Thursday, February 22, 1996
Slept most of the way from Sacramento to Dallas/Ft. Worth. Arrived in Dallas, and much to my dismay discover that I arrived in at gate 41 and that Mom arrives at 3pm from Phoenix at gate 29A, and our flight to London leaves around 5ish at Gate 15. So looks like we will be doing an Michael Johnson-esque sprint through the airport. Decide to kill time thinking of excuses as to why I didn’t purchase a garment bag. Eventually meet up with Mom, and with little fanfare we embark on our plane trip to London-Gatwick Airport.
Friday February 23, 1996
9am London time we pull into Gatwick airport. Not a real comfortable night sleep, but OK. Passed through customs with a wink and a smile and meet up with our traveling partners Gary and Wesley. After much wandering and ambling about, we end up on a platform (kinda chilly) and get on the Gatwick Express bound for Victoria Station. After a nice train ride of about 30 minutes, we pull into Victoria Station. A little disorientated by all the new stuff to take in, but Wesley manages to pick up the ball and we end up with our Tube passes for the next 10 days.
From there, its a wild Mr. Toad-esque taxi ride to the Hotel (Note: Does anyone remember the name of this place? I do not have it written down – Editor: Royal Court Apartments). Our hotel is really more of a rental apartment. It looks and feels positively British, but comes with a mini kitchen, 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. After unpacking I realize that I left my travel alarm back in Davis (Doh!).
After some much needed downtime, we head out into London. Took the tube over to Oxford Street and looked at the shops. took the tube again to Knightsbridge and say Harvey Nichols (of AbFab Fame) and proceeded to wander about looking for the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. Finally found it and had the usual Hard Rock lunch. Not a very big Hard Rock, and always a line.
After lunch, we headed off to Harrod’s. Mom, Gary and Wesley went off to the basement to plan out our itinerary and I went in Search of a Loo. Without Leonard Nimoy’s help, it was quite difficult, but did manage to find one. Met up with the gang back in the Basement of Harrods. After much hullabaloo, we went back to the hotel to rest. About 6:45p we set out to find the Disney Store on Oxford Circus to buy our tickets to Disneyland Paris. Mission accomplished with no mishaps. Ventured over to Tower Records and managed to score a Jarre Video! Afterwards, we strolled around Piccadilly Circus and SoHo to Oxford Street. Back to the Hotel via tube for a well deserved sleep.
Before going off to sleep we get a good idea of what our schedule is…
