As the limousine we hired to drive us from Newport to Logan Airport pulled up in front of the British Airways terminal, a porter rolled his cart over to the car and asked where we were going this morning. I couldn't help but respond: "This morning, we are going to London." Not intending to be flippant about his good-natured question, I was sincere in the intent of my response because my wife travels frequently for Wimco, and when I can find the time, I accompany her. Paris, London, Aspen, Nice, Rome, St. Barth's, St. Tropez; these are just some of the places Jan has visited on business this past year alone.
In any case, we were shortly on board the BA Thursday morning flight to London, and as far as I was concerned, there was no place I would rather have been at that moment. Being an Anglophile, I find the Brits who work for BA to be extremely pleasant, and a most authentic way to begin one's trip to Great Britain. Jet lag is my nemesis, so I have determined that it is easier to adjust to the time difference by taking the morning flight, leaving at 9:00am EST and arriving at around 8:00pm London time. After six or seven hours of travel, fatigue and darkness seem to go together to make the first night more bearable, even if it is only the equivalent of 3:00 pm EST when you land.
We arrived in London ahead of schedule because of a strong tail wind, got our requisite black London cab with a very pleasant driver, and within forty minutes, the doorman at our hotel was opening the car door with a cheery: "Welcome to the Ritz." The discreet hotel entrance on Arlington St. leads into an elegant lobby where checking in is a most enjoyable experience. It almost seemed as though they were expecting us to arrive at that very moment. We were lead to our room on the 6th floor overlooking Piccadilly which was simply perfect for us. A large room with a king size bed, subtle English fabrics covering nearly everything in sight, a marvelous bathroom with all the goodies, closets galore, and a very modern telephone system that easily accommodated my computer. Fresh fruit and flowers welcomed us, and had it been just a little colder, I could imagine a cozy fire might have been set in our fireplace. I was somewhere between nirvana and perfection: in my favorite city in the world, in a most comfortable room at the Ritz, with my wife for a long weekend get-away.
Jeff & Jan Gordon
