All of us got a little rest on the flight, but were not exactly rested. By the time we landed in Gatwick is was just after 8:00am and everyone was in a jet lag induced daze.

Passport Control and Customs

After getting off the plane we made the 5 minute walk to Passport Control and Custom. When we got there, we were at the end of a very long line. There wasn’t any Mobile Passport or Global Entry to speed things up on this end of the trip so we’d have to wait. The line moved slowly but steadily. It took a frustrating 45+ minutes to get through. The kids were hungry, tired and cranky but they managed to hold things together.

Once through passport control our bags were already on the belt in baggage claim. We breezed through customs and into the arrivals hall where we were hoping to get something to eat. We found a coffee shop but it was quite packed and didn’t have many food options. We wandered around some more and found a restaurant upstairs that was open.

It was mostly empty as it was almost 10am and between the breakfast and lunch crowds. They put us in back where there was more room for our luggage. We filled up with a leisurely breakfast.

Gatwick Express

After breakfast we headed back downstairs, following signs to the Gatwick Express which was conveniently located at the end of of the arrivals hall. In it we found several ticket machines but weren’t sure where to get the tickets for the Gatwick Express. We asked one of the security people and they pointed us to the ticket window that clearly said “Gatwick Express Tickets” (duh). I got round trip tickets for all five of us and we headed down to the platform to wait for the next train.

The Gatwick Express trains arrive every 15 minutes and it was clear where to go and which one to get on. After a short 10 minute wait the train arrived and we boarded. We kept the kids close as there was quite a crowd. We all managed to get on the train with our luggage. Everyone else was able to find an open seat but I ended up standing and holding the luggage as there wasn’t room on the racks for all the bags. It was a smooth and pleasant nonstop ride into Victoria station.

The Story of the Amazing Black Cab

At the train station we gathered our luggage and followed the signs to the taxi stand. It was quite a walk but the signage was clear. There was a moderate line, but it moved quickly as there were plenty of cabs lined up.

London is famous for their black cabs (not all of which are actually black). They have a distinctive design and the drivers are quite knowledgeable about the city. Many of them are quite chatty and entertaining as well.

We figured with the 5 of us and all our luggage we’d need to get two cabs to get to the hotel. Boy was I wrong. The way they are designed is that 3 people can sit on the rear bench seat. There is also a backward facing fold down seat on the partition separating the driver from the passengers that can hold two people. In addition, where there would normally be a passenger seat next to the driver there is instead space to put a fair amount of luggage. We were able to fit all of our stuff into one taxi!

The kids hate it when I retell that story. It’s awesome. I only have to say something along the lines of “Did you know that the taxis in London can hold FIVE people…” before they start groaning. I was seriously impressed though. The cars themselves aren’t that big but they are definitely well designed. In the US we would have had to get a minivan taxi or two regular taxis.

To top it off, the driver was quite entertaining. He knew exactly where we were headed, as you would expect any taxi driver to know. He told us all sorts of neat facts about the city, British slang phrases and their origin and all sorts of useful bits of trivia in the 15 minute ride (mostly due to traffic) to the hotel. He earned an excellent tip 🙂

Checking into the Hotel

We arrived at the Holiday Inn Mayfair hotel. I didn’t realize that it was a rather high end area of the city, but on the taxi ride in we passed a Bently dealer, several high end stores and several supercars parked out on the street. Who knew a Holiday Inn would be in such an exclusive area. The reviews of the hotel’s location were spot on. Hopefully the rest were as well.

I had no issues checking into both rooms at the hotel. They recognized my IHG Platinum status and assigned us rooms that, while not adjoining, were next to each other. Our rooms were also ready even though we were checking in around 1pm when official checkin was at 3pm.

While we didn’t get a free breakfast at the hotel, they mentioned there was a breakfast buffet they offered in the restaurant that was reasonably priced. We decided we’d try that for at least the first morning as we got our bearings.

We made our way up to our rooms and found they were perfectly reasonably though not terribly luxurious. Our room had 2 double beds while my dad’s room next door had one queen bed. We quickly unpacked and decided to go check out the nearby park.

Green Park

We walked the half block towards the park and realized the tube station was right around the corner. We crossed the road to get into the park. It was a bright sunny Friday and people were out enjoying the warmth. We continued walking into the park and slowly realizing we were very close to Buckingham Palace. The hotel’s location was getting better my the moment!

The kids found some open grass without any people on it and we got out the soccer ball, football and Frisbee. After a few minutes, we decided to split up for a few minutes and I went with my dad to look at Buckhinham Palace just next door.

There wasn’t anything specific going on there. The changing of the guard was on a different day but there was a small crowd in front fo the fences taking pictures. We waded into the crowd and got towards the front where we could get a better view to take some pictures of our own. We could see the iconic guards standing in their shelters in the distance. We took several more pictures of the area and let it all sink in before heading back to the park to play with the kids some more.

Carnaby Street

It was mid-afternoon and we were starting to get hungry. My wife had found a bunch of places to eat a short walk from the hotel so we went back, dropped off the balls and then started walking. It was an easy 15 minute walk. When we arrived, we realized there were three floors of restaurants with all types of food on offer. We decided to split up as my wife wanted something different than the rest of us. We went to a burger and chicken place called Stax. It was REALLY good and hit the spot for us. With the boys and my dad filled up, we met up with my wife. While we searched for her we realized this area was called Carnaby Street. There were probably 50 restaurants in the immediate vicinity ranging from bars, to sit down restaurants to takeout windows with food from all around the world.

Once we caught up with my wife we decided to look for some ice cream. Google Maps pointed us to gelato place not far from where we were. When we got there our youngest didn’t find any flavors that interested him so I looked for another place. There was a place called 4 Winters that sold nitrogen ice cream. It used nitrogen to flash freeze the cream and create super fresh ice cream. He got strawberry and I was able to sneak a taste. It was excellent and he really liked it so I got one for myself 🙂

Early night

We were all jet lagged so we decided to head back to the hotel. Back in our rooms we settled in for the night hoping we’d be able to sleep despite the jet lag. We set our alarms for around 9am so we wouldn’t miss the breakfast in the hotel.

Before heading to bed I ventured over to the tube station to buy our Oyster cards. It was the tail end of the Friday rush hour though the lines weren’t long. I was able to get some help from one of the staff, making sure I got the right thing. Initially my credit card didn’t work as expected but it was because I was swiping it instead of just leaving it in the machine to read the chip. I eventually figured it out and headed back prepared for the next day!