Time to board for 2nd leg of the flight

Back on the bird for the final 12 hour flight. We managed to move seats though so we could have an aisle seat so we didn't have to jump over people sleeping for toilet breaks which was a bonus. And as it was the 2nd to last row in the plane we had good access to the drinks trolley! But dibs on the meal you want are somewhat limited by the time they get to the back of the plane. I had three chicken curries on that flight. One for breakfast, one for lunch and one for dinner. But hey they serve their local cuisine and beggars can't be choosers!

Fri 4th Aug - Yah touch down in London

Took some pics as we landed as it was quite a clear day, great views of the Thames and even the London Eye! We made our way - bags and all to the express train into Paddington. The first thing I saw when we got to Paddington Station was a stall selling Paddington Bear merchandise - a blast from past childhood stories!

As luck would have it, and a total fluke the place we booked to stay was only 1 and bit blocks from the station, so bags in tow and fresh London map to boot we head to the little hotel - looking forward to another shower and the option to lie horizontally if desired. Relaxed for a while, and then it dawned on us. Bugger it is Saturday tomorrow and the HSBC on Regent Street will be closed and we won't be able to fully open our account or pick up debit cards.

Travel Tip - if flying half way across the work and needing to open accounts ensure when you are booking your flights months in advance that you land on a week day!

I of course was a little stressed at the prospect of the bank being closed and the fact that we had a non refundable train ticket up to Leeds the following day as well as a nights accommodation that we couldn’t change. Steve kindly reminded me to [take a chill pill and go with the flow[/quote] as there was nothing we could do about it, and we would sort it out in Leeds. So we decided to head out and have a look around central London and make our way to Regent Street to the Bank just to make sure it wasn't going to be open on a Sat morning. It wasn't........ but it was great to see all the old building and the hassle and bussle about on a Fri night. The history in London, is just amazing. Most of these buildings have been around before NZ was even on the map.
It's about 11pm now so we decided to head back to the hotel. Of course I am doing some major window shopping on the way back thinking I already love London!

Some pics from the plane as we landed below.