London - 2004

"11 February 2004 Wednesday

I am so far behind in writing this - that so far it will be a very historical membranes type of thing and probably very brief too.  We (Mom, Lex, and I) drove up to Seattle (Sea-Tac) on Tuesday night after work.  The weather was good for driving - no rain or fog - but it is a long drive - no way around that and Lexa ended up doing ALL the driving.

Wednesday was a lovely morning in the Seattle area.  We had great views of the Olympic Peninsula and Mount Rainier.  Actually got to the airport too early - somehow I had it in my head that our flight was at 12:15pm instead of 2:15pm.  Wed did the auto e-ticket check-in so early we had to go back later to check in our bags.  The United clerk played with our seats and have us the emergency row (more leg room) to Chicago and spread us out on the Chicago to London flight.  Flying to Chicago was no bother - lovely views of US and Canadian Rocky Mountains.  It was dark by the time we landed in O'Hara.  The date change was ultra-easy - we landed at C15 and walked to C16.  Our flight was delayed for about 15 minutes before we boarded - waiting for transferring passengers.  The plane then left the gate, only to return for 45 minutes as the passenger list and the luggage manifest had not been matched up.  So as it ended up we were over an hour late leaving. I watched "Intolerable Cruelty" on the flight to Chicago - on the London flight I watched "In America" - I'd heard about it on NPR - a tear-jerker that - a good movie!  After dinner I settled down to sleep and dozed on and off - a bit of a bumpy flight over the Atlantic.

12 Feb 2004 Thursday

By the time we woke for breakfast it was the 12th so Lexa and I wished Mom a Happy Birthday.  We landed at Heathrow and went through customs and immigration.  I even declared that I was bringing in canned salmon and was approved and passed on.  I got our 4 day Underground passes and we headed off on the Piccadilly line.  We changed to the Circle line and arrived at Victoria Station with alot of lugging suitcases up and down stairs which in itself was rather remarkable.

I'd printed out a map of the area and Lexa and I consulted it and walked straight to our Comfort Inn Hotel.  It appears from the outside to be a tiny building and the room is quite small but clear,  Mom took a shower and I washed up too.  About 2:00pm we headed out to the National Portrait Gallery.  We bought tickets to the Cecil Beaton exhibit.  That was quite a good show - divided into decades, it showcased his work from London socialites of the 1920's to Hollywood stars of the 40's and 50's to Royalty.  We also took a peak at the Schwepps's exhibit - women in portrait photography.

We walked all around Trafalgar Square in front of the National Gallery.  This area has changed alot in just one year and looks quite tourist and pedestrian friendly now.  There is a post office right near the NPG so we exchanged money there - the horrors of that!  The dollar has lost another 16 cents since I'd last looked and the British Pound was worth $1.97 - for all practical purposes it is now $2 to the Pound.  I still look at Pound prices and convert directly across to dollars when I should be doubling it instead.

I love this photo - Lex looks like she has a fountain of water coming out her ear!

In the evening Lexa and I took Mom out to dinner at the Harvard Bar and Grill in the Thistle Victoria Hotel - very nice - I think we were the only ones there not drinking - however our "still" bottled water was 3.25 pounds a bottle so we might was well have been drinking hard stuff!  I had a two course meal of fishy things - crab and fish rarebit, and Haddock on pasta.  Then it was off to bed.  I was very tired but still all time zone messed-up so I did not sleep very well."