Since the luggage, the 7 year old and legs that were still protesting the 9 plus hour flight, the choice between shuttle and London Underground both lost out to the traditional black London cab. My daughter practically bounced her way down the taxi path at Heathrow to climb into the vehicle.
Etiquette and Protocol
One of the true joys of traveling with children is the unbiased, blatant honesty that they bestow upon every situation. The cab driver opened up the back door for the midget and she jumped inside. Two seconds later her head pops out and in a bright, cheerful voice she announced: “Mommy, the steering wheel is on the WRONG side of the car. How cool is that?”
We’d told her things in London would be quite a bit different from what she previously experienced, but telling is not doing and this was something the daughter was rapidly becoming aware of. We gave our driver the address of the hotel and he promised a comfortable trip.
Perks of London Taxi Cabs: The space inside can’t be beat for plane travel weary legs. You can stretch your legs out easily, even with the daughter sitting across from you on a flip down seat. Another great feature, all London Taxi Cabs are equipped with safety belts so you don’t have to worry about being thrown around as the Taxi whips in and out of traffic at a speed that would typically give me grey hair.
Drawbacks of London Taxi Cabs: Traveling via taxicab is never a cheap prospect and comparably, the only cheaper form of travel from the airport to London proper would be the Underground. There are some direct, fast rail routes that bring you in – but carrying a lot of luggage and a tired, cranky 7 year old into the Underground is probably not a good plan. The ride from Heathrow to Hammersmith where the hotel is located took about 20 minutes and cost 44 pounds. Considering the currency exchange, that 20-minute ride cost nearly 90 dollars, U.S. Ouch.
The Hotel
The hotel is an economy, moderate choice where we booked a triple. It’s located in Hammersmith, right on the edge of Kensington. The location is ideal as my mother grew up a block or so from Holland Park and the hotel is about a ten-minute walk from the park.
We checked in relatively easy, but after 8 years away, I’d forgotten how small the doorways were in traditional British hotels, particularly those older than 60 or 70 years. This hotel is even better than that, because it was once 3 houses that have been fused into one large building featuring about 30 rooms, including 2 larger suites. The other thing I forgot – the size of the rooms. For Americans, the traditional English hotel room is likely smaller than an efficiency apartment and scarily enough, I think my daughter’s bedroom at home is only fractionally smaller than this hotel room.
That said, the beds were comfortable, the windows open to a quiet street where you can hear children laughing and playing on the grounds of a local primary school. There are some very nice fixtures in the bathroom and the tub is wonderfully deep and long. The space is used very well considering it houses a double bed and a twin to accommodate the three of us.
My daughter’s only comment on the accommodations?
Cool, they have beds!
Kids really can sum things up in a swift and tidy package.
The Perfect Cup of Tea
Within an hour of getting to the hotel, we unpacked our bags, changed our clothes and threw some water on our faces. We put on our walking shoes and headed out for Kensington High Street where we strolled out the cramps, swollen feet and nervous energy.
Despite her high level of energy first getting off the plane, that arrival euphoria waned rather quickly on the daughter and soon we found this lovely little restaurant tucked into the shops along Kensington High Street, just a block or so from Holland Park. Scoffa’s Italian Trattoria offered up traditional British fair (yes, I know, but when In London, despite the name …. )
We settled in and ordered up some plates of eggs, sausage, toast and chips. Well, my daughter ordered all that up. I ordered a cup of tea. When the platter of food arrived, my daughter’s eyes goggled. Her one order provided more than enough food for the three of us, but of course we let her dive in first.
As she reached for one of the chips, she asked why she’d been given French Fries and we had to explain to her that chips and fries were the same thing in England. Her response to that had the three closest tables to us laughing.
That’s just wiggety, jiggety, whacked.
Maybe so, but I found that perfect cup of tea and while my daughter is still protesting that fries are not chips and drivers are still running along the wrong side of the road, she’s enjoying every moment of it. We retired to the hotel by 5:30 p.m. local time, about 11:30 at home and passed out. This led to a night of broken sleep as we woke up around 8 p.m. local time and went to a corner chip shop for some fish and chips (unfortunately all they had was chicken and chips) and then back to the hotel for a little more sleep.
What hurt was the 1 a.m. wake up the kiddo suffered as jet lag and time change worked wonders on her. We got her back to sleep by 4 am. All this and we’re not even on our first full day in London!
Come back tomorrow to share the journey to the Science Museum, the Museum of Natural History, Portobello Road, Notting Hill Gate, Trafalgar Square and those elusive, yet ultimately wonderful fish and chips.
What’s to come next: A visit to the family grave plot in Hadleigh where five generations of the family are interred, the Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood, the London Zoo, Kensington Gardens and the Diana Memorial as well as the Big Bus Tour of London’s key tourist sites on an open aired double decker and so much more. From this side of the pond to home, stay safe and talk to you soon.