From King's Cross we walked over to the Underground station to wait for our next mode of transport: the Tube. This was a bit more crowded than the train had been, but we still managed to get ourselves and all our luggage onto the train. And I only tripped two people up during the whole journey! From there we thought we were home-free to Heathrow Airport, but it turns out that we had gotten on the train destined for terminal 5. We needed the train to terminal 4. Once again, we hopped off the train to wait for another. I don't remember the name of the station, but it was a shared outdoor platform. Two more trains passed before the correct one came by. At this point I would like to thank Aunt Jenn for knitting me some a very warm headband and scarf--I had packed them in my suitcase "just in case" and this was just the case I was glad I did! I was only partially frozen by the time we got back on the train.
Another 20 minute journey and we were finally at the station for Heathrow terminal 4. ...and of course there was what seemed like another few miles of walking to reach the actual terminal itself (luckily for us there were awesome moving sidewalks. Sadly, this is apparently an advanced life skill that most people have not quite mastered and we ended up in a bit of a tangled mess when the people in front of us fell over trying to get off). After some de-tangling and profuse apologies (we are in England after all), we finally reached the ticket counter. We checked in, got our tickets, and checked our luggage. Not only were our first two bags allowed through FREE, the desk agent offered to check all of our hand luggage for free as well! Triple bonus points for Alitalia Airlines right there!
Even after all the difficulties in arriving to our initial destination, we still got to the airport before they even opened the security line for our gate! We took advantage of the extra time to practice fitting in with Italian culture--we ordered coffee and sat on the terrace to people-watch. More bonus points to Caffe Nero for giving us free gourmet chocolates with our drinks! This must be an airport special, because I don't recall that ever happening at other Caffe Neros that I've visited. Whatever the reason, I'm not complaining!
Just as we finished off our coffee and chocolates, it was time to go through security. Just dump your bags on the conveyor and go--we didn't have to take off our sweatshirts or shoes, and we didn't have to account for all our tiny bottles of eyedrops and chapstick. Oh how I love flying between non-U.S. destinations! I was "randomly chosen" to have my bag searched, but even that was accompanied by apologies, and took all of about 20 seconds.
With all of the hassle of actually getting to the airport, we hadn't eaten very much all day. After a quick review of the various duty-free shops in the terminal we settled on a takeaway sandwich shop for our lunch. I had a salmon salad, thereby unknowingly starting a tradition that would last the rest of the trip. Scott had a chicken sandwich and curry (surprise, surprise!). After lunch we took our bathroom breaks, brought strap for Scott's duffle bag (which had gone missing at some point on our journey), and headed over to our gate.
Boarding was really efficient, despite the Italians' apparent dislike for queueing. Instead, everyone seemed to stand around in random groups and get into line at the very last second. Interestingly, there weren't many arguments or struggles when people "cut" the line. Only a few confused-looking Americans (ourselves included). But we all did manage to get on the plane in what was probably the most civil boarding process I have ever experienced. We were seating in an exit row next to an Italian girl who wasn't really interested in talking. That was fine by me; after our day, I wasn't really interested in talking either!
The plane ride was pretty relaxing until some large man in a big hurry to get to the toilet ran down the aisle, knocking Scott's soda off his table and all over his lap. The person behind him thought that this was the most hilarious thing he had ever witness and laughed uncontrollably for about ten minutes. He continued to chuckly to himself for the remainder of the flight. At least the plane had been cold when we boarded so Scott had not yet taken off all his layers by the time the incident occurred. He simply hung his shirt up to dry, which happened remarkably quickly in the dry air of the airplane!
The rest of the flight was uneventful and we even landed a few minutes early! We were the first ones in line to go through non-EU passport control. I think it was the first time I've gotten through without actually saying anything at all--he just took our passports and stamped the first open page he could find. We went through customs, navigated the barage of taxistas peddling their service, and found our way out to the shuttle buses. We got there just in time--just as we set down our luggage, the bus arrived! We had contemplated walking to the hotel--it was only about half a mile away--but decided on the bus just to be safe. After being on the bus about 15 minutes and realizing how convoluted the streets to the hotel were, we were very glad we chose that option!
When we first walked in to the lobby of the hotel, I thought there was a crime or something! There were about a dozen police officers in full gear hanging around, while luggage strewn all over the place. Turns out it was just a cop convention. With very specific room requests. It took them over half an hour to check in, and then we finally managed to check in to our room. There were plenty of amenties at the hotel, but by this time it was nearly 11:00 pm and we were exhausted. We bought a bag of popcorn for a late snack/dinner, but never ended up eating it. Once we got to the room, we barely managed to get our pajamas on before falling asleep!
