On the road

Day 1

I am in a tiny London hotel room, not much bigger than the infamous Hotel Metropole where Vickie and I stayed a hundred years ago when we were on our Catalina adventure.  You can’t quite touch both walls at once, but the suitcases and jackets require wrangling.  The chair barely fits my butt, the pillows are wafer thin and the bathroom is best enjoyed with an open door.

We are weary, jet lagged and not quite able to believe we made it.  Our 10.5 hour flight was mostly sleepless and mostly uneventful.  I broke up a gang of passengers who were looting the mid-cabin galley for liquor.  The air stewards were pretty dismissive when I mentioned it to them but one of them decided to check out the crime tip and then there were reinforcements hustling up the aisle.  Much later I got a grateful thank you for bringing it to their attention.  My fantasy is that they will upgrade me to business class for the flight home.  (They do not)

For a wonder we packed early so there was a minimum of last minute drama and crisis.  Everything fit and I don’t think we forgot anything.  Of course, one of us was feeling his feelings, but we made it onto the plane, and later we got through the endless halls of Heathrow and onto the right train to London. 

The Heathrow express dropped us at Paddington where we caught the Circle Line to San Pancras/Kings Cross.  Then an exhausting bumpy walk to our lodgings.  They are not luxurious but should do for a start.

The latest jet lag wisdom is to nap for 30 minutes and then get on local time.   We manage the nap and find a neighborhood bistro for some much needed food.  I have a delicious egg with salmon and hollandaise and start to feel human. The eggs are that peculiar bright orange that one finds in the UK but since I’ve seen this before, it doesn’t quease me out.   My tea is hot and strong, milky and sweet and my consciousness comes back.

The streets around here are filthy – it’s a well used neighborhood.  There’s grime, trash and homeless people.  A polyglot of cultures.  A street preacher reminds us that God loves us and some Muslims line up for prayer.  A Hassidic couple with baby check both ways before crossing the street.  Suitcases are everywhere because this is a great crossing place in London and people have places to go. 

We pause at the Black Sheep coffee house and I see “brown cheese with jam” on the menu…is this the trip where I finally try brown cheese? (It is not).

Day 1 – we made it, we have lodging and caffeine, we are good to go. Adventures await!