London 2000 1

London, East Anglia & Paris

July 16 through July 26, 2000
Adventures of Bill, Linda and Betsy Ross

Day 1, Getting there is half the work. (below)
Day 2, Getting there, part 2; and diving into London--buses and St. Paul's.
Day 3, An American (and 5 friends) in Paris
Day 4, The Conference, the Gospels, and the Thames Excursion
Day 5, Fire, Conquerers, Towers and Beefeaters
Day 6, Kensington, Harrods, Hyde Park
Day 7, Norwich, East Dereham, a moated castle, and fine hospitality
Day 8, Windmills, Queens, and the Norfolk Headlands
Day 9, London, revisited, again, and another Palace
Day 10, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Big Ben time, and Mean Time at Greenwich
Day 11, An expensive taxi, a talkative driver, and homeward bound

Return to Ross Home Library.


Day 1, Sunday, July 16, 2000

Getting there is half the work.

Arose at 5:00 am to finish packing, have coffee, and to be sure my papers (passport, tickets, currency, etc.) were in order and in easy, but secure reach. At 8:00 I put Victor the Cat in the car, much against his will, and chaffeured him to the Animal Hospital for boarding. Luckily, I knew to wear old clothes for this chore, and was able to shed the cat hairs along with the outfit. Dressed and waited for Bill and Linda to arrive. Took advantage of the rest period to continue reading maps and literature on London. Later, I regretted not reviewing Paris, too.

I managed to hone my luggage down to one small suitcase and a tote bag (on wheels), but had to carry a sweater and raincoat on my arm. This turned out to be a chore, but worth the effort, as I wore them often in the cooler climates of East Anglia. At 9:30 am, Bill and Linda arrived from Edenton, and loaded me into the car. After a brief brunch stop in Wilson, we continued to the Raleigh-Durham airport, and arrived at about noon--plenty of time to find parking lots and terminals. A good thing, too, we allowed extra time, because the parking lot we had targeted (number 3) was closed for renovation; it took that time to locate number 4. After a miss or two, we found a space near the shuttle pick-up station. The wait for the shuttle was short--a good thing for me as it was stuck in the middle of a very sunny open space! Already, I was made aware of the problems I would encounter with my sun allergies.

Luck continued on our side, as we got through the ticket line at the American Airlines booths just ahead of an unexpected hoard of passengers who had been cancelled from another flight! We passed the impossibly long line as we headed toward the International Gate lounge, and were glad for the time to sit there and chat. Mona and T. J., friends of Bill and Linda from their days in Raleigh, came to see us off. Finally (a bit late due to the hoard of late arrivals), we boarded the 767. I had a window seat, but we traded it around over the course of the 7 hour flight--so each of us was able to look down on the unbroken cloud cover. The night was quick and short, as we were traveling east into the sun. So much for a good night's sleep! None of us got a wink. The in-flight food was good, much to my surprise.

When we stepped off the plane, it was the next day already.

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Copyright © 2000 Elizabeth Ross.
The writer has made no attempt to use formal grammar, and the stream-of-consciousness style is no doubt replete with errors. It was a real trip, in every sense of the word, and the reader must forgive the run-on sentences, misplaced modifiers, and simple page layout!

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