Day 1 - London, UK

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After an overnight flight from Detroit Metro arrived at Heathrow at 10:45 am local. It was a breeze traveling. through security at Detroit and equally smooth sailing through immigration and customs at Heathrow. All the staff at both airports and the Delta fight were extremely friendly and helpful. After a pleasant drive from Heathrow arrive at Copthorne Tara Hotel London, located in Kensington. The hotel is just a brief walk from Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park and the High Street Kensington Tube station. I was met by our tour director, Alan who arranged with the hotel to move into my room two hours early. Even though I was willing to remain in the lobby which has very comfortable seating. The hotel staff are extremely friendly and helpful. Our group (13 of us) met at 6 for drinks, introductions and a brief information session with Alan. Unfortunately the excursions to Stonehenge and Oxford have been cancelled due to only 3 of us had signed up. So our 3rd day is a free open day to explore London. I had planned to go to the British Library and will probably visit this on the free day. But I am looking into traveling to Oxford, possibly by train instead of going with another tour group and will be able to freely explore the town of Oxford as well as the University, which I am familiar with from watching one of my favorite PBS series "Inspector Morris". I consider this side trip and decide on Friday since there is so much to see. The weather here is very pleasant, 72 and mostly cloudy (did see a little bit of sun this afternoon). Surprisingly the hotel has air-conditioning which I am able to properly adjust to a comfortable level (so that I don't have to wear my polar fleece jacket to bed. I am looking forward to tomorrow's city tour followed by our excursion to Windsor Castle. Our group are a very friendly group (3 men and 10 women). Interestingly enough many are into genealogy and have ancestors from Scotland / Ireland. I am looking forward to getting to know my fellow travelers. I am going to attempt to include some photos of the hotel, including the lobby floor which would make for an interesting quilt. So long for now. Everyone take care.

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