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The ride from Heathrow was long and arduous. The Piccadilly line from Heathrow into London was indefinitely closed until construction in preparation for the Olympics is over. The shuttle bus took forever to get to the closest tube connection. We topped up our Oyster cards and took the tube to our hotel, the Kensington West Bed and Breakfast near the Olympia. You know, I wish we had Oyster cards in NYC. They are RFid cards like the photo ids most office buildings use now to get you through doors or onto certain floors from the elevator. Instead of having to swipe a Metrocard, you just pass your wallet over the sensor to get into the tube, and depending on where you get off, it only charges you for as far as you have gone. You never have to buy multiple cards. You can have it top up automatically linked to your credit card or go to a machine. Oh, the little conveniences!
I picked up a vending machine SIM card and work on topping it up so that we can call around. Again, can we get vending machine SIM cards in the US? What? The majority of the cell phones in America are CDMA-based? Oh, I guess it wouldn’t benefit all of those foreign tourists and exchange students, huh? Wait a minute . . .
We arrive at the hotel, and it is adorable. The front desk was extremely helpful, and there was free coffee and tea in the lobby 24/7. The ice machine, however, was broken. The room was cozy, and everything we needed was within reach. Free wifi and a television completed the experience. Every single one of our plans this trip had fallen through, but we still had a fantastic time of it. We didn’t make it in time to see my husband’s godfather, so we went in search of dinner. All of the establishments we looked at on Yelp were a bit pricey, so we walked up the street to see what we could find. We happened on The Chicken Shack and settled in for some comforting fast food. I chose the lamb curry, and my husband just wanted some fish and chips. We were so pleasantly surprised when we tasted the fish. There was curry in the batter, and it was absolutely delicious. The lamb had been slow cooked for so long that it melted on my tongue. Thank you, Chicken Shack, for filling our bellies and not completely emptying our pockets.
We stopped at the Sainsbury’s Local across the street after finishing every morsel of dinner. All I wanted while we were in London were pies. I’m not talking apple pie or pecan pie; I’m talking about pork pies, Cornish beef pies, Parliament pie, minty lamb pie, and sausage rolls. Sainbury’s cold case provided me the satisfaction of purchasing many of these pies, which I will be enjoying for a long while, hopefully. We picked up massive amounts of junk food and alcoholic beverages. Our prizes for staying in, relaxing, and sulking were Jaffa cakes, Jelly Babies, Cadbury candy bars, cheese and onion crisps, fizzy Pimm’s lemonade in a can, Jack Daniels mixed with cola in a can, pear cider, and a random assortment of beers. Oh, and it was glorious! We watched “Tonight’s the Night!” hosted by John Barrowman (Captain Jack from “Doctor Who” and “Torchwood”) and really indulged. I can’t say that I’ve ever indulged so very well. I could probably teach a course on indulging yourself after this evening.
Tomorrow, we’re on a quick plane home. What a short holiday in Europe!
Stereotype Rebel 