Up at 4 am to be on our way by 5. We were actually underway at 5:30. It’s a three hour drive and we must have the car back to Enterprise by 10 am. We allow lots of time for getting lost and a bite of breakfast at the services stop just after we leave Wales. Well guess what? Most of the shops at the stop don’t open until 7 am and we arrive at 6:30. I was able to snag a salad in the news shop, Norah a tea and crumpet at the coffee shop and the breakfast buffet took pity on Ed and prepared a fried egg and ham bun for him. We all came away happy.
All uneventful until we approach Heathrow. Our navigation system wants to take us to terminal three, though the rental cars are by terminal five. Finally a kind Enterprise employee guides us in via phone after several “Groundhog’s Day” passes around the terminals. We make it exactly at ten am!
Addison Lee (fondly called Addie Lee) is the recommended car service and they have a nice mini-van to us in ten minutes and we are off for phase two of our journey – London.
Our flat is just off Tottenham Court Road, up from Oxford Street and the tall City Centre Building. I feel comfortable here because it is close to where I used to work and stay when with Video Arts. One block from the Goodge Street tube stop. The flat itself has wonderful large windows overlooking the intersection of Albert Place and School Street, thankfully pretty quiet. Living, dining, kitchen all in one el and two Spartan, tiny bedrooms and similar baths. These flats get tired in a hurry as they change occupants weekly, none of them with pride of ownership. But it is fine for our purposes and the management company is attentive to our needs.
First stop is a grocery store, this time Sainsbury’s, just to mix it up. It is not nearly as nice a Tesco – and there is one of those just a block in the other direction. We won’t starve… and there is also an M&S nearby.
Though we spend most of our down time reading, writing and sorting photos, we have become hooked on Antique Roadshow Tour. Monday through Friday at 4:30 to 5:15. Strictly Come Dancing rules the airwaves. There are associated shows every day of the week, interviewing stars, watching rehearsals – the UK is still besotted with this. We have “real” TV at this flat, with loads of worthless channels. In St. Lythan’s, we only have about five semi-worthless channels.
We retire early to our monastic cells, thankful that Ed won’t have to drive anymore and that we returned with car with nary a scratch.
Like a band of gypsies outside the Enterprise Car Rental at Heathrow
Our Addie Lee chariot
View of 38 Alfred Place - ours is the first floor with the large windows
Living room, kitchen, dining area
Monastic bedrooms
View out our window - great neighborhood, close to everything.