When friends or loved ones tell you to be prepared to spend a large amount of time in Heathrow, either going through customs upon landing, or checking in to board a plane....PLEASE, please, please, believe them if they suggest you allow yourself extra time!!! Let me put it to you this way, they are not your friends....nor do they love you, if they DON'T strongly suggest you are going to require more time than you can imagine, getting through this airport.
It should have been my first clue, when folks were literally running as they left the plane's gangway. Like a mass exodus in fast motion, they quickly moved down the long white hallways to the exit area. I couldn't imagine that all those people were anxiously trying to connect with another flight. In my experience, the only people who run in an airport, are those who are in desperate need to board a plane, that has no intention of waiting for them. I soon found out that the que (a typical English phrase which translates to line) to get into the customs area, had indeed backed up into the hallway, and a virtual roadblock had been created in the congested area which led into the immigration room. Unless you had an EU passport, there was a wait to get into the room, where you would be lined up to again WAIT...are you seeing a pattern here? It was a vast open area, the size of a large convention hall, with barrier enforced winding paths that led to the all important gate keepers, who would eventually either grant or deny your request for passage into their country. I had never seen such a thing before, in all our travels to numerous countries overseas. I will say now, to all my friends and loved ones (you may want to write this down for future reference if you ever have plans to fly into Heathrow--personally, I'd avoid it like the plague) make sure you visit the little girls/boys room on the plane, BEFORE it lands. Thankfully, neither of us had any issues in that department, however, there are no restrooms to be had (at least not in the jetway where we landed) until you complete the customs process and proceed into the baggage area. Please understand, the odds are, you are going to be spending more time than you can possibly imagine, inside that vast room. For whatever reason, the English have not yet discovered how to move people through lines in an efficient fashion. I will, however, give them extra credit for culling out the families with small children, and allowing them into a special line that moves them right to the front of the room.
Once we finally made it through immigration, then the line to get into the restroom...the remaining minutes that we spent that morning, in Heathrow, ran quite smoothly. We inquired as to the location of our terminal upon our return, and the location of our Yotel also. We had a limited number of hours once we returned from our day trip to London, and wanted to be prepared and organized, before boarding the plane for out trip to Barcelona. The "helpful" employee at the information booth was kind enough to inform us that we would need to jump on the Heathrow Express to get to both terminal 4 to find the Yotel, and terminal 5, to board our British Airways flight at 6:20. Roger had been told/warned by friends that you must give yourself 3 hours when checking in for an international flight out of Heathrow. After the scenario we had been through that morning, I began to believe there may be some validity to what others had suggested. We agreed to spend a few hours in London, then we'd return for a shower and possible nap at the Yotel, before heading to terminal 5 and our assigned gate (assigned being the operative word here). Jumping from train to train, terminal to terminal, didn't seem like a big deal to us. After all, we were in a country where folks spoke the same language as us, and the signage/directions were well posted on the walls....what could possibly go wrong? The entire plan sounded totally reasonable, so off we went to find the luggage storage facility to drop off our carryon bags, before heading to the underground station, for our journey into the city of London.
Typical row of small British shops...love the overhead light fixtures.
We had chosen to travel into London on the underground, to meet up with our tour group at 10:45 am. We were on our way by 8:30.... the underground station being easily accessible from the airport, made our transition onto the subway quite simple.
The escalator from underground to street level looked like it reached up to the sky.
We settled in to enjoy our 40 minute ride on the blue line, which took us directly to our Green Market stop. Upon our arrival, we had time to grab a coffee, tea and scone at a cute little french pattissiere. The door had a sign for free wifi, but I was unable to log on to send my posting from the previous night. It would be at least another 30 hours before I'd be able to get my iPad up and running, with a decent internet connection again. Of course, that did not stop me from writing, I just knew I'd eventually post everything....even if I had to wait to get on the ship to do it.
Of course we had tea a scones for English breakfast, at a French Patisserie!?!
Our "London Walks" food tour group met at an assigned spot out side the underground station. People from many countries gathered to wait for our hostess, we quickly introduced ourselves and were on our way.
Waiting for the group to arrive.
I've neglected to mention that the weather was perfectly comfortable that morning....sunny skies and no breeze to speak of....not typical English weather by any stretch of the imagination. We were both shocked and very pleased that the weather gods had shined down upon us...I don't have to mention it, but the alternative in this particular city (of perpetual rain and fog), could have been quite unpleasant.
Blue skies and mild temps...could not have asked for a nicer day :)
The tour was very interesting and picture taking opportunities presented themselves at every turn. Contrary to popular belief, the British people have quite a few edible offerings in the way of food. I believe that on the average, they have been able to attract culinary influences, from many other countries, which appeal to the palates of the residents as well as the tourist population.
We would have loved to have time for a proper afternoon tea at the Ritz....perhaps next time
English Chocolate confections (surprise-surprise), pastries and cheeses.....Chinese duck, and Italian gelato, were just a few of the things I drooled over and captured in photos taken through display windows. I lost complete control when we stumbled upon a famous Milan bakery, my empty stomach compelling me to purchase a few for snacking along the way. This taste testing is a tough job, but somebody has to do it. I wish I'd bought a dozen! Sorry no pics there...my mouth was quicker than my shutter finger...which tends to be the problem quite often.
The fine print explains the connection to the royal family. If it's good enough for the Queen, it's good enough for yours truly :)
Cheese, cheese and more cheese!
We tasted homemade gelato made with Italian cheese....the flavor was incredible.
Street market with scones and English muffins...they really do make them here!
After 2 hours of walking, we wandered back through Chinatown in the direction of the underground for our return trip to Heathrow. It had been the perfect way to spend a few hours in the city, which unbeknownst to us, was hosting quite an internationally well known gentleman that day....the Pope, coincidentally, was right up the street at Buckingham Palace.
During our quick little stroll through the market in China Town, I stumbled across a vendor with the cutest little silk shawls....3 for 10 pounds--now that's a bargain in any fashionista's book.
Next up....Part 2 or "Off to the Races" as I like to refer to it :)
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