To London, to London, to visit the Queen.

We did go to London, but the Queen never did invite us in for tea. Oh well..... every cup of tea I had there was just delicious, and my first cup of tea brought tears to my eyes because it tasted just like the tea my grand mother used to make for me, with milk and sugar.  My eyes got all teared up after the first sip... there was just no hiding it.

Flight to London left from the Austin airport, which is smaller and much easier to deal with than the larger Houston airports. We left at dinner time..... got on the plane in daylight..... flew into darkness.... and when the plane landed in London, it was early morning the following day.  My husband quickly mastered the underground trains and the bus routes... and we made our way from Heathrow Airport to the Bed and Breakfast that he had arranged.

The B and B home was in Hammersmith.... convenient to London, but not right in the middle of the city.  We stayed on a quiet street there, in a very old four-story town-home.... the bedroom we stayed in was about the size of the smallest room in our own house, and the bathroom we used was the size of one of our closets.  My husband and I felt like we were living in a shoe-box the whole time we were there, after being used to the Texas-sized homes here, in particular our own home which has very big rooms.  It all worked out...... we got up early, left the B and B before eight o'clock every morning, had breakfast in  a nearby cafe, and didn't get back to the teeny-tiny bed/bath till nearly dark.... and then we fell into bed from being on our feet all day long. Of course, once you fall asleep, you don't even notice that the room you're sleeping in is about the size of a laundry room in a Texas house.

This trip to London had been scheduled for a couple of months ago.... we had to cancel  and re-book the flight because my husband hurt his leg on a ladder...... we knew that trying to get around London with one of us being on crutches wouldn't work, and as soon as we got there, I was glad we re-scheduled the whole trip. We flew British Airways, and they charged a ridiculous amount of money for re-booking those flights from March to May......  we weren't too happy with that, but what can you do.  Those charges, however, wouldn't encourage us to fly again on British Airways..... I'd love to go back to London, but I'd fly another airline.

Lots of coughing and sneezing on that flight to London...... we're lucky we both didn't get sick. (Knock wood.)  We slept some, watched some movies, they fed us dinner soon after getting up in the air, then gave us breakfast before we landed.  I tried to watch "12 Years a Slave" on that flight, but the movie was too upsetting...... I had read the book, which was easier to bear than the film, and I admired the book, the story, the writing.   I did watch "The Book Thief" on the plane and that was a beautiful movie..... I have the book up in the library, waiting to be read......... so I'll wait a few months and then I will read the book. I'm sure the author had more to say than what could be expressed on film.

London was everything I thought it would be, and then some. I wrote notes every day we were there, and I'll spend the next few days describing what we saw.... but right now, I'm still trying to catch up on Texas time, which is six hours earlier than London time.... so I'll start the travel descriptions tomorrow.

One thing is certain..... no matter where we go, no matter the city or the country.... there's nothing so great as coming back to your own home and your own bed.