Tricia’s Travelogue

Our first full day in London brought a big weather change, with a cool, windy, and rainy day.  We headed out mid-morning to explore the area around the hotel a little and saw few other pedestrians.   Some of the impressive hotel lobby flowers I had to get this photo of the phone box! We returned to the hotel for another lunch at the Brasserie. They had a two-course special we chose, opting for a tomato-kale soup (not photogenic, but tasty) and a really delicious fish pie featuring salmon and cod. It was like a shepherd's pie, but with fish, so lots of yummy mashed potatoes. The little fall leaves and fish skeleton were made of pastry! So cute! After lunch, Charlie napped and I Netflixed until time to meet Thomas at Harrod's.  After missing the first bus (which didn't pause for long!), we managed to get the next one and met him on the ground floor. We explored the kitchen and housewares floor and the menswear floor -- the latter offering only top-end designer clothes....

We flew from Houston IAH  to London Heathrow Monday night/Tuesday morning, arriving about 11:20 London time. We enjoyed our time and dinner in the Polaris Club before the flight. It wasn't at all crowded, nothing like the United Club. The flight itself was as pleasant as a 9-hour flight can be, with amazingly attentive flight attendants.  I read and watched a show, but skipped the dinner (since we'd had dinner) served about 10 p.m. We both managed to get SOME sleep on the plane, which helped us power through the rest of Tuesday. I crashed about 7:30 that night, but slept until 6:00 this morning!  Upon arrival, there was a long walk to go through Passport Control, but it was very efficient. Our checked bags arrived fairly soon after we arrived in Baggage Claim. We had a car service take us from the airport to the hotel, about an hour's drive. We're staying at the London Hilton Park Lane, which is near Kensington Park and in the Mayfair area. Our suite is very nice, on th...