Goodbye London
By Jim Hunt for the News and Journal
As our week in London came to an end, we decided to spend our last day just enjoying
the city and finding some last-minute souvenirs. We loved our visit and were so happy
that our granddaughter Emery got to spend her spring break with us in such a beautiful
city. Each of us had our special memories. Emery liked the London Eye, my wife loved
visiting Abbey Road and I loved walking along the Thames River.
Like any big city, London is difficult to absorb in one week. There is so much history and
many of the sites are well known, even to people who have never visited the city. Who
can forget the royal weddings and pageantry of the British monarchy, broadcast on our
black and white televisions when we were children. When we went to Buckingham
Palace, it seemed like a place that I had visited dozens of times. I recognized the tree
lined boulevard leading up to the huge gold-plated gate and memories of Princess
Diana instantly came to mind. As the soldiers stood at attention in their black fur hats,
you realized that you would never forget this experience for as long as you live.
London is one of the most visited cities in the world, with over 18 million visitors in 2023.
April is one of the best months to visit and while the weather can sometimes be iffy, we
were lucky to have just one day where there was a little rain. We arrived on Easter
Sunday and the area around Westminster Abbey was crowded but it thinned out as we
walked towards the Thames River.
Abbey Road was on my wife’s bucket list, and it was one of the most unusual places
that I had ever visited. We took an Uber and the driver pulled up to a sidewalk and let us
out. It was just like every other intersection in the city and the traffic was whizzing by, as
Beatles fans would risk life and limb, trying to recreate the Abbey Road album cover.
There was an older guy there who had a picture of the album cover and would help the
tourists get just the right look. I watched as he would pose the people and kindly ask the
impatient traffic to wait just a second. I took my wife’s picture as she reached the center
of the crosswalk and she said that her trip to London was now complete.
Our trip to London had many highlights and remarkably, very few hiccups. Flying
nonstop from Charlotte made a big difference and our seats were at the bulkhead, with
plenty of legroom. When we arrived, we quickly processed through customs and within
minutes, we were outside Heathrow Airport, standing in the taxi line to take one of the
iconic black taxis to our hotel. After an exciting week, leaving London was just as
flawless and we made it through security and sat in the same seats that we had on the
way over. Landing in Charlotte, Emery was excited to see her family as we emerged
from passport control.
It was an amazing trip, but I loved just being with my wife and granddaughter, hand in
hand, walking along the Thames River enjoying the day.