London Day 1 - Arriving

AC 852 was only half an hour late - not bad for AC - and we actually arrived in Heathrow a bit early. Seems the only advantage of having a Nexis card is a shorter line - still had to take everything out. Glad we reserved seats - 19 A & C - so no issues with our carry on luggage.

The SIM card worked beautifully when we arrived in London - such a relief - and we were quickly able to catch the Piccadilly line to Green Park, then Jubilee line to Southwark. From there it was only a 5 minute walk to Ibis London Blackfriars. The hotel was fine - not elegant but a great location on the south bank.

By now it was about noon and we couldn’t check in until 3 so we headed out to explore - and stay awake. 24,500 steps later we’d wandered quite far - past Tate Modern Museum to Borough market - totally packed - then over the London Bridge and stopped at Prêt à Manger - relatively cheap & healthy - for lunch. This was fortuitous as we met our «  new best friend” Michael Riley.

He was an articulate soft spoken young « lad » who gave us lots of tips about London, and suggested we see his fav show - Crazy for You. He’d already seen it 3 times but gave us his coordinates and said to let him know if & when we’d be going.

From there we wandered to the Gillian Lynn Theatre to check out tickets, but it was closed due to the banker holiday, so we wandered through Covent Gardens and surrounding area, then stopped at Lowlander, a Belgium pub, for dinner - great choice. Heading back over the Waterlou Bridge the night scene was gorgeous.Read more