A Glimpse of London, England

[Coccinelle]

It was but a glimpse, really. One week is just not enough (if you consider travelling days) to spend in this wonderful, vibrant and exciting City!

We caught a red eye flight with Air Transat on a Saturday and arrived the following day. At the onset, our pilot announced that there would be turbulence all the way to London. He was right. No rest for the wicked here as the bright cabin lights were left on for the duration of the flight because of the turbulence. Young children were whining and babies were crying the whole time. I felt such empathy for the poor moms but at the same time so grateful that my baby, my travel buddy, was now 24 years old.

We landed smoothly at London's Gatwick Airport and were whisked away to our hotel, the Ramada Jarvis Hyde Park Hotel. What a great location!

Our twin room was smallish but that is common in Europe. It was clean, efficient and the beds were comfy. I like the way they sleep in Europe, no blankets here folks, just a nice cozy duvet to wrap yourself into.



The first thing I did was check out the view. Nice I am liking this already.



I was so excited about being here. I wanted to go out and explore right away so I quickly showered. Lo and behold as I came out of the bathroom this is what I see.

No...he wasn't into exploring, not yet anyway. He was jet lagged, he said.
-"Ok, well you relax for a bit Philly. I will go out for a walk and check on you later."

-"Ok, Mom. I'll just take a little nap.

So, off I go! Our hotel was located in what I would consider an upmarket residential/commercial neighborhood. I liked it alot.

This is what I saw as I walked around our area.








At this point, I decided to walk a little further and found myself at the corner of Bayswater and Queensway. Wow...Queensway looks like a happening street! So, down Queensway I go.

I was very thirsty at this point and jet lagged also, so I decided to sit and order a mint tea at this cute little Moroccan cafe.



Those 2 guys sitting next to me, seemed very relaxed smoking their shisha and I truly enjoyed the smell of it wafting through the cool crisp London air. I have to try this some day. One of the guys, which you cannot see in the pic, was Japanese. The funny thing, well surprising thing to me anyway, was that when he spoke he had an authentic British accent! Cool!

[SUNBABY]

very cool pics and your report is off to a great start!

[Coccinelle]

I was so enjoying sitting at this streetside cafe and the mint tea was so yummy. However, I was starting to feel restless and decided to move on and explore some more. So I went inside to pay for my tea and fell in love with the decor and vowed to come back.









The owner wanted to snap a pic of me before I left. Sheesh...


I don't know why but many of my photos from this trip didn't turn out very nice. I think that I fooled around with the settings too much not knowing what I was doing.


So off I go again, taking more photos along the way.












Isn't he just adorable!


I really like this girl's style and the daring colors that she is wearing.




More to come later....

[PlayadelSoul]

Looking forward to more.

[Coccinelle]

Originally Posted by SUNBABY

very cool pics and your report is off to a great start!

Thanks, Rita.
With a compliment like this, I feel encouraged to carry on.

[Coccinelle]

Originally Posted by PlayadelSoul

Looking forward to more.

I will do my best to deliver, Mark.

[bufante]

Great stuff! Keep it up!

[Tony&Cheri]

I'm so happy to see you've started a trip report of your big adventure, Louise. I can't wait to read more. If you get tired of typing, you can always pick up the phone.

Loved the picture of St. Matthew's.

Wish you were here in person telling us all about it!

xoxox

~Cheri

[debbielasvegas]

I love me some London.
It has some of the BEST ethnic food, anywhere!!

Great photos!!

Hope you made it to Stonehendge, Dover, Leeds, Cantebury, Bath, etc.

What a rich, historic country.

[TAPPY]

Awesome pics - thanks for sharing
Looks like it was a great bonding kinda of trip !

[Coccinelle]

Thanks Bufante. Although nobody could hold a candle to your recent TR. It was the best ever!

Debbielasvegas, I really loved London too! I never made it to all of the places that you mention, there was just not enough time. We spent the few days that we had trying to find our way around.

Tappy, spending uninterrupted time with my son was the highlight of this trip. I have more photos to share with you.

Tony&Cheri, I do have all of your numbers, right? Doing this TR, helps me to re-live some moments that my poor memory has already forgotten about. I didn't do half of the things or even visit a quarter of the places that I would have loved to. But that's Ok... I really wanted this trip to be more for Philip. And that boy loves shopping!
Yeah...St-Matthews Church tugged at my heart. It had a lot of character and stood strong even though charred from the days where London heated with coal. It was built in 1850, if I remember correctly.

[Ginger]

Sounds like you had a great trip! I love the little bohemian cafe.

Thanks for sharing, can't wait to see more photos!

[Coccinelle]

Originally Posted by Ginger

Sounds like you had a great trip! I love the little bohemian cafe.

Thanks for sharing, can't wait to see more photos!

That little cafe was so precious! When you were inside, it felt like you were inside a jewelry box. I am so disappointed that my photos didn't turn nicely.

[Cuff]

Louise,

What fun~!
Thanks~!

[Coccinelle]

It was starting to get dark rather quickly so I decided that I should head back. I was also concerned that Philip might be worried about me.

This is how i found him.


-Philly...Phil...Philip?
-Hhmmm?
-Wake up Philly. Let's go have a nice dinner somewhere, Ok?
-I'm not hungry, Mom. I'm really tired.
-Phil, you have to get up or else you will not be able to sleep tonight! (nag, nag)
-Mom, just let me sleep for another 30 minutes, ok?
-Alright then, 30 minutes and that's it! I will go and have a glass of wine in the lounge and read for a bit. You can meet me there ok?
-K, Mom. I'll see you in a bit.

I grab my trashy novel and head down to the lounge. I order a glass of Merlot at the bar from this very nice Mexican waiter. Thought I would show off a little and I threw in a few spanish phrases during our brief exchange, just to be polite, you know. Is he ignoring me? What the...? Darn, I believe that he is ignoring me! I wasn't getting a response from him, not in spanish anyway. He only spoke perfect english with the most beautiful British accent! That'll teach me!

[Coccinelle]

So I take my embarrassed bad ass self, my glass of wine & my trashy novel to the outside terrace & settled down in the best available seat. It wasn't too difficult to find one...nobody was out there. They were all inside, nursing their drinks where it was warm and cozy. But hey, coming in from Canada it didn't feel that cold to me, it was quite nice actually.



Best available seat, with a great view.


Oh, Oh, a double decker city bus just went by! Geez, I almost miss it.
Oh, Oh, another one! Missed that one too. I need a better camera or I need to learn how to use it.



I then decided to get up from my best available seat and snap a few pics of my surroundings.

Our Street sign...St-Peterburgh Place, City of Westminster.