A Trip Down Memory Lane..

Good Morning!

It's icy🧊here in SW LA as it is throughout much of the country. I'm just not made for cold weather LOL!

Do you ever have something planned then a memory pops up... a particular place you remember more vividly than any other or a delicious dish you experienced for the first - possibly the only - time and you think, yeah I need to share that!

This is exactly what happened with today's post.

I was all ready to get back into 2025 vacation memories when I had a hankering for a tuna sandwich.

You may be asking yourself right now what on earth tuna has to do with a travel blog - hang in there with me 😆.

I'm not talking any old tuna but the kind I discovered while sitting in Heathrow airport for 7 hours! The kind they serve in the UK.

Where I'm from, tuna salad is made of mayo and eggs, and of course tuna. 😉

Some folks add pickle relish or onions or celery or add a little mustard in there. I'm sure there are numerous recipes, but in the UK, the tuna was mixed with mayo and sweet, whole kernal corn and sat on a bed of spinach leaves. That memory was so strong, I just had to mix some up for myself and reminisce over my UK vacation.

I didn't eat my tuna salad on a bun or even bread, but with Clubhouse Sweet Hawaiian crackers. Still, every bite reminded me of a long layover made easier with comfortable, spacious bathrooms, great food, a good book (triolgy actually) and the wonderful company of my cousin who traveled with me.

I can hear some of you, laughing... "All the great food over there and you remember the tuna?!" 

Yeah, and here's why: I love the way my mom used to mix up tunafish for sandwiches but something in the mixture doesn't agree with me. This recipe does.

I hope this little trip down memory lane helps you remember something unique in your own travels and that you'll check back in 2 weeks and ride along with me to Salt Lake City, UT.

Until next time, stay safe out there on the road and remember... memories aren't only made of the places you visit but the people you meet, the ones with you, and those you share your adventures with. 😍

PamT

*Image by Mogens Petersen from Pixabay

Day 1 in London...

After leaving the states at 8pm ET on the 19th, we arrived in London around 8am on the 20th. Luckily our driver had been watching the flight so we weren't waiting too long before heading to our destination, London House Hotel, which would be home for the next few days.

Since it was too early to check into our rooms, the wonderful folks in reception stored our luggage for us and allowed us to use the restrooms to freshen up so we could head out for the first sight-seeing adventure of our trip: Hyde Park and Kensington Palace.

Hyde Park itself is amazing and takes up 350 acres of Westminster, Greater London. There are numerous entrances into the park from any number of locations throughout this area.

But since we'd been flying all night, we stuck to the roughly 2 mile walk to Kengsinton Palace (the birthplace of Queen Victoria) where we toured the palace itself as well as the grounds and had lunch at The Orangery located within the palace next to the gift shop.

Kensington Palace is the official home of the Prince and Princess of Wales along with other members of the Royal family. One thing that really touched my heart was the memorial to Lady Diana her son's had installed near a pond on the grounds of what is formally known as the Sunken Garden (now called The White Garden).

The beauty of Kensington Palace can not truly be described with mere words. The furniture, draperies and artwork are stunning so, please forgive my pitiful depiction - I am not a photographer LOL!

This excursion certainly made for a wonderful day.

Met by a misty rain that afternoon, we ventured out to dinner where we both had fish and chips (what else for your maiden visit, right?!) then on to Selfridges where my cousin shopped till she/we dropped. Well, almost. But that is certainly possible in this 540,000 sq. feet smorgasboard of designer apparel and accessories, beauty and wellness shops, fine dining and all sorts of venues to explore and be inspired. 

As you know from my last post, I am not a shopper to any degree but experiencing my cousin's joy of being there made trouping through the rain worthwhile.

We got an Uber ride back to our hotel and tiny room and even tinier bathroom (which had me humming the blues due to its size) and settled in for the evening. When I say "tinier bathroom" I mean.... S-M-A-L-L. Seriously, you had to back up and turn around to change your mind LOL! 

Alas, it served its purpose.

Not bad for our first day in London, right?

Stay tuned weekly as I continue to share my UK Vacay with you!

Until next time, happy traveling.

PamT

 

Heathrow International Airport, London...

 

In my last post, I mentioned my cousin and I were heading off on vacation to London/Bath and Ireland. 

This will be the first of many blog posts outlining our trip, the places we visited and what we experienced.

We flew out of New Orleans 9/9 on a puddle-jumper (ie: small) plane to Charlotte, NC then connected on a larger flight to Heathrow airport in London.

Since we basically began our trip at Heathrow and ended up there again on our way home ten days later, (and edured a 7 hr. layover!) I thought I'd tell you something about this airport. 

AND, since this blog is about bathroom blues, you'll get a glimpse into the restroom facilities at this    h-u-m-o-n-g-o-u-s  airport that covers nearly 5 square miles of property.

Filled with shops such as Cartier, Chanel, Dior, etc., a layover might be a shoppers dream. You definitely won't go hungry or be bored if you love to browse.

Me? I'm not a browser or shopper so I simply put on my headphones to block out the background noise of thousands of people sitting, walking and talking from every direction and read 2 books LOL!

Although I am not big on shopping malls (and they have one at each of their four passenger terminals), I was very impressed at the availability and cleanliness of the bathrooms.

One feature that made my heart smile was the hand dryers on the same fixture as the water and soap!

You simply washed your hands and then spread them apart a few inches to each side and the dryer would come on.

This avoids so much water on the floor which is wonderful for putting down purses or carry-on luggage.

BRAVO, Heathrow!

Your bathrooms had me singing a happy tune during my ridiculously long layover.

Stay tuned friends for more on my UK trip.

To find out more about this amazing airport visit heathrow.com.

Until next time, happy traveling.

PamT

*image courtesy of pixabay*