pounds, and you just show up at the appointed time at the appointed tube station, no need to book ahead.
Carolann dropped us off at the nearby tube station where we bought our Oyster cards and we took the Central
line to Oxford Circus, where we needed to change to the Bakerloo line. Since we had lots of time we left the tube here and wandered around for a bit. We found a money exchange so we exchanged our Egyptian pounds to English pounds. We wandered through Marks and Spencer and used the loo.
It was chilly out and I'm really glad I brought my puffy jacket from home. I've had it in a compression bag flattened at the bottom of my suitcase all this time. I even brought a light pair of gloves that I wore occasionally during the day. It was around 11 degrees but when there was a breeze it felt colder. Plus I'm used to the heat of Egypt and Jordan!
We got back on the tube and took the Bakerloo line to Warwick Avenue. We had a bit of time before the Walk started so we wandered around a bit and found a really cute canal cafe (in one of the boats on the canal) and Susan got a coffee-hot chocolate drink. We then joined quite a large group (around 25) for our Walk.
We spent an enjoyable 1 hr 45 min
walking around the area, with the guide explaining the area and various buildings. This area of London called Little Venice has quite a history. It's an expensive area now, but in the past was more bohemian with lots of musicians living there, and in the 60s had a big rock music scene. We walked on the towpath along the canal for a bit and it really is a pretty area. The canal boats (the guide called them narrow boats) line the banks and are all interesting and varied.
We finished at the Warwick Castle pub, where Susan and I stopped for a pint, and shared a cheese plate. It was about 4:30 pm by this time. After we enjoyed our pint we took the tube back, getting off at Oxford Circus. We wanted to see Selfridges (since we had seen the TV series called Mr. Selfridge). We walked several blocks along Oxford Street to Selfridges. Oxford Street is extremely busy with pedestrians. We jostled our way down the sidewalk (popping into a Pandora shop to buy me an English bus charm) and soon came upon Selfridges. It was full of very high end designer gear and we didn't stay
long. We walked to the Bond Street tube stop and took the tube back, walking from the station to Carol's place, about a 15 min walk. We got back about 6:30.
Carolann made us a fish pie dinner, a typically English dish consisting of mashed potatoes, different kinds of fish, spinach, and cheese. I'd never had it before but I enjoyed it. Plus several glasses of a nice rose. We managed to watch 2 episodes of Coronation Street Carolann had taped, but as we were falling asleep in our chairs we couldn't stay up to watch any more (though we have been Corrie deprived for a long time now!) and went to bed.
It's about 8:30 am now on Sunday and I'm typing this in bed. Susan went to church this morning with Jop (Carolann's kids' father who lives with them) but should be back soon. We will all be going for lunch later with all the cousins and Susan's aunt and uncle. Tomorrow we will do the London Walks' "The Secrets of Westminster Abbey" in the morning, and hopefully meeting up with our friend Chris (from our Southeast Asia trip 2 yrs ago) for a pub lunch.
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MJ Milne
non-member comment
I loved Marks & Spencer on Oxford street, too--great store. What an awesome trip you're having!