LONDON

For the past two nights we have been staying at the London Heathrow Sofitel Hotel.  The Hotel is quite nice and modern and one of the nicest airport hotels we have ever stayed at.  We booked a nice size room for Eric and Kara and one for ourselves which also provided access to a Club Room and some additional amenities.  The rooms are soundproof so we do not hear any noise from outside the hotel.

Before dinner, we went to the club room to enjoy canapés, drinks and nice conversation.

We had dinner with Eric and Kara at one of two restaurants at the Hotel.  This one featured an open kitchen so that guests can see the chefs cook.  In the morning the open kitchen serves as a buffet for breakfast.  These are photos from this morning of the open kitchen.

We slept well the first evening.  The bed was very comfortable and you  could not hear any noise from either inside the hotel or from the outside.  Our room featured a separate bedroom and a separate living room so when Keith woke up first he did not disturb Anne Marie.  

We met Eric and Kara for an early breakfast yesterday morning since they had a 9:30 AM flight back to the United States to catch.  When we arrived on our British Airways flight yesterday afternoon we could just walk from the airport to the Hotel.  To get to their  since it left out of a different terminal they took the airport train to the designated terminal.  They were at the gate with one hour to spare.

Breakfast was included with each room and there was an extensive  buffet of both warm and cold items  We each had cereal, banana and coffee and Eric and Kara had some other items.

We had a terrific times with Eric and Kara and while the time does go by quickly we have beautiful memories from our trip with them to remember for the rest of our lives.  We are so very happy they joined us for this trip.  

We took the Heathrow Express into London and then we walked around for quite awhile.  The challenge was that it was raining on and off so we didn't take any photos while walking around.  We will be returning to London in September for a pre cruise stay before we board the Crystal Serenity so we will have a lot more time to tour around the city and we will be staying at a Hotel in downtown London.

In the afternoon, we repacked in preparation for boarding the Queen Mary 2 today.

We had dinner in our room last evening as it is essentially the same room menu as the restaurant we would have dined at.

Eric and Kara's Plane arrived about 30 minutes late to the hub they were flying to.  Unfortunately, due to bad weather all flights including their connection were cancelled to the city they were flying to.  They rented a car and drove a few hours to the airport where they began their trip, dropped off the rental car, picked up their car and then drove another 75 minutes or so home.  Thankfully, they are now home and getting some rest.

We both slept very well last evening and will be picked up at the hotel this morning for our drive to Southampton.  

TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY……….

"Make each and everyday the best it can be." - Keith & Anne Marie

Keith & Anne Marie