Had a restful sleep. Went downstairs to the restaurant in the Premier Inn at about 6:00am thinking that I could just have a bowl of cereal, but nooooo. I had three choices: Full breakfast for £7.95, then roll out of there having consumed mass quantities of food; Grab & Go for £2.95, which consists of a croissant and coffee (obvious rip-off and not exactly a meal); then decided on the Continental Breakfast for £5.25, which was actually quite nice. The orange slices were a bit on the sour side, but then again this ain’t Florida!!
At around 9:00am, I went back downstairs to catch the Hotel Hoppa Bus to begin my journey to Covent Garden (London) to buy a jacket at the Paramo store. It was cold and windy outside, which it made it feel like an eternity for the bus to arrive. Paid my £4 and we were off to Heathrow Terminal 3. On the way, I saw Magpie, Woodpigeon, House Sparrow and a Sparrowhawk (very nice).
Arrived at the airport, then walked to the Underground (Tube) station to catch the Piccadilly Line train to Covent Garden. While standing in line at the ticket machine, a woman approached me and asked if I spoke Spanish. Gees, I must look the part!! Anyway, I helped her get two tickets to Hammersmith and pointed out where she should get on the train. Paid £8 and got my roundtrip (return) ticket. I was happy as a clam, enjoying the ride, until the conductor said there was a problem with the train and that everyone would have to get off at Hammersmith. Lovely. Mercifully, it was only about a two minute wait for the next train.
The stores in Covent Garden were nicely decorated for Christmas and teeming with shoppers. Walked for about three minutes and easily found the Paramo store. Having done my homework, I went straight to the Ladies section in search of the “Pajaro” jacket. My heart sank when I couldn’t find the jacket in my size. I must have looked rather dejected when a store clerk asked if I found what I was looking for. Nope. She checked in the back and found one. Woohoo!! Although I wanted a more girly color, like plum, my only choice was moss (dark) green. It is still a fantastic, warm and waterproof jacket. Now I’m ready for birding on the Norfolk coast!!
Wearing my new, toasty jacket, I walked around the shops for a bit, noticed it was noon by my rumbling tummy, and indulged in a Cornish pasty. Got a small “traditional” pasty with steak and onions. Yum. Bought three apples from a street vendor, then made my way back to the airport. Stopped at Marks & Spencer to buy two packets of Digestive biscuits (double yum), then relaxed in the room.
My vacation starts in earnest tomorrow morning when Colin, Gerald and Roger pick me up for the drive to Norfolk. Can’t wait.
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