Buckingham Palace - The flag flying above is the Royal Standard, which means the Queen was there that day.
Just before the plane touched down, I happened to take a look at the airline's magazine. A short article in it described a new service from Heathrow, called Heathrow Express. It's a shuttle train that takes passengers from the airport to Paddington Station, which just happened to be near the hotel where I had reservations. Since getting into London from Heathrow has always been either inconvenient or expensive for me, I thought this sounded like a good thing to try.
At just before 10 a.m., London time, the torture ended with the plane's arrival at Heathrow. I quickly gathered my belongings and headed out through customs. I actually enjoy going through British customs. They seem intent on making the process as painless as possible. It's never been more than a few minutes of routine questions and a very pleasant body cavity search. O.K., there is no body cavity search. But, it is pretty easy to get through British customs.
After gathering my luggage, I went out into Heathrow Terminal 4's lobby. There were signs clearly marking the way to the Heathrow Express ticket counter. I bought a ticket and headed off to Paddington.
Heathrow Express is a great service if you are headed to the Paddington area. The trains leave four times an hour from a station inside of Terminal 4. There is also one station for Terminals 1, 2, and 3, however, I don't know where this station is located. The ride is 20 minutes from Terminal 4 and 15 minutes from Terminals 1, 2, and 3. Cost is £10 for standard class and £20 for first class. The cost is halved for seniors and children under 12. I'm not sure why anyone would want to pay £20 for a 20 minute ride. But, someone must pay it, otherwise they wouldn't offer it. The trains are brand new with TV monitors in each car offering information about Heathrow Express as well as BBC news. I believe that the video hostess on the service will become the next British transport institution, much like "mind the gap" has become for London tube users. There are plans to expand the service to St. Pancras station in 1999. If one's accommodations are near these stations, I'd highly recommend using them.
I got to Paddington right on schedule. After a quick taxi ride, I arrived at my hotel, the Garden Court Hotel in Bayswater. Lonely Planet describes Bayswater as a slightly seedy part of London, particularly west of Queensway. I didn't think it was any worse than Pimlico, however, it is a little lower on the scale than Bloomsbury. The Garden Court is very typical of the type of hotels that you'll find around Kensington Gardens Square. Most are converted Georgian homes that look out onto the square. They also have several stories which have to be negotiated by stairs. My room was on the third floor. It was quite a workout to get my suitcases up the stairs to my room. According to Let's Go London, the hotel is planning to put in a lift very soon. But, I didn't see any construction work going on while I was there.
My room cost £68 per night. It was considered a triple, although it had a double bed and a single bed. There was no bathroom in the room, but, it did have a TV, sink, and hair dryer. Breakfast was also included in the price.
Since it was relatively quick to get to the hotel (only an hour and a half from landing to hotel), I took a short nap and headed out into the city. Hyde Park is at the south end of Queensway, so, I went toward it. My first and only stop in the park was Kensington Palace. After a few pictures there, I went back toward the Bayswater tube stop and rode the tube to Westminster. It was time to visit my favorite tourist attraction in London, Westminster Abbey. I spent less time than I would've liked. But, the shortened visit did give me an opportunity to walk Whitehall. As I walked down Whitehall, I saw a small crowd gathered around the gates to Downing Street. Members of the crowd told me that Prime Minister Tony Blair had just pulled up in front of 10 Downing Street. I stood around for a little while; but, all I saw were chauffeurs and security guards. I then cut through the Horse Guards Parade on the way to the Mall and Buckingham Palace. The Queen was actually at the Palace that day. I went up to the gates hoping to get a glimpse of her, but she was safely hidden away in the Palace's bowels for another evening. After a couple of pictures there, I decided to try to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe. I walked across Green Park and arrived at the Hard Rock at about 8:30 p.m. The line to get into the place stretched for about half of a block. Since I didn't feel like queuing so early in my stay, I pulled out the Lonely Planet for some suggestions about places to eat around my hotel.
I ended up at Khan's. Khan's is an Indian restaurant about a half a mile
from the north of the Bayswater tube stop. The guide books describe it as
the one of the best Indian restaurants in London. They also describe it
as one of the most crowded. I can attest to both points. I got there at
9:30 p.m and had to wait for a half hour for a table (Maybe I should've
stayed at the Hard Rock). But, the food was worth the wait. I had the Chicken
Tikka which was superb. Most entrees are very reasonably priced (£2
to £4 per entree). The catch is that there is a £6 minimum order
per person. Fortunately, one entree with a side of rice and a side of nan
bread will easily get you to that minimum. Also, be aware that a 10% gratuity
is added to the bill. I have to hand it to the guide books - Khan's is as
good as it's advertised.
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