Spanspek

Back to Pension Barja for one more night. In the morning we got up to have breakfast at a cafe we'd previously visited. It's radio is fixed to a station that seems to play nothing but English-language pop music.

We picked up our luggage and took one last trip on the Metro to the Airport. I hadn't realised that it costs €1 to make one trip, but €2 to go to the airport. The tiocket vending machines at other stations don't offer this, but there are "supplementary ticket" machines at the exits of the Airport stations. Who cares! It's still very cheap.

I'm glad I didn't spend all my Euros: Iberia charges for food and drink!

It took one hour of queueing to get through UK Immigration. I was a bit uncertain about the actual address of the houseboat Lou's Mum had organised as accommodation so I wrote down what I thought it was (Kew Bridge Road—this may not may not be the case). The sour-faced officer didn't give me too hard a time though.

The Tube ride was 50 minutes. I bought an Oyster Card. The guy at the counter recommended a 7-day pass but didn't tell me that there were to be works on several lines that weekend with no replacement bus service. I might have waited until Monday otherwise. I travelled to Russell Square and hiked a couple of blocks.

The hotel that Mum booked for her and Gillian (and me, for the first night) is two terrace houses combined. There's no ventilation in the rooms so it's incredibly stuffy.

I found my sister resting and we spent the hour catching up until Mum arrived. Soon after, we went out in search of dinner. Thanks goodness I'm moving out tomorrow!