Of course we packed light. We are staying for three weeks.

When we arrived at the airport yestereday, much to our delight, the lady at the ticket counter commented on how light and small our bags were for an overseas flight.  I was quick to reply "Of course we packed light.  We are staying for three weeks."  Considering the look she gave, she did not understand my logic.

Yesterday was a long travel day, and also a short travel day. We woke up early and left Kelsey's for the airport. We caught a cab without any significant trouble. We were very apprehensive about flying British Airways again because it had made such an impression on us before. Lets just say it lived up to our inflated expectations. Breakfast was an omelet, roll, fruit, a candy bar and cheesecake. That is in addition to the orange juice, water, and complementary beverage. Then we also got brunch before we landed. Pasta, a wrap, candy bar, ect. It was wonderful. And it goes without saying that we got a free toothbrush, socks, pillows, blankets and sleeping mask.


We got on the ground at Heathrow, and caught a shuttle to Gatwick. Other than being pricey, it was fine. We enjoyed looking at the English countryside. After leaving Boston early in the morning and taking only a 6 hour flight, we were suddenly confronted with the fact that it was already almost 9:00 (good thing, because we were exhausted from days of little sleep getting ready to go and a very early morning). We found our way around Gatwick and got a shuttle to our hotel. There was a wedding going on there, so as we walked into this fairly nice hotel, everyone else was in "wedding" clothing, and we were wearing our brightly colored rain coats, shorts and sneakers. Sue was 1 inch away from careening her suitcase into a shiny red Ferrari sports car. Convertible. By this time it was 10:15 and while one of us checked in, the other went to the bar to beg for food. Had we been just 30 minutes earlier we could have eaten fish and chips, but the fryer had been put to rest for the evening.

Again, breakfast and brunch were wonderful, but we weren't ready to call it a day after just two meals. We devoured our jacket potato with beans and cheese and a tuna sandwich while around us people were enjoying the wedding party. We fell asleep fairly easy and woke up with our feet hitting the floor at 6:00 am (this felt like 1:00 am to our bodies.) We were back to the airport for another British Airways flight. I know everyone will be waiting with baited breath to hear about the meal service on our flight. I know I have butterflies of anticipation in my tummy just thinking about the possibilities.

So, as a final thought, the primary problem with traveling in England, is our assumption that it is easier to get around because we "know" the language. We may be able to read and speak English, but that doesn't really mean that we can get around all that well. Case in point, breakfast at the Gatwick airport. We had porridge with bananas and syrup and a vegetarian muffin. The vegetarian muffin was really like an English muffin, but more like a plain muffin with eggs and cheese. There also was a sign for "pie with mash and gravy". I think we could approximate what this might be and look like, but I wouldn't take it for granted that it would something recognizable.

The kids on our airport shuttle were laughing about the "po po" being mad at our van driver and rather than getting a receipt at the ATM we got an advice slip. . . sounds like a magic 8 ball, right? Speaking of getting to the airport, it really messes with your mind and coordination to see people driving on the "wrong" side of the road. There were signs that said, "variable speed limit". Now that is some Algebra even Shellee can appreciate.