As I've mentioned before, this would be my first trip overseas and I would experience a lot of unknowns. But first, I feel that I should mention that this trip is being taken as Mario for convenience, as I'm not sure of how foreign governments (especially the UK) will deal with a visitor presenting ID for one gender while presenting as the other.
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RQS and I had a 7:15 pm flight to London, and everything went smoothly with our luggage. However, I did have a problem when going through the TSA scan process - the machine was producing a false positive in my groin area. The agent wanted to go through his whole spiel that if I had any contraband that I could be subject to the law, while I simply wanted to give him permission to do what he needs to do. Something that should have been quick and easy had me telling RQS to watch my bags while the fellow did his thing. This could have escalated into something bad had not a cooler head prevailed. But I digress.
We now had 2 1/2 hours to kill at the airport, and we had a hard time finding both something good to eat and somewhere we could sit down to eat our meal. There were 100 people in line around the Mickey D's we passed, and we ended up walking halfway to another terminal where we could eat gyros and falafel. This killed some time, and we walked back to the gate where we'd board our plane. And this is where RQS's cane became a great advantage for us.
Last year, RQS's leg was injured by someone falling onto her leg on the debarkation day for our Bermuda cruise. She occasionally carries that cane for support. The cane often becomes an asset in airports, as she is considered handicapped and in need of assistance. So, we were able to skip ahead of the line and get on the plane without hassles, with me having no problems finding cabin space for our carry-on luggage. After 6 1/2 hours on the plane, the cane again became an asset, as we were escorted to the head of the customs and immigration lines and out of the controlled area of the airport before 8:00 am.
Neither of us knew where we were going, but we knew that someone from Princess Cruises would be waiting for us, so that we could be driven to our hotel. Another couple joined us in the van that took us to the hotel, but I wish we could have driven off without them. No, it's not because they were unpleasant. Instead, it was because of how I ended up being seated - facing backwards. It took 2 hours to reach the hotel, and in a warm car driving a long twisting streets it could have ended up being a disaster. I was getting nauseous, and I was glad to get out of the van and into the air conditioned comfort of my hotel.
Sadly, we arrived around 10:00 am, and they couldn't tell us that rooms might be available earlier than the official check-in time of 3:00 pm. So RQS and I retreated to some chairs in the lobby and rested for several hours until we could check in to the hotel. Once in our rooms, we passed out until 6:00 pm.
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My niece had arranged to meet us for dinner, and we walked over to a nearby restaurant for Fish and Chips. If there's one thing that the British can do well, it's Fish and Chips. Yum! We even had a chance to eat some Mushy Peas. (They may not be my cup of tea, but they were pleasant enough that I finished the portion.) All too soon, we had to go to the hotel. We now knew where the Tower of London was, and we made plans to see it the next day. If things worked out with my niece, she'd meet us afterward. If not, we have ways to spend our time on our last day in this city. (And yes, it's a city where one should spend an entire week there to do a visit justice and to have one wanting more.)
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