London - Chapter One

The trip from Benghazi to Tripoli was somewhat uneventful.  I am sure glad that my genius driver was handy. He had to lead me thru the airport process step by step because none of the signage is in English and very few of the announcements over the PA system are in English. I saw a couple of guys in front of me at the ticket counter going to Tripoli and they had the same colored boarding passes, so I did not let them out of my sight as we made our way to the plane.

When I got to Tripoli, my layover was going to be from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.  I decided to take a trip into town and meet up with some of my fellow RWA collegues, at least check my email at the office vs. sitting around the airport and people watch. That was fun for a bit, but it would get a little old after six or seven hours. Took a cab into Tripoli and met some RW guys that I have talked to on the phone or emailed, but now I have a face with the name.

Got another cab back to the airport and off I went to London. My flight got me into Heathrow on Tuesday, so that way I could go meet Carol on Wednesday morning after she took the red-eye from Indy to Chicago to London.

My terrific little bed and breakfast that I found in Notting Hill turned out to be Nothing Hill. The room was so small that the door to the room actually bumped into the bed and the bed was pushed over to one side and was touching the other wall. The bathroom was so small I thought I was back in the airplane bathroom. The sink was so tiny that you have to be careful how you spit your toothpaste out or you will spit on your shoes. It was sad. I spent the first night there, but got up early the next morning and since the wifi did not work at the Nothing Hill, I went down the street to my favorite restaurant, McDonald’s and used their wifi. I found another bed and breakfast a few blocks from Nothing Hill and walked over and checked it out before I made a reservation there. Then it was time to go to the airport and meet up with Carol.

In another chapter I will talk about mass transit systems, but it is THE way to go to Heathrow. Carol’s flight was on time and we made it back to the hotel at Kensington Garden Square.