YVR to LGW ( or Leaving Sin City for Hobbitshire)

The evening before our flight goes well (well, after Zu rides an e-bike for the first time). The service at Earls is a bit sluggish (who cares, they have FABULOUS Pizza), so I put my wallet between thumb and index finger, extend my arm vertically and wave it around.  This doesn’t seem to have an effect on the waiting staff but it was definitely noticed by the owner of the restaurant. He arrives at our table, greets us with a short bow, and tells us that our entire consumption this evening would be free of charge.  WOW.  Class still exists in this world after all.

Zu ready to roll

We're going THAT WAY !

Then it’s time to get a boarding pass.  I ALWAYS ask whether they have a seat with extra leg room, but with these cheap airlines the chances are slim, because they usually charge $80 extra for an emergency exit seat.  But I notice that the man behind the counter reprints the boarding passes.  

Bagging of the bike is Amazingly uncomplicated this time and when we enter the plane I'm bouncing up and down with joy AGAIN. I have seat 14K, that’s the unlimited leg room emergency exit seat right across from where one enters the plane.  LIKE.

Oh those sad faces. The difference between rows 14 and 15 !

After the events of the last few weeks, I’m wondering where all this good Karma is coming from all of a sudden.  Did Zu bring it along, or is it just the law of averages that dictates that after two solid weeks of shit hitting the fan there should be a time period of smooth sailing.  Be it as it may, I’m enjoying it.

London Gatwick.  Good Karma stays with us. The bikes are delivered BEFORE the luggage. Unheard of, really! 
The bicycle pump I brought along only works on my tires; we have to find a gas station for Zu's tires.. The Car Rental places at Gatwick pretend that they don't have an equipment to pump up their cars' tires but let us know that the next gas station is just around the corner.

To get out of the high-traffic road maze around Gatwick, we first head to Horley to have proper breakfast in a pub at 9:30 am. The stuff that Air Transat served as food is getting dangerously close to the garbage that Air Canada gives its passengers (if they're lucky). A slice of industrial banana bread as breakfast?  What happened to eggs and bread???

I plan the route to the hotel using the pub WiFi, but there is something special about England. I ALWAYS get lost here.I don't get lost in Holand, France, Belgium, etc. But in England streets have no street name signs.  There are those bloody hedges everywhere that block the view and block my mind from forming a mental image of the landscape.  Good thing my Wind phone actually roams here this time, because without a functioning Google Maps we would have never made it to The Star Inn.

My memories of British food are not too fond (I actually once ate a Caesar Salad WITHOUT Romain lettuce, without pine nuts, without grated cheese, but WITH creme, tomatoes, and sliced English cucumber. YUK!), so when I discover a 'Mediterranean Restaurant (really Turkish) in Lingfield, we decide to eat there.

Zu & I devouring a Turkish meat platter. YUM.