Things That Go Bump...

Well, our plane into JFK. One of the roughest landings I've ever had. Both Boston and New York had delays because of high winds so we were late leaving CVG. The flight was bumpy all the way and of course, it was a small airplane. We were both a little nervous as we circled around and around JFK but we finally landed or rather, slammed down. The second flight was better--few screeching children and once we got out of the wind on takeoff, it was smooth sailing. Still, there was little sleeping and the flight is less than 7 hous so there wasn't enough time to sleep anyway. From Heathrow, we took a bus to Victoria Station because we didn't want to handle luggage on the Underground. We could have walked to the apartment but again, there was the luggage issue and we were tired, so we took a cab. It cost 4 pounds to go a few blocks but luckily, we don't know how much that is in "real money."

A Polish girl met us at the apartment. It's very cute;  bigger than I expected. It has one of those washer/dryer combinations that I hate but luckily, there's an instruction booklet in English so I'm hoping there won't be a repeat of the Paris experience where I once washed and dried a load of clothes for 6 or 7 hours.

After naptime, we decided to go to Sloane Square just because it's close and we wanted to practice using our Underground Oyster card. The thrill of traveling on the Underground was short-lived; subway systems are subway systems. There's lots of walking and lots of people, most of whom were annoyed because I was unclear on how to use the Oyster card.

We walked around Sloane Square and went into Holy Trinity Church which was built in 1888-90 by an architect named Sedding of the Arts & Crafts architectural movement. It really is beautiful and they have a large carfts area where they are currently selling all things Christmas. The architect now has a nearby street named after him.

The Altar at Holy Trinity Church

Back window of Holy Trinity

 After looking at all the fancy-dancy shops on the Square, we walked back to our apartment. As we walked around, I had a flashback to 1969 when I first came to London and was almost hit by a car in the first five minutes because I didn't know which way to look for traffic. Now, on every corner, written on the streets, is "look right" or "look left." Where there are no pedestrian lights, cars will stop for you, but it's wise to know which direction they're coming from.

We saw dogs on display in several shops and also a dirty, wet dog getting on a bus.  Here is our favorite doggie in the window
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A doggie not for sell

We saw a lot of cute kids in uniforms on our walk--even the little girls wear neckties.
Close by the apartment, there is an athletic field--the boys were playing soccer and the girls, netball. Netball looks like basketball although there seemed to be 15 girls on each team.

We had dinner at a nearby pub--I had the fish and chips; Lola had sausages and mash. Very good. On the way back, I was almost hit by a car, crossing the street to get our chocolate fix. I am hoping to eventually learn how to cross a street safely in London.