DAY 3 - DAY 2 LONDON

Before dinner last evening, we went on another long walk as we took in the beauty of London.  London is one of our favorite cities around the world.  We enjoy its charm, beauty and character.

The weather was superb and we walked around several residential areas where are located near the restaurant that we dined at.  Also embassies are nearby.

The plaque on this home indicates that poet Alfred Lord Tennyson lived there between 1809 and 1892.  If this was in the USA it would be considered very old but in London it is far from old.

Following our walk, we then headed to the restaurant for dinner.

We dined at Santini which is an Italian Restaurant located less than ten minutes on foot from the Hotel.  The concierge at the Hotel had recommended this restaurant to us as we were looking for a restaurant where casual attire was acceptable and one that was in reasonable walking distance from the hotel.  She also made a reservation for us.

There was both indoor and outdoor dining and we chose indoors.  The dining room was very appealing with candles on each table along with white tablecloths.  The waitstaff was Italian.  We were the first to arrive as we knew we would be tired.  By the time we left several people were dining.

We each began with Classic Caesar Salad and for our entree we each enjoyed Branzino  Santini which is poached sea bass.  The portion size was just right and it was very tasty.  It was accompanied on a bed of lentils and mixed herb and balsamic dressing.  

We often don't comment about rolls or bread but just wanted to note that the bread was very tasty and very Italian. There were five different choices of bread.

We did not order dessert but at the end of the meal we were given this complimentary dessert.  This brought back childhood memories for Anne Marie and some tears in her eyes as her Italian Grandmother (her Nana) who lived with Anne Marie and her family used to make this dessert for the family from time to time.

As we walked back to the Hotel it started to rain but we had an umbrella with us so we were fine.  This was pretty much the weather for yesterday as within a matter of minutes the weather changed back and forth from being overcast and dry to some mist in the air and even rain.  Before dinner, while we were walking, it almost seemed as if the sun would pop out.

Back at the hotel we enjoyed some wine and fruit.  We then went to sleep.  Keith slept well but Anne Marie didn't do as well.  Hopefully, by she'll sleep better this evening.  

Keith likes to start the day early and that is what he did today.  As mentioned, there is what is known as the executive lounge on the floor.  

The lounge is for the use of all guests and it is staffed and open 24 hours a day.  In the morning it provides a complimentary cold breakfast for all guests and an English Breakfast either for a price or included depending on what type of room rate booked.  Throughout the day something is served including scones and tea in the afternoon, as well as various cold cuts at another time in the afternoon and from 8:00 PM to 1:00 AM various food items.  We were told that coffee is available 24 hours so Keith went by there early and the gentlemen from the staff made Keith coffee in the kitchen which Keith took back to our room to enjoy.  

Views from each side of the lounge.  There are two different entrances.  

There are several different size tables places throughout the lounge.

Various Cereals.

Shortly after Anne Marie awoke, we had breakfast in the lounge.  We just had cereal, fruit and coffee.

Keith's cereal.

After freshening up, we continued to explore London.  As they say what a difference a day makes.  We felt rested but the weather was superb.  It had rained very early in the morning but by the time we left the hotel shortly after 8:00 AM there was no sign of any rain and with each passing hour it became warmer and the sun finally broke out.  It was a perfect day to walk and walking is what we did.  In fact, we walked and walked and walked for hours.

Our first destination on our walk was to Regents Park which is about an hour from the hotel on foot.  We passed by several areas on the way.

St James Church from 1684.

Eventually, we came to Picadilly Circus.

Lots of buses out from the regular buses to tour buses.

The BBC Building and friend Wes had posted about having taken a tour here.

Regents Park.  We have been to the part on several previous occasions and it is always fun to walk the park.  We walked till we got to the London Zoo.

On our way back from the zoo we ran into a nice man who now lives in London.  He is originally from the United Kingdom, married a woman from the United States and lived in an area that was about 10 miles from where we used to live.  We chatted for awhile.  He enjoys photography so we talked cameras and also about where he used to live and where he lives today.  

We decided to walk towards another park, Hyde Park.  

Rose Garden in Hyde Park.

Eventually we walked on a pedestrian and bicycle path and many bikers were out and about.

The Serpentine within Hyde Park.

At the Manege the military were on horses.

We arrived to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain.  We first visited the memorial almost ten years ago to the day before we boarded the Crystal Symphony for a crossing from Dover to New York City.

After lunch we made our way over to the Royal Mews which houses the Royal Carriages and Horses.  This was our first time visiting the Mews.

World War I Memorial.

If we remember correctly, this is Wellington Arch in Hyde Park Corner. 

We had lunch at Patisserie Valerie.  They have several locations throughout the city.  It's nothing fancy but was precisely what we wanted.   We have eaten at some of their locations in the paste and we just had salad entrees.


All in all we had a terrific time and enjoyed our fairly long walk.  

We wanted to mention that for the areas that we have visited we felt  very safe and you can't say that about all cities around the world.  People are so very friendly, you just feel the tradition and history as you walk around the city and we feel so very thankful to be able to travel as we do.

This evening we will have an early dinner and then go to the theatre and we will post about this tomorrow.

Keith & Anne Marie

DAY 2 - THE AIRLINE FLIGHT AND DAY 1 LONDON

After we posted, we read and wrote for about ninety minutes until it was time to go to the gate which was less than a minute walk from the Airline Club Lounge.  

