Arriving in the United Kingdom

Our trip to the UK has been long in the planning and much anticipated. It was our first trip across the Atlantic and there were many unknowns, but they were soon in the past. First stop was London and a speedy trip (Heathrow Express, highly recommend!) from the airport to Paddington Station where we took a cab to our home for a week, the "London Vicarage Hotel" in the heart of the Royal Borough of Kensington. The room was the tiniest we've ever stayed in, but utterly charming, and the minute we opened the French doors to the balcony, we were in love. After quickly unpacking the bare minimum, we set out to explore our new neighborhood, taking a tip from the Inn Keeper for dinner at ffionas, a neighborhood institution.  Ffionas was funky (tiny hole in the wall with the kitchen in the basement) and amazing (blackboard menu full of locally sourced, yummy options) and we would have tried to get back there on this trip if it were not for our "rule" of no restaurant repeats for dinner :-). Before I go any further, I should point out that I just discovered an error in the narrative thus far. First stop was actually Detroit where we were diverted (in the middle of the night!) because of a malfunction of the de-icer on our plane. After a few hours of repairs, pacing the empty Detroit airport, snacks and a nifty little gift pack from Delta Airlines, we were back on our way. Back to our first night in London...here are some photos.

Heathrow Express

Paddington Station

Our teensy, but charming, room.

More of the room

Our fabulous balcony

ffionas!

Our first sighting of the ubiquitous red double-decker buses