Crete 2009                                 Journey Day: 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18

                                      

                                                 Day 02  - June 27 - London, England

                                                Quiet on the Set and "Action"
 
                                                The well known movie Notting Hill  has impacted this once tourist free area. An area well known for food, antiques, and other pending 
                                                clutter objects is just a couple of Underground stops down from the hotel.  So, time to embrace the masses on a Saturday morning.
 
                                                Portobello Road runs between two main Underground stops - making it easy for a one way trip through endless smells of paella, breads,
                                                incense burners, beer hops, and crepe kiosks.   If you want a special pair of hot pink fish net stockings with your rare copy of a classic
                                                book, this is the place.  We ran the gauntlet of street and regular shops then view some of the side streets - that includes the variety
                                                of block sized gardens.  A garden bench is a nice reprieve from the constant bonding in Notting Hill.
 
                                                Our next stop was the BBC Television headquarters.  Due to the pending afternoon flight, our schedule didn't allow for a tour.  So, visiting
                                                the set of Top Gear and Jeremy Clark's domain will have to wait for another day.
 
                                                Late check out at the hotel and off to Gatwick Airport via the Underground and Gatwick Express rail.  The low cost airline Easy Jet can
                                                be not-so-easy.  Again, another queue - going outside and around the corner.  They were trying a new model of one large queue versus
                                                individual destination queue.  Since we were not checking in luggage, it was a large waste of time; however, no choice since electronic
                                                check in kiosks are a future project.
 
                                                Ironic part of Easy Jet is that they will pull people out of line if their flight times are close.  So, the line basically doesn't move since
                                                people are constantly pulled and moved directly to the check in counter.  Eventually, everyone check in becomes a priority.  Hard to 
                                                argue with the price - usually 25% to 35% less than the legacy airlines.  There are no assigned seats, so, just hope for the best.
 
                                                Since check in baggage is a fee and no limit on the size, most flyers use this paid option to the full.  It is a small mountain of luggage
                                                that is loaded on the Air Bus 319.  Additional fees include sandwiches and drinks on the flight; however, this is a well known fact and
                                                not an issue.
 
                                                Nice smooth flight - though delayed - into Heraklion, Crete.  Picked up the non Porsche VW Polo from a local "all fees included" rental
                                                company ($12 Euros per day compared to main companies of $30 Euros per day PLUS insurance, etc).  Hotel Sofia was just a kilometer
                                                away and the day was done.
 

                                            London - Underground Stop    London - Notting Hill Portobello Road    London - Notting Hill Portobello Road       London - Parking Lot Scenes  

                                                London - Notting Hill Portobello Road    London - Notting Hill Portobello Road    London - Notting Hill Portobello Road

                               London - Notting Hill Portobello Road London - Notting Hill Portobello Road  London - Notting Hill Portobello Road  London - Notting Hill Portobello Road

                                                

 

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