London (and Detroit)

July 9, 4pm EST – Detroit

And it's a good thing too, because Mel was getting really grumpy and going on tirades about piddly little islands and their tiny toilets and miniscule showers.

I think she was set off by the sight of our hotel room in London. Our room where only one of us could stand up at a time. Mel could literally touch both walls at the narrowest part, and linked together we could span the widest part with a foot or more to spare.

The good news is that we could check in when we got there at 1pm… stayed long enough to dump our stuff and then headed off to the National Gallery. Saw all my favorites – Lady Jane Gray, Monets, Renoirs, and enough Madonnas and Children to last me a whole year or more. We walked to Leicester Square for Trusty Ol' Mr. Wu's. Cheap, mainly because it's onions in yellow sauce (with chicken), Onions in brown sauce (with beef), and sweet and sour pork drizzled with a tiny amount of sauce… but with a huge vat of it right next it.

Decided to skip the shows, considering the wake-up call was for 4:30am, and went to see Kung Fu Panda. Discovered strange Britishism. The movie was on the board as starting at 6:40. We were there early about 6:10ish. Then realized that seating didn't open until 6:30. Trailers started at 7 and the movie didn't start until 7:15. What the heck was that about? Movie was cute, and then back to hotel for shower, repack and sleep. Who am I kidding? Mel did the repack while I used the shower which literally had 8 inches of dressing space. I cringed when Mel told me she wandered through the public hallway naked so she could dress in the bathroom. Gah!

So this morning we headed down to the lobby and the desk clerk told us it would be just about the same to take a cab to the airport as it would be to get a cab to Paddington and then take the Heathrow Express. Yeah! No lugging suitcase down into the tube!

Heathrow security made Lax look like a slacker. We went through the first security terminal, and then once through the gate, we were searched again AND sniffed by a cute dog.

You could hear the sigh of relief when we landed in Detroit. Finally back in the land of paper towels and free refills. Passport control went much more swiftly than Heathrow. He asked me what I'd been doing, and I said "same as the girl before me. Went to a wedding."

"Congratulations!" he replies. Funny Man. The customs guy wasn't so funny. He looked bored out of his skull. He apparently pestered Mel, but left me alone. We dragged our luggage off to be rechecked and then had to go through security again. I saw a booth that I think is one of those see through your clothes deals. Mel and I thankfully didn't get hassled.

So we've got 10 or some minutes before boarding… if we're running on time… which the previous 3 Philly flights have not.

Post Script: We boarded about 15 minutes late, then taxied out to de-icing area where we sat for an hour waiting for the weather in Philly to clear. Yeah.