London - Day 1

I arrived at Heathrow around 11:30am after my overnight flight. Those Executive Class seats really do let you stretch out flat, and while I didn't get much sleep, it was infinitely more comfortable than being immobilized in an Economy Class seat. I will keep on saving my points so I can treat myself again in a few years.

Then I took the express train from Heathrow to Paddington where who did I see but...

Paddington Bear, of course!

(I don't know who the woman was, and I waited and waited, but she just wouldn't move.)

After getting settled at my hotel, it was 2 o'clock and time to go meet my ancestor, William Marshal, who is buried in Temple Church. His effigy is there, along with effigies of two of his sons and six other knights. They are the first thing you see when you enter this ancient church.

Four of the nine effigies in Temple Church, London

William Marshal, the Greatest English Knight

Over the past weeks I thoroughly enjoyed reading a pair of historical novels by Elizabeth Chadwick about this 24 x great-grandfather of mine, so visiting him was an obvious way to spend my first jet-lagged afternoon in London.

Now for a quiet evening.