London with Ladyfriend

My last trip of the UK brought the much anticipated trip with my Ladyfriend.  She tried to come with me on a layover to  London last summer and we got as far as the runway before the plane had a mechanical and we eventually cancelled.  Other than that, her only experience as a non-rev was a trip to Kansas.

The loads looked good for this trip and so we thought we would try again.  We went to the airport a bit early and got her checked in and we thrilled that she ended up in First Class.  I was working the flight as the aisle Flight Attendant in that cabin, so I would get to wine and dine her.

Kirsten had a fantastic experience in First Class, I am guessing because she had such a fantastic crew (that would be me).  She enjoyed a fine selection of spirits and a wide array of movies in her fully flat seat.  I think she is spoiled for all future travel if she has to go in coach.  We arrived into the UK early and everything was going great when there was a glitch with the jetbridge.  They could not get it to connect to the airplane, so we ended up deplaning thru a rampstand at the back door.  Kirsten was worried about getting thru customs in time to meet up with our crew bus and now she was the last one off the plane!

When we go to the pick up point, she was not yet there, but came along a few minutes later.  Our ride into the city was quick and we did not have to wait too long for the rooms to be ready. We made a quick trip to Sainsbury for provisions and then grabbed a power nap.

We left the hotel around 2pm or so and made our way first to Leicester Square to one of the many Half Price ticket sellers.  We wanted to see Billy Elliot, and were lucky to grab two seats on the main floor for the bargain price of 90 pounds! (The theatre isn't cheap in London that's for sure).

After that we made our way to Trafalgar Square and made a quick visit to the National Portrait Gallery to pay our respects to Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I.  

We then hit the Mall (the main road to Buckingham Palace, not a shopping center) and made our way down to see where the Queen lives.

As we passed the statue of King George and Queen Elizabeth, Kirsten snapped this photo, stating on her Facebook page that it was new line of succession.  I guess I am next!

We left Buckingham Palace and made our way to St. James' Park.  It was a beautiful day.  We really lucked out because the days before and after our trip were rainy and dreary.  St. James' park is laid out with a large pond that extended from one end to the other.  Kirsten was rather taken with the array of fowl and so she took lots of pictures of ducks and swans.  She tried to get them to pose but they did not cooperate all that much.

With the London Eye in the background, Kirsten said I looked like I was wearing a halo.  I am angelic!

We ended up walking past some government buildings and the Cabinet War Rooms.  We were under the gun with limited time, otherwise we would have stopped and toured.  As we passed a UK icon, the red phone booth, we stopped for the obligatory picture.  I wonder if this famous symbol will eventually go the way of the public telephone booths in the United States, what with the advent of mobiles and all.

As we made our way around Parliament and Big Ben and Westminster, we approached the London Eye on the other side of the Thames.  We were hoping to make a 5pm Evensong service at St. Paul's Cathedral, so we hopped on the Tube and made our way north a few stops.

We got to the Cathedral with about 30 minutes to spare, so we ran into Yo! Sushi (see previous blog entry) for a quick meal.  I had a beer too.

After gobbling down some sushi we paid our bill and made our way over to St. Paul's for services.  We were very fortunate when we arrived that we were invited to sit in the quire, the part of the chancel between the nave and the sanctuary.  This was kind of a big deal and even a first for me after my many visits to St. Paul's.  I was glad that we had this opportunity since this was Kirsten's first time to the church.  We sat adjacent to the Men's Choir (the Boy's Choir was off that night).  We are not allowed to take pictures inside, so you will have to go to Wikipedia or something other site to get an idea of what I am talking about.

After a wonderful service, we hopped back on the Tube and made our way to Victoria Station. It was rush hour for commuters so it was a bit cramped but I managed not to lose Kirsten.

Billy Elliot was being performed at the Victoria Palace Theatre, adjacent to Victoria Station.  We stopped at the Pret-A-Manger for some sweets and tea and then made our way over to the theatre.  The musical is based on the movie of the same name that came out about 11 years ago.  The premise is about a boy in County Durham in the North who wants to be a ballet dancer.  The backdrop is the Miners' strike of the mid 1980's. It was very much a pro-labor musical in theme, much more so than the movie.  The music was good, but the real gem was the fantastic dancing.  The little boy playing Billy was making his debut and he did an outstanding job.

We made it back to the hotel a little bit before midnight.  We were concerned that Kirsten might not make it thru check-in and security if she were to ride with us, so Kirsten decided to take the tube out to the airport a bit early.  Our hotel sits on the same line that runs to Heathrow so she used my Oyster card and made it there with plenty of time to spare.  Unfortunately, the premium cabins, both business and first, were booked full, but coach was wide open and she was given an aisle seat with the two adjacent to her unoccupied so it wasn't that bad, but not as good as her experience over.

For being a 24 hour layover, we accomplished a lot and really enjoyed ourselves.