UK TRIP 2022 – PART I

May 5-6, 2022

L.A. to London

After several years without travel, we were finally more than ready to head out again.

In June of 2020, my oldest friend, Kathleen [Murphy] Stewart passed away. A few years before, when she was about to undergo very serious surgery, we had a long talk about what she wanted to happen following her death. She wished to be cremated. Although her husband wanted their ashes to be place together in the columbarium at their church, she wanted to be on the Hill of Tara in Ireland. Larry and I promised her, if her husband saved a small amount of her ashes, we would take them to Ireland for her. (Larry and Kathleen started kindergarten together, so he was also her close friend.)

Of course, we were unable to make the trip until now. We had originally intended to leave the first week in May, starting in Ireland. However, we discovered the Hill of Tara would not open until May 19. [When we got there, we discovered the visitors’ center wouldn’t open until the 28^th.] We reversed the trip, so we could fulfill our promise to Kathleen.

Visiting London had been a longtime item on my bucket list. So, we began our trip with a flight there.

We set our alarm early, but we both woke even before it went off.

Our driver arrived at 1:00 p.m. as scheduled. Very few services will drive from Dana Point to LAX. If they do, the price can be more than the price of the flight! However, our AAA travel agent, Julie told us about Angels Transportation. Their rate was considerably lower, and although not cheap, far more reasonable than our other choices—including long-term parking in an outer lot. The trip was efficient, and we didn’t have to drive or leave a car while we were gone.

This was our first time traveling on British Airways, and the flight was lovely. We flew on a Boeing 777-300. Julie, booked our seats in the section with only two seats on each side. This meant, we had a row to ourselves.

Although it was a “red eye” flight, departing at 5:30 p.m. from LAX, we both watched movies for the duration. Neither of us slept. We were able to enjoy a couple of films we had wanted to see: The Lost City and Belfast. Then we each watched a couple of other films.

We arrived close to noon on the sixth.

We were supposed to be met at Heathrow by a driver to take us to the hotel. We chose to walk to the arrival area rather than taking the train. We weren’t aware that the pedestrian route went through three terminals. It took quite a while, but after sitting for so long, the stretch felt good—except for hauling our bags.

We finally got to the arrival hall. After walking back and forth four times (the arrival hall was the length of two terminals), we did not see anyone holding our names. A couple of other drivers from a different company noticed us wandering around and took pity. They called our transport company and connected to our driver. Apparently, he was late and had finally arrived. The other drivers determined where he was and pointed us in his direction. We were very grateful to them!

Our driver took us to our hotel, Rubens at The Palace, a five-star location across the street from Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately, because they are preparing for the queen’s platinum jubilee, the palace will be closed in preparation while we are here.

A bellman arrived at our car to collect our luggage. Ever since 2014, we have traveled very light. We only carry one SMALL rolling case, which fits in the overhead, and another bag. Larry takes a backpack to hold his iPad and other clothing items. I have a bag with my computer and purse.

We were greeted by a doorman, dressed in red livery. On other occasions, there have been two. We got to know Aaron and took a photo with him. [Lost when Larry’s phone died. Aaron is the young man on the far right.]

We entered the small lobby, where three people manned the reception desk. The young woman who checked us in told us our room wasn’t yet ready.

We were nearly asleep on our feet by this time.

We had been served dinner not too long after we took off from LAX. I had chicken with basmati rice. I ate the chicken and sweet peppers, but left the rice, roll, three-bean salad, and mousse dessert. Larry chose the pasta. He ate everything on his tray plus my dessert.

Before we landed, we were served croissants, fruit, granola bars, etc. I only ate the cheese out of the croissant. Larry ate everything.

However, it was two-thirty in the afternoon, and we decided to eat a light supper. We went into the New York Bar in our hotel where the waiter, Frank, who looked like central casting for an English butler, took our order.

I had the chicken cobb salad, and Larry had a burger. The food was quite good. By the time we finished, our room was ready.

The room was on the third floor. It was called a “cozy double.” The spin doctor had worked overtime on the description. While the décor was beautiful, with a crystal chandelier, the room was stuffed with furniture. The bed was as described: a double bed. We already knew many “double” rooms in Europe were fitted out with twin beds. They would not have fit in our room.

It contained tiny, mirrored side tables, a very small (about 14” in diameter) table, and a tiny, mirrored “desk” at the foot of the bed. In addition, two upholstered chairs had been placed in the room. They were large enough that they did not fit under the desk. Therefore, it was rendered virtually useless. All the drawers in the room (desk and nightstands) were far too small to be of much use (about 6” wide and 12” deep). I thought of our friend, Bernie, who likes to unpack as soon as she arrives. Not really possible here.

While the bedroom was tiny, the bathroom was enormous. Marble covered the floors and walls. The shower was huge.

Unfortunately, the shower had a rain showerhead (which I loathe). It is impossible to control the spray, and I don’t like the water coming down straight onto my head. However, instead of miniature containers of shampoo, conditioner, and bath gel, large bottles were provided for our use. (I was reminded of the gym at the Entente in Japan. Their showers contained dispensers of the same items.)

There was a small bar of soap on the counter next to the sink.

After our brief repast, we retired to our room for a much-needed nap.

After the nap, we continued to rest in our room. We had done a lot of walking at the airport and had been up for over twenty hours, so we were pretty tired. We made coffee and tea in our room and ate protein bars for dinner before going to bed for the night.