My Journey - April 2012

Sunday, April 1st, 2012
I bought a SIM card for me and a unlocked, basic phone with a SIM card for Pamela. Pamela did not agree with the hectic chaos of London. We found a holiday letting online and moved to a cottage near Henley-on-Thames. It was beautiful and quiet outside with sheep too. But it was too small inside for us to sort out our luggage and too isolated. We went by taxi to a Bed and Breakfast (B & B) nearby. But, the driver said the B & B was isolated too. He took us to The Red Lion Hotel.

The brand new receptionist showed us a beautiful room but it is taken until 2019. That's a long time to wait. The deputy manager (had just been promoted - from reception?) showed us several rooms. Pamela chose the one she liked most. We stayed there a few days. In all that time after getting off the ship, we were not getting much sleep, now we were finally getting a good nights sleep. Travel is unsettling.

But, the room was already booked for Saturday, so was every other room at the hotel. The next hotel over, the Hotel du Vin, was available. Another crisis averted.

Saturday morning, we packed (the lion's share of our baggage wouold stay at the Red Lion for the one night we would be staying at the Hotel du Vin) then waited in our sanctuary until 11AM because the new room would not be available until 3PM. We were roomless for hours. We rode the bicycles we rented. We rode along the Thames River.

It is hard to believe I am at a place I read about in fiction and history. I have been many such places (like Boston), still, these places from the imaginary past are now part of my memories. “The British are coming, the British are coming!”

The room at the Hotel du Vin is very nice. Actually, I much prefer the Hotel du Vin, Pamela much prefers the Red Lion Hotel.

Comparison;
The room at the RED LION overlooks the Thames, it is on the other side of a small, two lane road that is very busy. The Red Lion Hotel is a Grade 2 historical landmark – they can not install air conditioning. Opening the window at night allows the fumes and noise from the traffic in. The food at the Red Lion Hotel was included in the price of the room – 'free' food. The bed is actually two small beds pushed together; wonderful for sleeping undisturbed, not quite big enough for romance.

The room at Hotel du Vin is very clean looking; no carpeting or even a rug. The bathtub is... The shower has a glass wall (lower half frosted) with the bathtub next to the glass wall. A body length of floor is all that separates the bathtub from the huge king-sized bed. They call this an open floor plan. We sometimes call it romantic and other times too revealing. Our room is on the ground level overlooking the outdoor eating area. People go out there to smoke and talk at night but there is no vehicular traffic. I like the style of the bed frame; there is a hand-span of polished wood bordering the bed and there is just enough room under the bed to put our shoes. We opted to pay a little for their delicious breakfast but there is no 'free' anything here. Everything at Hotel du Vin seems well thought out.

We decided to stay at the Hotel du Vin rather than move back to the Red Lion. went back to the Red Lion to get our baggage. The had stored it but the guy that knew where it was did not come in that day because a sewer main broke and his house was in jepardy of being flooded. They called him, found out where our bags were stowed... but they room it was stored it was also the room of one of the staff AND he was off for the day... They eventually jumped that hurdle and were going to deliver the bags ut had to call the Hotel du Vin and ask them to deliver our bags. Why didn't I take the bags around the corner from one hotel to the other myself? That is NOT how it is done around here! I tried; that was my plan all along but, instead I went along. When in Rome, get fed to the lions.

We plan to take a taxi to Windsor Castle today, 4 April, 2012.