CANARY ISLAND TRIP- JUNE 2007
I flew from IAH, Houston Intercontinental Airport, to London, England. I had a seven hour layover until I could board my next flight to Lanzarote, Canary Islands. Foreign airports can be strange and lonely places. I have found that a smile on my face and an attitude of needing help will get you farther down the road than any other. The security at London Gatwick was moderately easy to get through. I asked any and everyone I could as to where to go and what to do with five hours to spend. I found the express train ticket counter and bought one to Victoria Station. Great train trip. Thirty minutes later I am outside the train station catching a taxi to Harrod's department store.
TRAVEL TIP- Change enough money before you leave IAH to get you through whatever you are initially planning to do in the country you are going to. Example- I changed enough dollars to have 100 pounds. I knew that I would need some for the taxis to get around London and a little extra for food and drinks. Jet lag can mess you up....bad. You do not need to worry about this money stuff when you first get to a foreign country, believe me there are other bigger challenges that await.
TRAVEL TRIP- Harrod's is a destination not a stop. I found out the hard way. I now know I can spend an arm and a leg in less than one hour. You can get into Harrod's before 10am if you get breakfast there.
Taking a taxi from Harrod's to the Hard Rock Cafe proved to be an interesting experience. Trying to get used to riding on the left side of the road was a little scary at first.
This is the 30th anniversary for Hard Rock Cafe London. If you have an all access type card, you will be happy as you bypass the other three hundred people lined up to go in. There were no lines in the gift shop across the street.
Leaving the Hard Rock at noon and going back to the train station is a perfect time to get caught in front of Buckingham Palace during the changing of the guard. What luck! Taking pictures of this event was even more special because we sat in a taxi and saw everything up close and personal.
TRAVEL TIP- It is ok to be excited about seeing things as a tourist. Cabbies went out of their way to show us things when we showed how excited we were to be in their wonderful country. (And it doesn't hurt to travel with your daughter who is nineteen and beautiful.)
Taking the train back to the airport is easy. You just do everything backwards and remember which way you exit the airport and reverse it to get back. Four total hours were spent in London and much was seen. Others traveling with us took a four hour double-decker bus tour. They were running for the plane and totally exhausted. They were even jealous when we talked about the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Taxi versus bus, you do the math.
