DAY-02: London Arrival & On Top of the World - The London Eye

Day - 02: Thursday, May 28, 2015

Starting Location: Northern Canada en-route to London, England, UK.

Interim Location: Arrival, Heathrow International airport (LHR)

Ending Location: The Trafalgar Hotel, London, England, UK

The Thames

We arrived at Heathrow after an approach that made for a great view of London. We had “Quick Passes” for immigration but they didn’t help, as only two immigration officers were assigned to Quick Pass and one had a long discussion with an arriving passenger. The regular line would have been faster. Our checked luggage was soon ready and within 30 minutes of landing we were looking for our driver.

Relic of the Past
British Airways Concorde

After a brief delay Cristian our driver arrived and soon we were headed into London amidst the midday traffic. Seems that Cristain is also an Uber driver so we learned more about Uber than we’ll probably ever need.

By 1230 we had arrived at The Trafalgar, our hotel.  After a quick check-in we headed to our room and made some small effort at unpacking. For the London stay we have a nice big room, king bed and good street view of Trafalgar Square.

We shouldn't have but we did, that's fall asleep, totally contrary to our arrival strategy.




Anyway we awoke several hours later and made our way out toward the London Eye.  






With pre-purchased “Champagne Tour” tickets in hand we checked in, saw the 4-D movie (4 minutes) and soon met Ashley our guide and hostess. Ashley led our party of 9 guests (8 adults and a baby) to our private “champagne chariot" on the “big wheel”. After setting up her portable champagne bar, Ashley served up the drinks, champagne and mimosas for Sheila and me. The 30-minute ride was a good one providing great views of the city. Seems the London Eye is slightly smaller than the wheel we rode in Singapore last year, not sure how it stacks up against the new Orlando Wheel. One local couple, was celebrating a birthday and of course we ran into a couple from Boston; the third couple was from Melbourne, Australia, here for a cruise much like ourselves.

"So, you're from Boston ..."

From The Top

Bagpiper "For Hire"

After the ride, we bought a few cards and walked via the Westminster Bridge back to the hotel. 

Along the way we recalled the phrase “Hey look kids, there's Big Ben, and there's Parliament” sightings made famous by Chevy Chase in European Vacation. 

UK phone booths or for those who've sailed the BVI's, a shower stall.

Celebrating Someone's Birth Year?

We almost didn’t go back out but finally went in search of that noted British cuisine; we headed up the street to The Thai Square for dinner.





Sheila had a chicken dish and I had lamb chops (Heat Index: 2 peppers of 3, well flavored though not much heat), both very good.

That's not a frog being
crushed by the chicken!

We returned to the hotel and were soon asleep, just maybe we’re now truly on UK time. Which happens to be BST, British Summer Time a +1 hour offset from Greenwich Mean Time on the 0 Meridian just a few miles from here.