London......we have arrived!

What an interesting trip we had from Denver to London, England. We began our trip early on Monday, January 16th. We left our house at 7:00 am to head to DIA. Luckily the long term parking lots were all open which made getting to the main terminal quit easy. Things were going very smoothly in DIA until we were told our flight was delayed. We really were not worried though because being a more seasoned traveler I booked the flight through Canada with a three hour layover. Boy oh boy am I glad I did that. We arrived in Montreal with about 2 1/2 hours to spare. You are probably saying, "Well, that seems like a lot of time.", but you would be wrong. The custom check turned into a lot of wasted time due to misinformation. There was no one to tell us where exactly to go so we went where everyone else was going. We were in line for about 30 minutes. When we got up to the custom agent she asked us why we didn't skip the long line and go through the "connection" area. Well, there was no one there at all. Not one person (not even another traveler.) Once she got us going we found out that we had to go through security again because we didn't follow the right path. We really would have done what we were supposed to do if only we had known what that was the correct procedure. I say live and learn. It is amazing because we came in one end of the airport and then we left from the very last gate in the terminal. I should have know I wouldn't have time to shop. That is ok though. It was obviously not meant to be.
   I have to tell you a funny story about the lady and the child who sat behind us from Denver to Montreal. Her young son kicked the back of my seat the entire time. I mean REALLY kicked my seat. I felt like I had paid for a bucking bronco ride. It was not fun at all. I tried to be as patient as I could since I know it can be hard to travel alone with children. You would think that would be the worst of it....OH NO....not by a long shot. As soon as we landed and were able to use cell phones she called Todd. Mark and I can only guess that this poor Todd fellow was her husband. I am sure he is questioning that decision. She was talking as loud as she could about how she did not appreciate having to travel alone with her "baby". She also went on to discuss personal health conditions and treatments. She kept telling him how he was not helpful or understand. I could just picture this Todd getting smaller and smaller and smaller. Yeowzers! She told him how she was sooooo luck to have a "free" seat next to her for her son. She also called her mother to tell her how lucky she was and, of course, how she told Todd that he was not being helpful. It took everything in me not to yell out, "My seat was not free or inexpensive, and that I didn't pay all that money to have my seat kicked in by her son.". I just kept laughing and wondering what kind of saint she must be married to to put up with her. Hahaha...humor is always a good way to look at situations such as this one.
   I have to share something else that is very "different" about the way Air Canada boards their planes. They call over the speaker for the "elite and business class" to board the plane. I kid you not, every person except for Mark and myself were in line. There is no way that the whole plane is elite passengers. On the flight from Montreal to London we were in almost the last row of the plane. They announced they would be boarding from the back of the plane, which makes a lot of sense....BUT no...we were almost the last people on. Since I knew the plane wouldn't leave without us I just had to laugh that off. I love all of my Canadian friends, but what is up with that/


    We left Montreal at 7:45 PM and landed in London at about 7:30 AM. We were both tired but thankful to have made it to London safely. We headed down to customs and the line was very, very long. We heard the lady tell a passenger that it would be about an hour. I have to say that Mark and I did a great job with taking it in stride. We knew we didn't have to be any place at any particular time so we just people watched. It took us from 8:00 until 9:20 to get through customs. Once we made it through we were on our way. We found the taxi area and were ushered into an adorable taxi. I just love how they look. I will get a photo hopefully tomorrow. We hit a HUGE traffic jam because one of the overpasses is closed to all traffic since it is not structurally safe. From the airport to our hotel was 43 sterling pounds. Let's just say that is not a cheap taxi ride. We knew things would be expensive so were not too overwhelmed. 
    We were told we could not check into our hotel until 1:30, it was only 10:20 at this time. We left our bags with the hotel and headed out. We found a Starbucks nearby and had a nice hot drink and relaxed. After that we went in search of the hotel where the job fair will be held. It is a little walk, but on our own time it is doable. I do not know if I want to get cold and all frizz haired for the conference. I think the short taxi ride makes so much more sense. We then went off to explore the area around our hotel. We went into little mall area and looked around. Afterward we went and had lunch at a pub next to our hotel. Here is where we also learned something new. In a pub you do not have waiters that come to your table. Now, this would have been a very good thing to know ahead of time. We were sitting and sitting and sitting. I finally told Mark he needed togo see where we place our order. It was all worked out and we eventually got to have our first real meal since yesterday.
     We were able to check in after lunch at 1:30ish. Now we are upstairs in our room relaxing. Our bodies are a little off since we haven't really slept much since yesterday when we woke up at 5:00 am. Mark was just dozing, but those of you who know me know I am too "energetic" to be napping. I am hopping once I relax I will sleep soundly so Mark and I can get an early start on our day.
     Tomorrow we are taking the subway to Picadilly Circus and other areas of interest nearby. I will post more tomorrow from our explorations of the city.
   I am posting the shots from the airport by the gates we flew out of and the views from our little (and I do mean little) window. You will also see a picture of our "quaint" little room.


    Off to relax!