Monday, April 4, 2011
London England
Cloudy weather almost the whole way, so no view. We were in the aisle and middle seats so we would have missed it anyway. They must have had a rookie pilot try the landing, because he dropped it pretty hard, there was a big bounce, then another drop ... and a bounce ... and so on until it stuck to the runway. A spontaneous cheer and handclapping came from the rows and columns of passengers, which went unacknowledged by the flight crew.
Off the plane, followed by what seemed like a half-hour walk through the terminal to passport control. Jan, newly in possession of her Irish Passport, had the opportunity to go through the much shorter and faster 'EU Only' area but chose not to and waited through the long line with me. Thanks Jan.
Then finally we were through passport control and to the baggage area and found, surprise of surprises, ours was through and on the carousel. We grabbed them and worked our way out of the building toward the morning light. We found our way to the counter that sells tickets to the Gatwick Express, bought them (35 Pounds each), boarded quickly and found the car already full of commuters from further up the line. Jan and I had to sit apart all the way to Victoria Station, about 35 minutes.
There, we grabbed a quick coffee to put some stuffing into our sagging frames, then caught a taxi to Imperial Wharf, where Tara and Jonathan live, and where we will be spending the next few nights. On arrival, we found that Tara and Jonathan had not yet made their morning journey to The City yet, so we had a chance for a hug and a hello before they left. A plan evolved, dinner this evening as a group with Leanne joining us as well, reservations already made at a 'gastro-pub' called Sands End nearby. Then, very soon after the departure of T and Jonathan, Jan and I were down for a nap as really restful sleeps on the plane are impossible for us, the best we do are cat-naps.
I managed to get down to Fulham Broadway station in the late afternoon to get some keys cut and do some shopping, and I was glad of the exercise.
Later, with Tara home, the three of us headed out to make the 6:30 reservations. Then Jonathan arrived home a block after we had left, he caught up but had to spend the whole walk and part of the dinner time on the phone handling the deals he is up to. We sat with beer and wine, chatting, when Leanne arrived, more hugs all around, and we settled in for dinner. A wonderful time, catching up on busy lives and hearing about plans for the week and Leanne's Paris Marathon stories of her training. Finally, Leanne home in a cab and the rest of us home in Imperial Wharf for the night.