Our Wednesday morning started with a beautiful breakfast spread before us at the Hyde Park Hotel.  As a feature of the Monograms all the hotels that we stayed at had full breakfast included as a part of our package.  A van came to pick us up for our half-day tour of London.  There were only nine of us for this more intimate guided tour.  My impression of London from my past several visits was that it was a grey, dreary place that I never cared for. I have never understood why Americans go gaga over London.   I don't like old things.  As many of you know I like modern things.  One can say I am a glass and chrome kind'a person.  But as we drove around London I came to realize that London has changed.  It has become more modern.  A lot of glass covered office buildings and many apartment buildings with balconies and lots of windows.  Now this was the London I could get used to.  While London is modernizing, Washington DC area is still copying old British architecture in its new buildings. Ugly townhouses and apartment buildings are still coming up in DC's Maryland suburbs.  Thank God I live in San Diego!

We had already done the usual touristy things in London during our past visits, so we spent the afternoon taking a Thames River cruise and going on the London Eye.  London Eye, built to celebrate the new millennium, is a Ferris wheel type structure that is 44 stories high and takes 45 minutes to go full circle.  From there you get beautiful views of London all around.  This was July and there were crowds of tourists from every country imaginable.

The London Eye

That evening we found a very nice organic grocery store, similar to Whole Foods in the U.S., and had raw vegan meal in their eatery.

We had a good night's sleep that night.  There is always a discussion about which way jet lag affects one, while flying towards East or flying towards West. My experience is that when I am going to a new destination jet lag does not affect me much because I am excited about encountering the new place that I am about to visit.  On the other hand when I am returning back home jet lag always affects me no matter which direction I had flown towards, East or West. 

Thursday morning we assumed that we were invited to visit the newly born Prince George, otherwise why would they put us up at a hotel just near the entrance to their garden.  So we went on a long stroll in the Kensington Gardens.  There were a whole bunch of reporters and TV camera crews stationed about 200 yards from the Kensington Palace.  We couldn't go in because the baby was sleeping at the time!

 Kensington Palace

We spent rest of the day exploring London on our own and with our friends Ashwin and Madhubala Tirodkar, using buses, trains, and taxi.  In the process I learned a few things. (1) Restaurants in London are typically twice as expensive as in the U. S. (2) Real estate in London is super expensive.  My friend lives in a 800 sq. ft. apartment in a nice neighborhood in London. This apartment is on the third floor of an old townhouse that was converted to three apartments.  The apartment has two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a kitchenette in the living room. This piece of real estate is going for, are you ready, $1.2 million.

On to London

As Kalpana pressed a button near the window next to her seat it slowly started darkening until it completely blocked the bright sunlight coming from the afternoon sun in Houston.  Boeing 787, or Dreamliner as it is called, is a new breed of aircraft.  The two most important features that affect us fliers are these larger automatic windows and higher cabin pressure, equal to 6,000 feet above sea level instead of 8,000 feet like other jet planes.  We were on our way to London and I had specifically picked a flight from San Diego that connected in Houston with this 787 non-stop to London.   I wanted to experience the plane in all its glory.  For those who are interested, 787 is constructed of carbon fiber reinforced plastic body which makes it 20% more fuel efficient, the restrooms are also larger than usual, and the higher cabin pressure makes the flight more comfortable, meaning less headaches.  Thus started our European journey for the summer of 2013.
Ten hours later we were at London Heathrow.  Right outside customs we were greeted by a representative of Monograms, who was wearing a red jacket and noticed our red Monograms luggage tags.  Yes, red is the color of Monograms.  Throughout the trip we were able to recognize each other by the color red.  As we were sipping a cup of coffee at the airport coffee shop the rep came back with our driver.  Monograms is a travel company that gives you a more personalized travel experience.  With our suitcases safely in the car, we were whisked away to our destination in central London, The London Hyde Park Hotel, now renamed the Double Tree by Hilton.  At the hotel after a quick check-in we were taken to the Monograms desk where our local Monograms hostess, Giada, gave us an overview of the plan for our next three days in London.  The first day of our arrival was rest and relaxation.  The second day in the morning was scheduled a half day tour of London, and for the afternoon we had opted for a cruise on Thames river and a visit to the London Eye.  We had planned to spend the third day with our friends Ashwin Tirodkar, who now lives in London, and his mom Madhubala, who was visiting from India.
After resting a little we started exploring the neighborhood.  The hotel is located near the Notting Hill Gate of Kensington Park, which is adjoining the famous Hyde Park, off the famous Bayswater Road.  Nearby on Queensway we found restaurants from all over the world.  The whole area was bustling with shoppers.  There were multiple Indian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Middle Eastern, Russian, East European, Thai, and organic restaurants.  We had a fabulous lunch at an Indian restaurant called Masala Zone.  I have never had such well prepared Indian meal at a restaurant in the U.S. or may be I was just very hungry!