Day 1 - London

Hello from London! Arrival temperature was 28 deg at 8:00 AM. After an uneventful flight, except for a severe disparity in water bottle sizes…

we arrived to find that, sadly, my one checked bag did not get on the flight with us. The bag decided to tour DFW for a while and take a later flight. Happily the bag arrived around noon and will be delivered to our hotel. I’m pretty happy that both the bag and the hotel reservation are in my name. This should avoid any confusion when the bag is delivered to the hotel. I’m not sure what happened as we were at DFW two hours before the flight. Next time I’ll have to try harder to get my stuff into a carry on. The American Airlines baggage guy could not have been nicer.

We took the Underground from Heathrow to Kings Cross Station as it is the easiest way to get into London. Also, our hotel is right next to the station so it was a simple decision.

When we got to the hotel around 10:00 AM they were printing our keys. Nice timing!

We snuck in a couple of hours of naptime and headed out to the Shard for the view from the View. There’s an open air floor as well as inside viewing. The Shard is the tallest building in Western Europe at 800 feet. The Empire State Building is 1250 feet.

It wasn’t a great day for views but it is still a cool place to check out the city from on high.

We saw St. Paul’s Cathedral. St Paul’s has a long history and amazingly withstood the Blitz. AI: During the Blitz, St. Paul's Cathedral in London was hit by multiple bombs, sustaining significant damage, but despite direct hits, it miraculously remained standing largely due to the efforts of a dedicated group of firewatchers called "The St Paul's Watch" who tirelessly fought fires caused by the bombs throughout the Blitz, effectively saving the iconic building as a symbol of resilience during the war. 

The Tower Bridge and the Tower of London.

The London Eye, sadly closed for maintenance

London experts Chris and Howard told us about some off the beaten path places to go, which we are following up on tomorrow.

We took their advice and went to the Mayflower Pub for lunch, via a London taxi.

The owner of the Mayflower ship (yes That Mayflower) also owned a pub; both were thriving businesses. The pilgrims chartered the vessel and travelled from Plymouth, England to Plymouth Rock, MA, USA in 1620 (way before Below Deck). The Mayflower then sailed back to London where it was moored for several years next to the pub. When the pub needed refurbishing, the owner used timber from the ship as support beams and the building is still standing today.

Update on my luggage, it’s at Heathrow. Unfortunately, it’s been partying there for a couple hours. At 5:30 PM I called American and was on hold for 29 minutes of a 30 minute call to learn it is scheduled for delivery, and might even be en route or delivered. I gently told the man on the phone that the bag hasn’t moved since 12:30. I have an air tag in it, TG.

Martha and I are ending the day in the Chambers Room (concierge lounge) of the hotel.

Not a bad first day in London, even with the late luggage. The nap helped.