Our Second Home

Our Second Home, Thursday 3/2. [photo: view east along the Thames from our flat, with Greenwich in the distance.] At LAX we got through check-in and security in 30 minutes. Must be the lowest traffic time of the week (Wednesday afternoon). Our flight was uneventful, just the way we like it. The super-economy seats do have more legroom and lowering the seatback does not threaten the person behind you. Plus, you get to check in online and go to the Fast Bag Drop at check-in. In winter the super-E fare is lower than the economy fare was last summer, so we think it was worth it (British Airways).

After baggage claim we rolled downstairs to the Heathrow Tube Station and bought Oyster Cards for the London Transport System. Two weeks of unlimited travel by tube and bus in Zones 1 and 2 (central greater London, and as the ticket seller said, there isn’t much to see outside Zone 2) cost about $80 per person. Not cheap, but cheaper than single tickets, cabs or rental cars. We also threw in a little money to get out of Heathrow (Zone 6) and off we went. It took about 80 minutes to cross London to the East Side and the mysterious flat.

The flat could not be better. It’s on the third floor (well, I guess it could have an elevator, but we only have to schlep the bags once) with three large windows overlooking the Thames. Only one other flat in the two-building complex has the same view. Far to our left is ‘up-river’, going north and turning west towards South Bank and the City; far to the right we can just see the Cutty Sark and the Royal Naval College at Greenwich (see photo). Next to our building (a converted warehouse) is an abandoned navy works yard, so it’s very quiet indeed. All you can hear are the gulls and the occasional barge or river commuter boat. Home run!

We went walking to check out the minimarkets (2) and places to eat (zero) in our neighborhood. It’s extremely cold, probably in the 30s right now and headed for below freezing tonight. We walked with enthusiasm. We bought two Sainsbury meat pies for dinner (surprisingly good) and wine and cheese and butter and bread and juice and so on for breakfast and snacks. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to stay dry, so we will walk to the right and visit Greenwich. We will also check out the community center and see if they will let us share some bandwidth. The only other problem with our building is that there aren’t any Wifi access points (at least that I can steal).