We flew British Airways, on a Boeing 787, representing our first time on this particular aircraft.   The flight was quite enjoyable. The aircraft was immaculate, the flight attendants provided a high level of service, the food was good, and the flight was uneventful.  You couldn't ask anything more than that.

We were in Business Class.  British Airways has a unique approach to the seating.  We had an aisle and window seat.  Keith was facing forward and Anne Marie was facing backwards.   It did make it easy to talk with one another.

Dinner was served fairly late which actually broke up the flight.  Shortly after dinner, Keith slept fairly well on the plane as he was always used to that on his business travels.  On the other hand, Anne Marie didn't get too much sleep.

After arriving at London Heathrow, we made our way through immigration and then customs.  We were given cards for Fast Track Immigration but it turned out to be Slow Track.  Part of the delay may have been the result of the stepped up security in London.  It took around 45 minutes to get through immigration.  We then proceeded to the luggage carrousel and after just a couple of minutes collected all of our luggage.  After exiting the luggage claims area, we were met by the Crystal Representative.  

A few minutes later we were met by our driver Aziz and we walked with him to the van  which would take us to our London Hotel. This vehicle was arranged by our travel agency with Crystal Cruises as part of a milestone we utilized for this voyage.  

The drive took about 40 minutes.  Aziz was very informative and as we drove through London he pointed out highlights for each of the areas.  He was more than just a driver and did a nice job giving us a mini-tour.  Aziz is from Morocco but has lived in the United Kingdom for many years.  He still goes back to Morocco where he is currently putting together a documentary.  

Before we knew it we arrived at the hotel.    We are staying at Hotel 41which is part of the Red Carnation Group.  We had noticed this particular hotel in a Red Carnation brochure which our friend Bob had picked up  at  one of the ports in Africa earlier this year while we were on the 2014 World Cruise, and he gave it to Keith.  We had narrowed down our list to a couple of hotels, and coincidentally friends who came on board following the World Cruise mentioned a positive experience at this hotel so we decided to go ahead and book it.  Friend Ricki had stayed at the Hotel right next door called Rubens and had become acquainted with the Manager who is also manager of this Hotel and was kind enough to write to him to let him know of our stay.  Thank you Ricki.

The hotel is considered a boutique hotel, with only 28 rooms and no two rooms are precisely alike.  A big plus is its proximity to many historic sites and even to the two theaters showing two plays that we will attend during our stay.

We were greeted at the van by someone who took our bags, then greeted at the main entrance by one of the members of the staff.  About two minutes later someone came down to meet us and then brought us up to the floor where we checked into the hotel.  We sat at a desk and one of the other gentlemen brought over a selection of champagne to welcome us to the hotel which is part of the Hotel 41 tradition.  The check in process was very easy and everyone was so very helpful.  We learned that we had been upgraded from the Junior Suite that we had booked to a larger Suite and that our room would be ready in fifteen minutes.  

The person checking us in asked us about our plans and then provided us with maps as well as simple directions to the underground subway station which is nearby.

We then were escorted to a seat in the Executive Lounge and were offered breakfast but just had coffee instead.  Other than the entrance on the street with the welcome area inside there is really one other main floor which includes the check in area, executive lounge and all of the rooms.

Once our room was ready we were escorted to our room and were shown how to work all of the devices in the room.  There are three television sets.  One is probably sufficient for us.  There is a separate living area, two bathroom, and a separate bedroom area which also has a living area.  They even provided an exercise bike that Keith had requested on the pre-hotel check in form that was sent to us a few weeks ago.  They also had arranged restaurant reservations for us on two nights that Keith had requested.

After unpacking and getting washed up, it was time to for lunch and then to explore the city.

We had lunch at a restaurant next door since it was raining.   We each enjoyed Cobb Salads.  The wait staff was just wonderful as was the Manager of the Restaurant.  It is a restaurant/pub.

By the time we finished lunch there was just a slight mist in the air so we went on a nice walk.  Anne Marie had scoped out where we would walk this first day so that we would see some familiar sites and also stay outside which is important to getting over any jet lag. Keith just took a small point and shoot camera with us because of the weather and with it being very cloudy the photos will not look as nice as they normally would.

We first passed by The Royal Mews which we plan to visit sometime during our stay in London.

We then proceeded to Buckingham Palace.  We do not plan to take a tour of the Palace as we did this several years ago taking a very small group tour one evening.

We also walked in one of the Parks, across the Thames Bridge and past other places.  

This is one of the Royal Guards.

A remembrance to the many women who were part of World War II.  We must never forget.

The vast majority of Keith's career was in telecommunications so he didn't want to pass up one of the many iconic telephone booths that are still around.  While many cities no longer have these booths  or if they do the telephones no longer work, that is not the case in London.

When we see Big Ben we actually think back to the bombing in London that so many people had to sustain during World War II.

Winston Churchill, one of some very historic leaders who led his country during World War II.  

The famous London Eye.

Eventually, it started to rain and while we continued our walk with umbrellas in hand, Keith had to put the camera away.

This evening we plan to go to dinner at an Italian Restaurant located about 10 minutes from the hotel and tomorrow we will continue to explore London.

We are so glad to be here and looking forward to each and everyday of this adventure.

London is one of our favorite cities from around the world.  Yes, we do have several favorites.  We love the history of this city and find it so very easy to navigate and to get around by foot and by public transportation.  If only we could master which way to look when crossing the street but thank goodness we just look down at the street where you are instructed which way to turn for traffic.  

Keith & Anne Marie