September 19, 2014 — London to Minneapolis
We ate some pastries we had bought at Waitrose (pretty dry) and went to wait in the lobby for a shuttle at 9:30. It didn’t get to the hotel until almost 10, but only held 6 passengers, so it made just one stop after picking up the Lyndalls and us. It was a quick trip to Heathrow, where we found a restaurant and had a nice meal before our plane left around 1:00. We had about 10 pounds of English money left, so we bought a small bottle of Bailey’s and some mints. The flight from London to Reykjavik took about 2 1/2 hours, so although we had to sit a long time before we got in the air out of Heathrow, we were only a little late to Iceland. We ordered coffee and added some Bailey’s—best coffee we’ve ever had on a flight! The flight to MSP from Reykjavik encountered some strong headwinds, and that flight was a little over 6 hours long. We flew over Greenland again, and mostly across Canada before getting to the U.S. Our memories of this trip will include the warmth and kindness of the Scottish and English people, the unseasonably warm weather (only 2 rainy days, a handful of overcast days, and the rest sunny skies and warm temps in the 70s), and the beautiful flowers we saw blooming in gardens, window boxes, and parks every day of our visit.
Lancster Gate Hotel, London
© Jay 2020