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
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