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Mmm ... shortbread
The sales girl said the MacDonalds shortbread is better than Walkers. We'll see.Geo: 47.6353, -122.302
My Hilton room was nice: large room, good-sized bathroom, all the usual amenities. But this morning I couldn't get any hot water. The shower started out warmish and I figured it would keep warming up, but no. After maybe 20 seconds, the water turned freezing. Talk about a shock to the system! I turned the water off and washed and then turned the water back on hoping it would at least get warm again, but no. Sigh … Still, if that's the only time that happened on my trip, I think I did okay.
Checked out of the hotel just before noon and then hiked back to the airport (via a handy but long covered walkway that leads directly into Terminal 4), where I hung around for the next three hours. The time it took from dropping my bag to being through security took around 15 minutes; not bad for Heathrow. But at security I was reminded of the great little system Edinburgh Airport has: when your tray comes through after the Xray, you take the tray to a "recombobulation" point a few feet behind you. The set-up looks like stand-up library carrels, and there's enough room for your tray, and you have all the time in the world to put your jacket back on, put your liquids and your laptop back in your bag, and then be on your way without feeling like you're backing up traffic. SeaTac could really use something like that.
Got a good sandwich from Pret and then visited most of the stores, mainly buying chocolate to take to work next week. The plane was full but no one was obnoxious, and the flight was smooth. I watched TV mostly, including a weirdly hilarious English show called "Toast of London," but I watched "How to Marry a Millionaire" too.
Getting through passport control and retrieving my luggage didn't take long once back on the ground, and John was there to meet me with my water bottle. Even traffic wasn't too bad, so all in all it wasn't such a bad day (I mean, except for spending over nine hours crammed into a metal tube).
The tour and the entire trip were great. The Scots were generally friendly and approachable, and London — as ever — has great theatre. I say this every time, but for my next vacation I'd like to just lie on a warm beach in Hawaii and drink mai tais. Rick Steves' offerings keep getting better and better though, so we'll see!
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Mary
non-member comment
Welcome home, weary traveler. And trust me, Hawaii is overrated.