Off to London!

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 the 18th floor, with large bathroom, a living/dining room, and a bedroom. The view is amazing!  If you look closely, you can see Buckingham Palace in addition to Big Ben and the London Eye.


Our suite wasn't ready until about 3:30, so we spent time in the executive lounge and having a nice lunch in the hotel's casual restaurant, the Brasserie. I had a tasty club sandwich, but. Charlie's fish and chips dish was rather spectacular! 


After we were able to access our suite, we headed out in search of a wine shop. The area behind the hotel has lots of small restaurants and shops, and we managed to acquire a couple of bottles of wine. I was surprised to see so many people smoking hookahs on benches and restaurant patios! Not a common site in Houston!

I had to stop and take photos of some amazing flowers outside some residences along the way.



We opted for a room service meal last night, so enjoyed a salad and a pizza.

After a leisurely early morning (thanks to the in-room coffee machine), we went to the executive lounge for a nice breakfast. I tried something that looked like grits to go with my scrambled eggs and sausage, and it tasted like  creamy blended rice. A quick search online did not reveal the dish's name, but perhaps a reader will recognize it! 

It's supposed to rain all day today, alas. We are about to head out anyway to get our bearings a bit more. Later this afternoon we're meeting Thomas at Harrod's to browse a bit before we all go to dinner at Shanghai Me, the restaurant atop our hotel. It will be good to see him for the first time since early September! We'll see him again tomorrow afternoon/evening.

On Friday, we'll use a car service to get to Southampton, where we'll board Liberty of the Seas on Saturday for a Norwegian cruise to Stavanger and Oslo. That cruise returns to Southampton October 16th before beginning a transatlantic cruise to Galveston.  Lots of sea days ahead!

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!


Comments

  1. JanieOctober 7, 2026 at 3:07 AM

    Enjoy London! And please hug Thomas for us. Could it have been porridge?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RachelOctober 7, 2026 at 3:12 AM

      Definitely porridge. Glad the flight wasn’t too bad!

      Delete

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