Travel Journal - Across the Giant Pond

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

21 Apr 2008 07:26 PM

Welcome to my first official travel journal from across the other side of the pond. In my over two years of writing for families.com, I've never actually logged in from another country to post my blogs, thoughts, reviews or just about anything. Actually, my last trip to the United Kingdom was in May of 2000. I was pregnant with my daughter at the time and spent a week in London with my husband before he had to go on to Ireland for a business trip (Yes, I know, the hard ship). But let's talk about the flight, keeping a bored child entertained and recovering from how brutally uncomfortable airline travel is if you aren't spending upwards of $1200 a seat.

Airports, Airlines and the Atlantic

The flight from Texas to London is approximately 9 hours and 25 minutes going and 10 hours and 25 minutes coming back. Having just completed the first leg of that journey squeezed into a seat like a sardine, I am not looking forward to the return trip. We arrived at the airport about 2 and a half hours before the flight was scheduled to depart.

Always check the airline restrictions on weight where your luggage is concerned or you will be spending an additional $50 for your luggage.

Despite all the prep that goes into the wonders of packing a suitcase, if you are even 1 pound over the 50 pound limit for international flights, you're going to be paying through the nose. So keep that in mind when packing. We spent time in the airport, waiting for the flight and my daughter did many activities in her homework folder. Boarding time came and despite the fact that the flight was not 'full' the seats seemed to be even smaller than I remembered and wedged tightly with the bare minimum for space allowed for your legs.

The space option became particularly difficult as we were in hour three or four and my legs started protesting mightily. I noticed that after sitting for so long, my left foot was pretty swollen and that I was having a lot of cramps in my calf. My daughter, who's legs can't even reach the floor yet, also struggled to make herself moderately comfortable so she could go to sleep.

At 10:45 a,m. London time, still feeling groggy and desperate to get up and walk, we taxied to the gate at London Heathrow. I want to take this moment to express deep appreciation to the other passengers on my flight who exited in a very efficient fashion because five to seven minutes after connecting with the gate, we were off and walking the mile plus long trip from the gate to Immigration and from there to baggage claim.

Remember when the immigration officers are asking you questions specific to your vacation wherever you are visiting, be honest, be direct and don't be challenging, belligerent or as in the case of some of my fellow passengers, drunk.

We passed through immigration fairly quickly and by the time we arrived at baggage claim, we were able to pick up the luggage. Next up, do we take the Underground? The shuttle? Or introduce the daughter to the wonder of a London Taxi Cab?

Come back for more on our London vacation tomorrow, as we talk about our first few hours, jet lag, looking for fish and chips and yes, the perfect cup of tea!

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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