I started to send a World document of my trip to my niece, but decided to use this platform, so I can add all the photos I wish. Wonder how much has changed since 2003?

If you want to come along, I'll be posting another day of the tour daily. I haven't had anything to blog about lately, but have declared my independence, so will be back soon with a regular post. I even broke out today and went to buy cat food and even had a quarter pounder with fries from McDonalds.

GREAT BRITAIN: AUGUST 22-SEPTEMBER 5, 2003

Friday, August 22, 2003 (Overnight flight LAX to Heathrow)

I hope I exhausted all my glitches today so the balance of the trip will be smooth. The shuttle came early, so I hurried through my final trip preparations and can only hope I didn’t leave something behind.

Collette gave me middle seats but fortunately the desk clerk at the airport reassigned me to window seats. Virgin Atlantic at LAX has the slowest security checks I’ve ever seen. We stood in line for an hour.

I had very nice seatmates; a husband who sells medical equipment and a wife who is a grade school principal. They live in Cardiff, Wales, and were returning home after a vacation in Palm Springs - in August!

My TV and sound control had a loose connection. Bill helped me and we finally got my light to come on and my map with the little airplane on the TV screen and then I was afraid to try movies or music or games for fear I’d lose everything again. I read a whodunit – finished just as we landed. We had a nice dinner of salad, roll and butter, salmon with dill sauce, red potatoes, and fresh green beans and with lemon cheesecake for dessert and cheese and crackers with a chocolate for snacks.

I napped very little but London is about an hour shorter than Paris, so the time passed quickly. Virgin Atlantic serves complimentary beer, wine, and highballs and Bill took advantage of the works.

Saturday, August 23, 2003 (London, England)

Just before landing we had a breakfast burrito (small) with eggs and herb filling, orange juice, fruit cup, apple muffin, and coffee.

Britain uses a “Landing Card” and immigration was a snap. My bag came down in good time, but my driver was nowhere to be found. I waited about twenty minutes and finally went to have him paged. Just as I was telling the clerk my name and the tour name, he miraculously appeared, and I still don’t know how he knew I was his passenger as I hadn’t put on my Collette name tag.

When I arrived at the hotel, no Collette rep. I later found out she’d gone out to get our theater tickets which had been delayed due to the latest aggressive viruses and worms which are invading the internet. She left letters of instruction at the front desk to be given to us when we checked in. I didn’t get a letter and no one knew where Stephanie, our guide, had gone.

I freshened up and walked over to Harrods, window shopping along the way. Sloane Street, where our hotel is situated, is in the heart of London’s “Rodeo Drive”. No purchases here. Harrods was packed, scarcely room to move. Monday is a bank holiday so even the local’s are out. Sunday and Monday are Carnival Days. On Monday there’ll be a Carnival parade second only to Rio’s. Sunday there’s a children’s parade and carnival. It all takes place in the Notting Hill area and has an expected turnout in excess of 1,000,000.

I bought myself an apple-cinnamon scone at Harrods to eat on my way back and a jar of orange marmalade for Cozzy at the library. She wanted something from Harrods and what’s more English than orange marmalade? The sidewalks were so jammed, they looked like California freeways.

Harrods, click Here Be sure to click on the categories at the top. I only shopped the Food Hall.

When I returned to the hotel, the desk still hadn’t seen Stephanie but said they had put my letter and a map of London in my room. They hadn’t. The front desk didn’t know if we were having dinner in the hotel or elsewhere. I went directly to the restaurant and got an affirmative and a time of 6:30 p.m. As it was only 4:00, I had a nice soaky bath and an hour lie-down (as they say in England). I felt much better with clean clothes. My letter, along with a map of London, was slipped under my door at 6:10 p.m.

The group met for dinner and I found that fifteen out of thirty-one are from Minnesota in a group organized by their bank. Their bank has a newsletter, parties, day tours, and group tours, all at no or reasonable cost. I believe I need to talk with Bank of America.

We had choices of starter and entrée at dinner and I chose Caesar salad and more salmon – this time on a bed of shredded and steamed bok choy, and garnished with sorrel. My salmon was undercooked so I couldn’t eat all of it, but we had a nice roll and butter and ice cream with a chopped berry medley for dessert. And decent coffee – not the coffee syrup most of Europe serves.

It’s 10:00 p.m. and I’m really ready for bed.

My noisy neighbors were in the halls at midnight. Two of those women who cover their heads – each with a flock of children. I finally asked if they could talk in their rooms instead of the hall. The woman with a stroller took off down the hall with her brood and the other went back to her room (next to mine) without a word. One of the children, a boy about ten, apologized and I thanked him and explained I’d been on a plane all night with no sleep and I really needed some rest. I guess they were tired, too, because it got quiet, but too late. I couldn’t go back to sleep until 1:30 a.m.

Photos from my walk over to Harrods. To be continued. . . . .