Africa: A London Stop-Over

London

So, we had this great idea that we could see a bit of London in our 12-hour layover. 

The plan was to check our carryon luggage at “Left Baggage” at Heathrow (it is outside security; costs 11 British Pounds for 2-24 hours per bag), take the Heathrow Express into London, get on a Hop-On Hop-Off bus and see a bit of the city before returning to Heathrow for our flight to Cape Town. 

Welcome!

I have done this before on a layover and it generally is a good plan. 

Caty, Becca and I also had access to the AA Admiral’s Club (mine through my Platinum status, Caty’s as my guest and Becca’s as a gift from her Citibank Card) and my AA status also gave me and a guest access to the British Airways Lounge. So, we planned to shower, as well.

We arrived on time, so everything was good to go. We checked the bags and took the train into London. So far, so good.

Alexis; Photo: Becca Stevens

It was Saturday, so the city was crowded and it was hot. Really hot for London. Actually, hot for anywhere. I was in all black. I was miserable. 

We had lunch at a pub near Paddington station. We were originally going to find a pub in central London along the bus route. But, we were hungry and we figured it would be easier to just eat first. Most of us had fish 'n chips with mushy peas. I mean, you're in London, so why not? As you can see for Alexis' plate, the portions were enormous. Had we known, we could have split a couple of plates. We certainly weren't going to take leftover fish to go on a hot day!

Then, we got on the hop-on hop-off bus. It was hot and the city was packed with people. 

Plus, there was a lot of road construction -- a crazy amount of road construction.

And, that’s where the plan started to fall apart.  We moved only a few stops in an hour. I started to calculate and became convinced that, at that rate, we would never get back to Heathrow in time for our flight.

On the bus; Photo: Becca Stevens

I will admit that this panicked me (I need a lot more buffer time than the average person). 

Kandice and Becca

I won’t belabor this, but eventually, we decided to scrap the bus. Everyone wanted to take the Thames boat trip (included in the bus price). Even though there were long lines for the boat, the attendant assured us that we could get on quickly and it would be a relatively fast trip. Logically, there was plenty of time, but I was just uncomfortable with it. 

And, did I mention I was hot?

I decided to go back to Heathrow to cool off. I was hoping I could get my bag out of Left Baggage and go back in to the Admiral’s Club for a shower. 

I headed for the Underground, figured out which trains to take and made it back to Heathrow. 

Unfortunately, we had checked all our bags on one ticket and I wasn’t allowed to get just mine (I had to wait for a large group pf green-shirted men just to ask). 

A long wait

So, I just got a cold drink and waited. After I texted the rest of the group and they realized how long it took me to get back, they returned after the boat trip.

Kristen, Alexis, Caty, Becca, Kandice

We got our bags, went through security and headed off for our showers. Oh, what a treat that is. Nothing is better than cleaning up and getting all fresh before another long flight. I do have a little bone to pick with the showers – the room gets very steamy, so you tend to get a little warm after the shower. AA’s hairdryers are not very good and my travel dryer would only plug in in the hall. But, we managed to clean up before the Admiral’s Club closed at 7:00 p.m. Then, we just moved over to the British Airways Lounge for some dinner before we headed back to the gate for our long flight (11 hours) to Cape Town.

So, London was bust, but since I’ve been there before, not a huge disappointment. 

London

And, the rest of the group reported that the boat trip was much better than the bus (I have taken that boat, as well).

I guess the worst thing about a trip to Africa is the amount of time it takes to get there. We left on Friday to arrive on Sunday. When you have limited vacation days, that is a pain. But, hey, it is 9,000 miles away (it would take 2 weeks to drive there if you could!). 

And, we survived, making us true Road Warriors!

Trip date: August 25-September 9, 2017