After an uneventful flight overnight from Dulles we landed at Heathrow under cloudy skies. Endless immigration lines and endless walking through the airport finally got us to the Heathrow Connect local train to Paddington Station where we rewarded by lunch at the Mad Bishop and Bear. Fish and chips, fish pie and a couple of English cask ales.
A very English experience, although the pub was actually run by Russians. We’ve known that London has become a magnet for immigration, but we really see how very diverse the city has become. Everywhere we went we could hear at least 3 different languages being spoken around us at any given time!
After pulling our suitcases through the streets of the City of Westminster we found our hotel just off of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. Without a doubt the smallest hotel room we’ve ever stayed in (and we’ve stayed in some small ones), it is clean and comfortable and will suffice as a place to lay our heads.
Forcing ourselves to stay awake and get on local time, we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the local pubs and sampling their ales. A brief stroll into Hyde Park and finally dinner at a fabulous Bengali restaurant. (Which we might have appreciated more if we weren’t in danger of falling asleep face down in our Lamb Naga Bhuna.)
The Joyful Surprise 