After weeks of preparation and a full day of packing, we left for London today!
Following a cab ride to the airport, we took the short flight from RDU to Charlotte (about 15 minutes in the air) to catch our *much* longer flight to London-Gatwick.
The flight to Charlotte was a little bumpy (and delayed), due to the remnants of Hurricane Katrina that were in the area, and the fact that it’s impossible to get above the storms at the low altitude allowed for a short flight.
Once in Charlotte, we made ourselves comfortable in the international terminal and had a couple of bagel sandwiches (scrumptious!) while awaiting the departure of our Airbus A330 to London. This flight, too, was delayed because of weather.
Once on board, we settled in for our 7.5 hour flight across the Atlantic. The lack of sufficient leg room and luggage storage was quite surprising, considering the overall size of the aircraft. Luckily, there was a vacancy in the center overhead compartment (across from our seats) for most of our luggage, and we were able to *cram* our tote bags under the seats (just barely). What else could possibly go wrong? Well, nothing major, but the video on demand system required a *30 minute* reboot during the flight…huh?
Our “dinner” consisted of typical airline food (soggy pasta and mystery meat were the delicacies of the day!)? Once our meal was served, we tried to get some sleep for the remainder of the trip, but the crying children a couple of rows behind us made that dream increasingly difficult!
Around 9 AM GMT (4 AM EST), we descended for our final approach to Gatwick. The weather was unusually clear for a London morning! Once on the ground, we went through customs and then to caught the Gatwick Express train to London’s Victoria Station (30 minutes). We decided to also buy a one day London Underground (“Tube”) Travelcard for to avoid making an extra stop for tickets at Victoria (we were very s-l-e-e-p-y!).
Upon arriving at Victoria, we took the Tube to Bond Street Station, near to our first night’s hotel (the London Marriott Grosvenor Square). I arranged almost all of our hotels through Priceline, which saved us well over $1000! Go me….getting deals is one thing that I’m known for. The Marriott was very nice, despite construction in the lobby, and the room was much larger than either of us expected. The front desk attendant allowed us to check in early, which was greatly appreciated since it allowed us the ability to shower before heading out for the afternoon. We decided in advance that we would resist the temptation to sleep in order to become acclimated to the new time schedule. Instead, we embarked on a double-decker bus tour from the Original London Bus Company. This provided a high-level overview of key London attractions and was very low-key for our tired selves. We first exited the bus at Westminster Abbey, where we followed Rick Steves’ tour from his self-named guidebook that we brought along. The Abbey was not at all crowded, which allowed us ample time to take in its breathtaking architecture and historical icons. From the Abbey, we once again boarded a similar bus and circled the city, stopping at Leicester Square for a bite to eat at an Italian Restaurant. This provided a good vantage for people-watching in this active part of the city. After dinner, we concluded the day with an evening cruise on the River Thames, which gave us a new perspective on the city and allowed us to wind down before our next busy day.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Katrina, Spare New Orleans!
I couldn't believe the following NWS advisory that I read for New Orleans today (I've never seen anything like it before).
Let's hope that NOLA is spared and that the following doesn't come true!
New Orleans is a great place...good luck to everyone there in getting through this difficult time.
WWUS74 KLIX 282139
NPWLIX
URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
413 PM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005
...EXTREMELY DANGEROUS HURRICANE KATRINA CONTINUES TO APPROACH THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER DELTA...
...DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED...
MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT
LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL
FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY
DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.
THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL.
PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD
FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE
BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME
WALL AND ROOF FAILURE.
HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A
FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT.
AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH
AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY
VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE
ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE
WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.
POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN
AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING
INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY
THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW
CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE
KILLED.
AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WATCH IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS NEAR
HURRICANE FORCE...OR FREQUENT GUSTS AT OR ABOVE HURRICANE FORCE...ARE
POSSIBLE WITHIN THE NEXT 24 TO 36 HOURS.
Let's hope that NOLA is spared and that the following doesn't come true!
New Orleans is a great place...good luck to everyone there in getting through this difficult time.
WWUS74 KLIX 282139
NPWLIX
URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
413 PM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005
...EXTREMELY DANGEROUS HURRICANE KATRINA CONTINUES TO APPROACH THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER DELTA...
...DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED...
MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT
LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL
FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY
DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.
THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL.
PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD
FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE
BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME
WALL AND ROOF FAILURE.
HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A
FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT.
AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH
AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY
VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE
ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE
WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.
POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN
AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING
INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY
THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW
CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE
KILLED.
AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WATCH IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS NEAR
HURRICANE FORCE...OR FREQUENT GUSTS AT OR ABOVE HURRICANE FORCE...ARE
POSSIBLE WITHIN THE NEXT 24 TO 36 HOURS.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Pet Peeve - ATM Users
Ok, I have a new pet peeve...people that act like the ATM is their *personal* device!
There are two main groupings of such creatures:
1.> People who have multiple transactions (i.e. more than 3) and take an eternity to perform just one. They may even remove their card between transactions, tie their shoes, stretch, eat a cheeseburger, etc. (you get the idea).
2.> People that drive ahead of a drive-thru ATM, *park* and then proceed to get out of their vehicles and walk up to the ATM (in front of a line of cars). These people may also fall into category 1 above.
I have no use for either of these types of people and they are seriously rude to others in their actions. It seems that lately, I have had the lucky (unlucky?) timing of running into them at least 75% of the time.
There are two main groupings of such creatures:
1.> People who have multiple transactions (i.e. more than 3) and take an eternity to perform just one. They may even remove their card between transactions, tie their shoes, stretch, eat a cheeseburger, etc. (you get the idea).
2.> People that drive ahead of a drive-thru ATM, *park* and then proceed to get out of their vehicles and walk up to the ATM (in front of a line of cars). These people may also fall into category 1 above.
I have no use for either of these types of people and they are seriously rude to others in their actions. It seems that lately, I have had the lucky (unlucky?) timing of running into them at least 75% of the time.
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Gas Prices Surpass $3
I read a story about this yesterday in USA Today. Gas prices have "comfortably" surpassed $3 in LA.
I'm guessing that it won't be long until $3/gallon gas spreads across the country. (It's already $2.59 in NC). Time to order the Prius...or better yet, a Honda motorcycle?
I'm guessing that it won't be long until $3/gallon gas spreads across the country. (It's already $2.59 in NC). Time to order the Prius...or better yet, a Honda motorcycle?
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