Mind the Gap and Making Sense of Pence

We rested for a short while last night at the Stable Courtyard B&B on the the grounds of the castle. The bed and breakfast is cute, comfortable and quaint and offered great views of the castle gardens and maze. The view will be unbelievable in August when all of the flowers are in bloom.

The Stable Courtyard B&B and a Peacock "Errol Flynn"

We had to take bacon sandwiches to go since we had to catch the 7:35 a.m. train from Bearsted into London. Morgan and I weren't sure what exactly a bacon sandwich was, but we asked if it had egg on it (I envisioned a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit from McDonald's and thought about how delicious this might taste on an early morning). "Runny egg on a bacon sandwich?????" was the response we received. Now it may not sound as funny reading it, but if you read it again with a British accent you get the picture. They did concede to our request, and we have a lovely breakfast aboard the morning train.

Our meeting this morning was with Mike, who is the Hospitality Director for the London Olympics.  He showed us the layout for the Olympic Park and where the private hospitality for our group will be at the stadium. It is hard to imagine that 10,400 Olympic Athletes will be making their way to London to compete in only a few months.The stadium is on an island between three rivers crossed by more than five bridges. Shaped like a lotus flower, this is the venue for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and the Olympic and Paralympic Athletic Games. It is the focal venue of the park. We were able to sneak a peek from the John Lewis department store to see the structure. By August, this area will be completely transformed into an arena that will hold 80,000 fans. 

After our meeting, we headed to see the sights of London for a clearer understanding of where the major landmarks reside. The Tower Bridge was hard to miss. Opened in 1894, this was the "London Bridge" that was not sold to America. It was originally the only crossing of the River Thames. Just a short distance away, we also saw Big Ben and Parliament. We stopped by The Roux at Parliament to check it out as a possible venue for our group dinner in the city. With its close proximity to the major landmarks, we decided this was a must for the London Gala.

At every rail station the intercoms announce, "mind the gap". We have noticed in the U.K they use the word "mind" instead of "watch", but what we realized is there really is a gap of about five inches in between the train and the platform. And, minding it was something we should probably do. This is another term that will be added to our list of translations. And now for the top 5 list of riding the train/underground guidelines.

1. Do NOT under any circumstances ride backwards. You will end up having a bellyache or a case of the spins like we did

2. Keep your ticket handy - There are train personnel who walk through the train to check tickets, and you don't want to get the boot. The ticket is also pertinent for exiting the station, as you will have to swipe it to get out.

3.  Keep your pence - We learned that the restroom in the station requires 30 pence to enter. It is always smart to keep some pence handy for just such a situation.

4.  When in doubt board the train - A couple of times we weren't sure if we were waiting for the right train, and then by the time we realized it, we had missed it. You must also press the open button to get in and out of the train; the doors do not always open automatically.

5. Again, MIND THE GAP