United Kingdom – Day 4 (London) [Back Post]

August 28th : London, United Kingdom

In Transit – We started the day at the SuiteHotel in Montreuil (to which we finally bid adieu) and set out early via the Metro to Paris’ Gare du Nord station, with our large suitcases in tow. 

In due course we arrived at the station without incident at 9 am to check in and eventually to board the EuroStar for the two hour (or more?) journey to London via the Channel Tunnel (or “chunnel” as it seems to be commonly referred to).  The station was very, very large and we only had about a 45 minute wait before we were ready to board.

For this final leg of our journey we had (previously) decided to travel first class, the tickets having been purchased well in advance (before we left for Europe).  It was well worth it for the extra leg room and the onboard meal.  We rocketed past the French scenery heading north towards the United Kingdom.

We passed farms and small villages and an abundance of agricultural land before entering into the darkness of the tunnel.  It was a smooth ride with no hassles and before we knew it we had arrived back in the UK.  Leaving the train we made the somewhat awkward transition to the Underground platform and waited for a tube connection to Paddington station.

At Paddington, we heard a mighty roar as the heavens opened and the rain commenced.  At first we thought it was the sound of the trains, but were practically agog when we saw the volume of the downpour. 

The photo hardly captures the scene, but did give us fair warning that the day was going to be far from dry.

Finally boarding the Heathrow Express we made our way to the airport to transit to the hotel we were staying at for our final night in Europe. 

The Arora Heathrow is located a short distance (not walking, unfortunately) from Terminal 3 and – although we were under a different opinion – did not offer a shuttle service.  Nor was it serviced by a hotel hopping shuttle service.  In desperation, we jumped into a Cab and finally arrived at about 1:30 pm.

We took a bus back to Heathrow and used return tickets on the Express to return to Paddington.  The express is quite fast (approximately fifteen minutes) but very expensive.  For more than two people a cab would be far, far cheaper.  I decided to leave my camera at the hotel (having had enough for one trip) although we used Toni’s camera for the balance of the day.

After arriving back in town we went to the Knightsbridge station and spent a few hours in Harrod’s which is one of London’s most famous (and perhaps overhyped) department stores.  Expensive or no, it is an institution unlike any other I’ve ever seen in the Asia/Pacific, North American or European regions.

We marvelled at the international food hall which put David Jones (in Sydney) to shame.  We ate in the seafood section amidst our little shopping spree.  The store has a number of floors and we started from the top down. 

The antiques section was a real experience as were the prices.  The highlight was without a doubt the one million pound billiard table which was built for one of England’s Queens (memory fails me as to which one).

Eventually we found the tax free department and reconciled our receipts.  After this, we left Harrod’s and started browsing shop windows along both sides near the Underground (Brompton road). 

As we neared 5:30 pm we started walking south west and eventually had to take cover as an other unexpected bout of rain came crashing down on everyone.

Between the massive gusts of wind and the rain, we were almost ready to call it a holiday and tuck tails to head for Heathrow.  Then I remembered that, being a Friday, the museums were open late. 

We continued south and walked into the Victoria and Albert Museum (or V & A for short).  It was open until 9:30pm and for the low cost of one pound we were able to stow our shopping gains and go for a wander.

Another massive museum set in a grand building.  What a perfect way to finish the trip!  The museum has a brilliant array of metal work as well as sculptures and ancient stone work which perhaps rivals the British museum to some extent. 

Despite the late opening hours, many of the rooms were shut, but enough was left for us to spend several hours wandering the halls.  The highlight from this evening’s exploration was perhaps the massive Roman column lifted from Rome which towered over three stories tall.

By 8:30 pm we had decided to try and find dinner.  We left the V & A into another downpour, but found a place relatively close to the South Kensington underground station for a quick dinner.  Around 9:30 pm we travelled back to Paddington and caught the Express back to Heathrow. 

The Express took over half an hour due to flooding (were asked to inspect the track by the controller/signaller) although we were quite happy to be on our way.

A taxi ride to the hotel and we readied ourselves for the final journey.  A repack (sweating the bag weights) followed by an uncertain, restless night’s sleep and we were back at Heathrow the next morning.

We had no trouble checking our bags and submitting our tax free slips before passing security and waiting for our flight to depart. 

The flights back were uneventful, although neither of us ate much of the airline food.  The stop over in Bangkok provided yet another opportunity for duty free shopping before we boarded our 10 hour flight from Bangkok to Brisbane via Sydney.

Thus endeth the holiday. 

We were met by our friend Derek at the airport and we had a very decent night’s sleep met with a lot of unpacking.  The house was in fine order.  Now we must look forward to the next adventure!