Trafalgar Square! I just have to pinch myself!

I woke up at 4:30am and it was light out! Managed to go back to sleep and was up at 6:30. I was at Trafalgar Square by 9 and had some muesli and yogurt at one of my favorite cafes - the Cafe in the Crypt beneath St. Martin's in the Fields church. It's not that the food is something really special, I just like the atmosphere. I will be going across the street to the National Gallery. Nearly all the museums are free.
I can't take pics in there though. Then I will go around the corner to the National Portrait Gallery.






Trafalgar Square was nearly empty when I got there and super busy when I left!


There's a guy picking garbage out of the fountain. That's the National Gallery. Loads of great paintings!


St. Martin-in-the-Fields church where the cafe is.





You can see just how massive the Nelson column is by looking at the size of the person!

Location:Trafalgar Square

Vancouver Studios

My room is pretty small but fine for just me. 79 pounds per night is about $115.00.
































There's a nice walled garden with a very friendly cat named Zeus.

Location:Ilchester Gardens,Paddington,United Kingdom

London! June 2

Landed at 11:00am Wed. Customs took about 20 min. And I decided to take the Heathrow Express instead of the tube. Took only 15 min. to Paddington but cost about 20 bucks. Tube would have cost about 7 bucks and takes about 50 min.
At Paddington, I bought an Oyster transport card for about 40 bucks. Unlimited tube or bus for a week. My stop is one over from Paddington but involved many stairs with my suitcase, blargh.
I got off at Bayswater and found my hotel without difficulty. Vancouver Studios on 30 Princes Sq. It's about a 5 min. Walk to the tube. It was really cool stepping out from the station and recognizing everything on the street from studying it on Google maps from home. I love it that you can see the street view. Checked in and was a bit dismayed I had to go up 50 stairs to my room! I normally wouldn't mind but difficult with a suitcase. No air cond. either. It wasn't bad after I cooled off. It must be in the mid to high 70s.
There's a pretty little garden courtyard too with a very friendly big orange cat. I walked to the Kensington Palace Orangerie for high tea. I love it! it's where I had tea last time.

Location:Several

My Flight

WooHoo! Premium Economy! Very close to Business Class. It's a first for me! There's plenty of leg room and the seats are wider than economy. Comfy leather, nice adjustable headrest, footrest, amenity kit with toothbrush, sox, eye shades, earplugs, complimentary bottle of water, priority boarding, tray table pops up from the armrest, dinner served on real china and silverware. The food wasn't any better than usual. It did help to order my dinner online before I left. It was brought out before they served everyone else. I was able to sleep about 4 hrs. which is great for me. Woke just in time for coffee and a croissant. We weren't allowed in the upstairs lounge area. Oh, well!

Location:Prince's Square,Paddington,United Kingdom

San Francisco

Finally got to SF at 1pm. Checked my bag at Virgin Atlantic and had a nice big salad with chicken at the Firewood Grill.
No line at security. I refused to pay the 7.99 fee to get WiFi here so I will publish this when I get to my hotel. Check out the stache on this guy!

Location:Airport

Delayed Again!

Blargh. I was in line, ready to board when we were told that SF flight control is delaying us another hour. Low clouds. Due to leave at 11:30. I will still have a 4 hr. wait when I get to SF.

Location:San Diego Airport

My Journey Begins!

Got to the airport 2 hrs. early. I have a 9:40 flight to San Fran. I'm sitting in a nice rocking chair with my overpriced soy mocha from Starbucks. $4.68 for a tall and they charge .55 extra for soy! Sheesh!
I'm typing this on my iPad and really liking it. I got the Blogpress app so I can publish right to the site. Free WiFi here too.
It's not as busy here as I thought - being the day after Memorial Day.
It does feel a bit strange already that I'm going on this trip alone. I've always wanted to do a solo trip to London though. Should be interesting!
I checked in and got to the gate to find my flight delayed by at least 45 min. so, I have nearly another 2 hrs. to wait. :(.

Location:Airport Terminal Rd,San Diego,United States