The flight over on British Airways to London was great. The food and service was perfect. Alex was my excellent stewardess and great representative of the airline.
We fly in the nicer seats these days. We are in the autumn of our lives and now spend a little more to be comfortable. If not now, then when?
We arranged to have lunch with two good friends of ours after our arrival at The Strand Hotel. We always stay up on arrival and get right onto London time as soon as possible.
We met the two women at Din Tao Fung at Covent Garden for lunch and a nice long visit. I have known these women since marrying my wife forty years ago. We actually had reservations for the same restaurant in Southern Ca. the day before we left.
There are several small markets along The Strand for anything you might need. Please don’t be afraid to take the underground for some of your trips out of the city. It is very efficient and easy to understand after a few attempts at it. Put a few pounds on an Oyster card and give it a try. The locals will usually be there to help. Just ask.
The Covent Garden Station is at the corner of Long Acre and James Street. The station is on the Piccadilly line between Leicester Square and Holborn Stations. The line opened on December 15th, 1906. The station opened on April 11th, 1907.
The District, Victoria, Northern, Bakerloo, and East London lines all run beneath the river Thames.
The deepest underground metro staton is the Arsenalna Station on the Kiev Metro in Ukraine. It is 107 meters under ground.
I America, the longest light rail line is 48.5 miles from Azusa to Downtown Long Beach. It has 44 stations along the way. It ends at APU?Citrus College and the two universities.
The Central Line in In London was opened on 1900 and is 46 miles long from West Ruisilp to Epping. Where did all that dirt go?
There are forty or so abandoned or relocated underground stations.
Much of the soil dug out for the huge tunnels was clay.
That clay was taken out into the outside of London and dumped on allotment sites and then covered with fine top soil.
Allotment sites are areas of land, leased either from a private or local authority landlord, for the use of growing fruit or vegetables.
About half or three million tons of soil from the undergrounds digging was shipped to Wallasea, Island, in Essex. It became a 1500-acre wildlife reserve.
Why doesn’t America have more underground transportation like this?
