Thanks to a very strong tailwind we made it from DFW to London Heathrow in about 7.5 hours. Still a long flight but a little more than an hour shorter than it normally takes. Even getting in around 7:30 AM local time it was around 9:30 before we arrived bleary eyed at the Megaro Hotel. Our hotel is located in the St. Pancras/ Kings Cross area which is a couple of miles from "downtown". Thankfully the hotel is brightly painted and Beth spotted it as soon as we came out of the underground. Sometimes even with clear directions these hotels can be a challenge to find, especially after a sleep deprived night.
Our room wasn't ready so we grabbed a coffee and hot tea at the most convenient restaurant to the hotel which in this case was Burger King. We typically don't frequent the burger chains when we're in the US or when traveling but if we did there is Burger King, McDonalds and Five Guys within about a minute of the hotel. I really can't think of any large city we've been in anywhere around the world where you don't see the golden arches, additionally KFC's and Subway's are about as common as Baptist Churches in Texas.
Our room was ready around 10:45 and we did something that I can't honestly think we've ever done before. We came up and took about an hour and a half nap before heading out for our first adventure.
Retirement does those kind of things to you. We're not as pressed for time as we were when we would only have about two weeks.............it's a good thing.
We told the young lady at the front desk that we like roaming around neighborhoods and she put us on a really nice track.
This area is undergoing a significant transformation. Like many metropolitan areas in the US and around the world it's shifting from an industrial/warehouse area to a mixed use area. There's quite a bit of work being done and still to be done but what is completed is very impressive.
Our first destination was Camden Town which is another neighborhood/district which is about two miles from the hotel. As usual getting there was half the fun. The local lady we talked to suggested a route along the Regent Canal which turned out to be very interesting. There was a walkway along the canal the whole way and there were very long and narrow houseboats tied up to the bank most of the way (hence the blog title). In addition the canal had several locks that controlled the water level.
When we were thinking of words to describe Camden Town the first words that we thought of were "hip" and "eclectic". There were tons of markets and shops selling items you wouldn't find in major retail stores and street food vendors to suit any appetite. Hip and eclectic normally go with the younger generation for some reason and that was true here as well. We did take note that although there were some other old codgers walking around we were probably close to twice the average age. I guess we're hip and eclectic old folks.
From Camden Town we headed to Regent Park which is a large city park similar to Hyde Park or Kensington Gardens. As with all the London Parks we've visited previously it was very nice and very green from all the rain they get over here throughout the year. We were a little early for the roses in Queen Mary's Garden but there were some daffodils and crocuses in bloom that were nice to see.
It was starting to get near dark and we were pretty well whipped so we headed back to the hotel. Beth took a bath and after a few minutes of not hearing her splashing around I called out and she had fallen asleep in the tub. Sounded like a good plan to me so after she got out I fixed myself one and promptly fell asleep as well. We were too tired to head back out for something to eat so I went to the McDonalds and pick up a burger for me and a shake for Beth.
We were both thankful for the Mickey D's when we needed it!
A nap upon arrival, falling asleep in the bathtub and chomping on a Big Mac all in one day!
