Heading home

Heathrow (2nd attempt), May 30

Our last day (or so we thought) in London was pretty low key, but we did have time to head over to Nopi for some delicious veggies. While I found the food in Scotland quite good, they were very light in the vegetable department, and those they had were largely potatoes and turnips. I like both, but I’d been missing the green ones. Nopi satisfied my craving, as well as highlighting that vegetables needn’t be boring.

The highlight of our night was watching the first installment of Springwatch on BBC2. If you like spring, it’s worth checking out on the BBC website or their Facebook page. The program goes on for three weeks, and largely consists of watching birds in their nests, fox in their dens, puffins protecting their young, etc. Any TV exec in the US who suggested this would be fired on the spot, but it’s pretty beloved here. I watched a bunch of birds begging for food for an hour while we got ready for the plane, so once again I certified my credentials as a member of the BBC target market.

Optimistic us heading for the airport

I was pretty nervous about our flight, but a Valium took the edge off. Everything went fine, we were all buckled in, the pilot told the crew to secure themselves, then we moved about a yard and stopped. 

For the next six hours, we either stayed right there or moved to a repair facility. The good news is that they tried to keep us up to date, and eventually let the people from coach wander at will. I found that oddly humane, and having little kids running around the aisles seemed to cheer people up a little.

The problem was a minor one: the smoke alarm and lights didn’t work in one of the bathrooms, and the PA system was a little wonky. They brought in new parts, switched old parts out of other planes, had maintenance supervisors trying their hand when the first guys couldn’t solve the problem. Their work was for naught, but we couldn’t have taken off even if they’d been successful at the last minute. The crew has to be relieved after 14 hours, and we would have bumped up against that.

Oddly, we couldn’t get a soda or food. They claimed those are customs rules, but that seems weird. They did give us tiny cups of water, and after around three hours our FA came around with a small basket filled with candy the size a cheap person would give out on Halloween. Very odd.

Bus waiting to take us back to the terminal

After having to clear customs, we were given a voucher for a room, along with a voucher for a shuttle bus. Then we claimed our luggage and struck off to check into the worst room I’ve been in since I’ve been an adult. Double bed, pretty saggy, and one towel we were to share.

It seems that sitting on a plane all afternoon is tiring, and neither of us wanted to wait until 9 pm for the special buffet we were graced with. “Special” only meant we couldn’t go to the regular restaurant for free, and we weren’t having it. Instead, we split a beer (which we had to pay for) and slept surprisingly well, given we’re used to much more sleeping area. 

Now we’re back at Heathrow, waiting for what we hope is a flight to Newark. The weather isn’t great, but I haven’t seen any lightning, which is a plus!

Even though our last day in London wasn’t great, the previous twenty-one were. Much of that was due to Carolyn’s months of careful planning. She worked very hard to make this a trip to remember, and she did a smashing job of that. She’s the best travel partner I could ever hope for, and every day of our life-journey is one I’m very thankful for.

SXM & CDN