at the arrival lounge, we hopped the fast Heathrow Express for the 15minute ride from the airport to London's Paddington Station. When we rode the same train at about the same hour of the morning on a weekday three years ago, there were few passengers. This time it was full of "suits" ---- businessmen in pinstriped suits, button down shirts, and silk ties. Unless these gents were all bankruptcy lawyers, you would get the impression that the UK's economy is no longer in the doldrums if you rode this train.
A short cab ride from Paddington brought us to The Sumner Hotel in the
Marble Arch area of the city, just two blocks from Hyde Park. Our room wasn't quite ready for us, so we dumped our luggage in the lobby and took a stroll around the neighborhood. New restaurants seem to have sprung up, but, alas the hole-in-the-wall Italian place whose only so-so-food, but casual character and reasonable prices attracted us, is no longer around the corner from our hotel. But now that smoking is no longer permitted in pubs, the Mason Arms at the end of the block may be
worth a try. Last trip, the reek of cigarette smoke drove us out of the door and into fresh air before we could even order and down a pint of beer.
