We made successfully to London today, but whew, what a trip! The train from Macclesfield hurtled along like a rocket. I think it was the fastest train I've ever been on; might have been doing 90 mph. We were in a very hot car (air conditioning broken I think) and the combination of the speed and the rocking motion and the heat made me and Will feel quite ill. Kate was bathing Will's forehead continuously with a cold washcloth, and I was doing the same. It was pleasant enough when we'd slow down (e.g., in Milton Keynes) but then we'd accelerate again and yikes!
We roared right through Tring Station!
At the Macclesfield Station I enjoyed hearing the platform announcer refer to coach H as "Coach Haitch." That's supposed to be a North-east dialect thing.
Finally we pulled into Euston and recovered almost right away. We have to figure out for future trips how the reserved seat thing works vis a vis our rail passes.
Everything else went very well. We bought 7-day London travel passes right there in the station, and got a bite to eat, Then we successfully negotiated the Underground--with the one problem that our great rolling luggage had to negotiate quite a few sets of stairs. Kate was heroic.
We popped out above ground on a flawless blue-sky day here at St. Paul's and found our hostel a few blocks away. It's in a maze of tiny streets between the cathedral and the river.
The first thing we did was walk over the Millennium Bridge and watch river traffic. Mucked about in the Tate Modern (not where any art was though), bought Galen a hot dog and Will an ice cream, and peered in at The Globe. We found a pizza place for dinner; our neighbourhood is packed with small restaurants, so it looks like we have lots of choices.
We're already doubly appreciating the space and quiet of Staffordshire!
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