I’m here, and settled in my comfortable hotel room.
I arrived yesterday late morning. Me being me, I dozed most of the day and then didn’t get up until 11 this morning.
I’m still not feeling much like doing-a-thing, so mostly all I’ve done is have a hamburger at a favorite place around the corner. Posts this week are going to be mostly pictures. Very likely of overly-specific things that I’ll briefly explain.
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Seven hours on a plane.
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Buckingham Palace from a cab … seen it, done it, don’t need to do it again.
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The neighborhood, from the hotel window.
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Looking across The Thames down by the hotel entrance, about noon today. (That’s St. Paul’s Cathedral.)
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More neighborhood … I’m a few feet around the corner from the building with all the red trim. I’m sitting on the wall with my back to the river taking the photo.
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Inside Wagamama … everything here is built inside old Victorian train arches and warehouses. This was very much an industrial/railroad neighborhood.
I recently discovered that the UK has added the United States to its list of countries that require an “ETA,” or electronic travel authorization. You’ll need it even if you simply have connecting flights in the UK.
I find it very odd that I just stumbled upon the information. No one said anything. Not the passport agency, not TSA, not the airlines — all of whom I’ve spoken to or booked with in the last few months. And it starts in January.
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They go to pains to say it’s not a Visa, but having just gone through the process and been approved (you can be denied), it sure felt like a visa. Of course, you have to pay for it. (It was $13.) This is in addition to, and electronically connected to, your passport.
I now have exactly the same information on three connected documents — my passport, TSA pre-check, and the UK ETA, plus my enhanced New York State drivers license. For over $300 in fees this year.
To a degree, I get it. All of these other documents are issued and controlled by the United States. I’m sure the UK wanted something that was under their control. They started the program this year with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and four other Gulf nations.
Now the US and Canada are being added … and that’s all I’ll say about that.
At any rate, if you’re traveling, make sure you do a few Google searches for entry requirements.
I’ll be off to London in early January, my first trip since The Big Surgery.
I’ve done a lot of things to keep comfortable — TSA pre-check, easy airport transport, and my favorite tons-of-room airplane seat right inside the door.
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My favorite seat, for several years now!
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And … I chose a new neighborhood! Southwark/Bankside. Home of Shakespeare’s Globe, Southwark Cathedral, and Borough Market. All a two minute walk from my front door!
Honestly, I could spend all week in my own neighborhood and I’d be perfectly charmed, fed, and entertained. The area is completely pedestrianized.
In the below c. 1630 Nicolaes Visscher painting, my hotel is just to the left of the cathedral in the foreground.
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Old London Bridge with all the buildings on it!
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In the below photo, I’ll be at the end of The Anchor building, facing the Wagamama. The Globe is a one minute walk behind the photographer. The fenced area on the left is the pub’s outdoor seating on the river.
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The Shard, London’s tallest building, in the background.
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The immediate neighborhood is also home to Winchester Palace, once home of the Bishop. Just a few walls of the Great Hall remain, now transformed into a public garden.
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Winchester Palace
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The Clink (the Bishop’s gaol and originator of the modern slang term) is a few yards away and underground. These days, it’s an extremely corny, gory, mannequin-filled tourist attraction that I completely intend to visit again. The name of the cobbled lane is still Clink Street (which has an awesome tunnel).
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That’s my hotel, at the end of the Clink Street tunnel.
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I’ll save the amazing history and stories for when I’m actually there.
I got my hair did the other day. By July (when I was in the hospital) it already needed attention badly, but that would have been a silly time to bother. It was time to get back to my eccentric professor look.
Totally worth the four hours in the chair. It needs cut, but I keep putting it off because a bunch of wavy hair is fun to play with.
I’ll put the blue stain in tonight. Time to grab an old T-shirt, tin foil, and a dark towel! =)
Sit Still Phill 