Channel Adventure Day 2

Day 02 - Monday, April 9, 2018 – Fly in to Heathrow Airport; Visit Thames Neighborhood

Our day began with breakfast about 90 minutes from London. The sky was so incredibly dense with clouds and rain that it was a wonder our pilot could see to land. Amazing how they are able to do that!

As we circled on our approach into Heathrow we had no clear view of London and the Thames River. We couldn’t see any of the bridges, the London Eye, or the chimneys on the rooftops. No Mary Poppins perspective of the city today.

We were scheduled to land at 9:40am but because of tail winds during the flight we were early; arriving at 9:15. By the time we went through immigration and customs and found the correct exit, it was 9:45 and time to meet our driver, Paulo.

There were many transfer choices from Heathrow but before leaving home we decided to prebook a cab with Viator City Transportation to our hotel, the Novotel Waterloo. Paulo took us on a meandering tour of London as we went through narrow back streets and then the city center.

We unpacked, sorted out our heavy backpacks, and organized our room for the next two days. No jetlag for us, after only a few hours of sleep on the plane, we were ready to visit some of the attractions we had missed on our previous trips to London.

We left the hotel and headed out along the walkway paralleling the Thames. We found a large grocery store, Tesco, and walked through the aisles, comparing labels and converting prices from British Pounds to our US dollars.

Our neighborhood was rich with parks, historical monuments, and celebrated sites of British Government. There were numerous bike rental stations but because of the rain, most of the bikes were waiting for vacationers.

We continued over the Vauxhall Bridge and then walked the North side of the river, past Parliament. When we got to the Lambeth Bridge, it began to rain so we hustled back to the hotel for a shower and to start the journal.

We set off to find a fish and chips dinner, but we are sorry to say, there were none close to our hotel. We asked a vendor on the river walk of any great places to eat and he recommended Sapori, on Horseferry Road, just off of Lambeth Bridge.

The staff of Sapori welcomed us and after we noticed the portion size of the people who had already been served, we opted to split a pasta plate. That was a smart choice as even the half portion of penne pasta, spinach, and mushrooms was more than either of us could finish.

By the time we had finished dinner, it was raining again so we did not linger but walked back to the hotel. Getting around this district of London was relatively easy.

There are signs on every street crossing reminding people which way to look for oncoming traffic. Driving on the left side of the road was a bit daunting at first but as many times as we have been to countries of the British Empire, we are starting to get used to the traffic.

Jet lag is for amateurs.

Dick Clark

Accommodations: Novotel Waterloo Hotel - - - Meal: B & D