Waterloo Station -- train to Southampton
We got up as usual, big excitement for a travel day, and Pete and Jess prepared a big breakfast for us. Loren sausage, British Bacon, Eggs, and a Bagel. Nancy and I cleaned up while breakfast was being prepared and then finished packing away all the bits and pieces we found around the flat. If we left anything we leave it up to Pete and Jess to decide if we really need it. Jess took Chase out for a walk, and Pete went for the car club car which they still had use of. Nancy and I bundled our luggage out of the flat and down the elevator and into the car standing at the side of the carriage way. No problem parking today as parking is free on Sunday. Then down to Glasgow Central Station for the ride south.
Driving is harder than walking in Glasgow, except for the hills, and we took a round about way, required due to the one way streets, to the station and parked in a different place and entered Glasgow Central from a side entrance. Our train was on track 2, and Pete and Jess helped us stow our luggage on board. Much sadness and many tears as we reluctantly took our leave of Glasgow and Pete and Jess. The train pulled out right on time, and we were off to London.
We rode 1st class with two seats and a table to ourselves. They were good seats because as we crossed into England and rode into the Midlands, many many people boarded the train, but almost no one got off. By the next to last stop the train was over full and people were sitting and standing in the aisles. The sanctity of the first class was gone….there were people everywhere. People had to climb over other people to get to the toilet/restroom. It was unbelievable. The refreshment trolley could not get through, and they asked for first class passengers who needed refreshments to come forward to the kitchen.
We pulled into Euston on time. Parts of the trip were really fast, and my theory is the stewards told the train driver to move it since it was close to chaos on the train. We were almost the last people off since we had time and needed to organize our luggage carrying. At the station we went with the flow, stopped in the main room, got a luke warm (darn British don’t believe in cold drinks) Diet Coke, some English pounds (the English don’t like Scottish pounds and visa versa, even though they use the same coins--go figure) at a cash point and made our way to the taxi rank. A very nice gentleman took us across part of town to Waterloo Station. Our driver talked all the time about our holiday and what we had done, and traveling in general and some of the sites along the way. Once at Waterloo we asked about which platform for our 4:30 train, and they said we could take any train we wanted, but the 3:37 was the fastest and we could still catch it—so on the 3:37, we headed for Southampton. The ride was easy, an almost empty train, and plenty of space for the bags.
We arrived at Southampton Central and got a cab to our Hotel. It seemed like we were driving out of Southampton to the boonies. The ride was an expensive 18 pounds, but our hotel was nice—except for being away from everything. We had dinner at the hotel which was reasonable and a pint to commemorate our last full day in Britain. After dinner we took a walk past the cricket stadium and up the road a piece—past the dentist’s office and the golf course under construction to the bridge over the motorway and returned. We bought a Fanta relaxed with some TV and went to bed, slightly warm once again. An early bed time as traveling across Britain from North to South is stressful.
6258 steps today, some with weight added.=like three large suitcases and 4 carry on bags
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