LOCATION: Casablanca to London
What's happening?
Kept our curtains closed for the morning to take advantage of a little sleep in. Didn't stir till 8 am which gave us time for packing, have breakfast and meet up with our driver for transport to the airport at 10.
An easy drive in on a Wednesday morning with all the morning traffic cleared. Had attempted to check in last night with Air Maroc with no luck so were relying on the counter this morning. Apparently the flight was full and we couldn't be seated together for the 3 hour flight to Heathrow. Darn.
Information had been emailed to us indicating that our UK entry ETA was attached to our passport and we didn't need any documentation for entry. Unfortunately, Air Maroc wouldn't let us through the boarding gate unless we could provide evidence that our entry to the UK had been approved. Luckily @Mac had pulled up the emails last night and a flash of that was enough.
Yes, the flight was full, but @Mac asked the lady who was about to sit next to him if she wouldn't mind swapping with me. It was an aisle for aisle swaying- just one row behind and she was very gracious and responded "Of course." Problem solved.
Three hours later we were in the mellee of Heathrow. People everywhere! Mind you, we had some many wins. The first was that our luggage arrived. We had heard of so many disasters with @TheRoyals it did seem like a miracle that both bags were happily spinning on the luggage carousel. Hope they had as much luck in Lisbon.
Customs was a "self declaration" - no forms, no checks. We just pushed our bags through and followed the "train" signs. The was a railway employee at the ticket booth who punched in our destination and secured our two tickets for the Elizabeth Line to Canary Wharf. When @Mac had checked the route last night it was predicted as an hour twenty by taxi or 45 minutes on the train.
Felt like everyone in London was on the train with us! A wall to wall crush of people that was never ending. As people got off, even more seemed to pile in. Struck up a conversation with the local wedged into the seat with me. She said that everyone was abandoning the other lines because those trains were not air-conditioned and were converging onto the Elizabeth Line. Of course, coming from the airport - everyone had luggage. The guy opposite us had a bar fridge in a box he was transporting home.
Our only major transport challenge was finding the steeet level when we got off the train at Canary Wharf. And we need to do better in terms of understanding our lication. Thought we were a 2 km walk away - but when we popped up to street level - we were all of a sudden 6 km away. Hailed a black cab to deliver us to the door of our shared house in Greenwich.
A tiny entrance that opens into a shared living space and then 6 bedrooms each with an ensuite. Of course, there were stairs! But the most important detail was the laundry. We were onto it!
Located the nearest pub for our dinner and strolled the 400 metres in the heat. Yes, really was quite warm. The flags were a dead give away for the pub though, calling us inside. It was like entering another world. We could barely squeeze through the front door as a crush of people was blocking it from opening. Wall to wall people. Music pumping. Fairy lights. Dart boards. And everyone talking full volume at once! This was a Wednesday night at the local and hard to believe but there was just a single table for two left in the whole joint. Apparently this is a live music venue and the place to be. We settled in with drinks, ordered a pizza and couldn't stop smiling. Friday night is a Beatles tribute band and I can't imagine how you would get a seat here!
Strolled home via the supermaket and stocked up for breakfasts and snacks and got some cash and found our way back home. It was approaching 10 pm and still light! And hot and humid.
Everything in the share house is well organised and set up. Just so bloody hot upstairs. No air con and only the tiniest of fans and @Mac had to call on his engineering skills to open the windows. Hope there's nobody across the road with binoculars- we've traded modesty and privacy for a one degree change in room temperature.
PS Been here 6 hours and haven't seen a single cat or dog and have not heard a call to prayer.
Survival Barometer
Steps: 9012
Weather: 36 in London - a stinker
Can you believe that?
A little background from Co-Pilot.
🌀 Weird & Interesting Facts About Greenwich
Roman temple under your feet — Greenwich Park hides the remains of a Romano‑Celtic temple dating from AD 100–400, one of the rare Roman religious sites in London
Walk under the Thames — The Greenwich Foot Tunnel is 1,215 feet long and 50 feet deep, letting you literally walk beneath the river. Over 1.5 million people use it every year
Where time officially begins — The Prime Meridian line in Greenwich Park marks Longitude 0°, the point from which global time was standardised in the 1800s. Before that, every town kept its own time, making train timetables chaos
"YEP, absolutely knackered."
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