London Adventure--Day 9

Last view of the bridge

On our last day in London, we had breakfast at the WatchHouse. It is located less than a ten minute walk from Nicole's flat. On the way, we took a last photo of my favorite bridge.

Leaving the WatchHouse

The WatchHouse is a coffee shop that also serves delicious pastries, sandwiches and brunch entrees. Each coffee is served with a small card that lets the customer know where the coffee originated. I like reading about the farmers behind the coffee beans.

The first time that I visited London on my own, I enjoyed a coffee and an avocado, poached egg on toast several times! The company has grown. There are now 12 locations in London! The company held a go fund me campaign last summer with the goal  to open a location in New York. 

Airline activity bag

After breakfast, we said our good byes. It was hard to part from Miss A! We took an Uber to the airport. It was good that we had arrived early because the staff who get you through all the lines at the airport were on strike. Many flights were canceled. About a quarter of the area was operating. Lines were long. It was so strange to see a bank after bank of unmanned agent booths.

When we entered the first passenger check, the scanner didn't read Miss K's face so we couldn't proceed to the hand baggage scan line. This happened to a number of passengers. We were directed to a line. When we arrived at the head of it, the person pointed us to another equally long line. Meanwhile, Bob was waiting for us on the other side of scanner. Staff wanted him to proceed and of course, he was waiting for us. What a situation that was! The staff relaxed a little when it was realized that our party had been separated.

When we finally arrived at the head of the line, our passports were again scanned. When I asked what happened, there was no explanation. Later I learned that if the staff person (who was obviously a fill-in) had moved the camera angle to Miss K's height, we could have breezed through that airport scan and saved ourselves about 20 minutes.

Trying out the sleep mask

We did make it to our gate with time to spare; but the process upset Miss K. She was worried we would miss the flight. After we had our luggage scanned, a British Airways employee handed Miss K an activity bag. Checking out the bag contents brought out a few smiles.

We boarded without an issue. Then we sat on the tarmac for over an hour because the pilot was waiting for a serious thundershower to pass before we took off. The rest of the flight, while long, was uneventful. Going through customs in Portland was a first for all of us. It was a simple process. Before we left, we had a notarized document that stated it was okay for Miss K to be traveling with us. Interestingly, we were never asked to show it.

Auntie and Miss K

It was a fabulous trip. One with many memories made. Nicole ensured we all had a good time and that all the items plus more were checked off the list that Miss K had made! Posting about our final day in London was goal number seven on my June list.