London 1976

     Ever since the first semester in my first year in high school when I had to take a course in social studies about the history of England, I became a bit of an Anglo file. I got an A in the course, and after that, I wanted to visit England very much. By the first week of October in 1976, I got my wish. This was also the first major trip I ever took by myself. In 1976, I was working as an outside travel agent, and I learned about a package plan to London that included airfare, hotel, and transfers that was very reasonable. Thus, I booked it. (Outside travel agent meant that I didn’t work in the office of the agency, but I did outside sales for the agency from my home. I got paid 5% commission, but no salary. At that time, I also worked part time in a bookstore; it was my regular salary.)

     I don’t remember too many details of the trip, but at the time, I was young, pretty (So people told me—you can check my first passport photo for yourself.), and somewhat single. (I was engaged then, but we broke up after this trip.) Therefore, I saw the major sights: Westminster Abbey, Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens, and the Tower of London as well as St. Paul’s Cathedral, British Museum/British Library, and Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. I also did some browsing—and a bit of shopping—at Harrods’s Department Store, Fortnum & Mason’s, and along Oxford Street above Mayfair, King’s Road in Chelsea, and Kensington High Street in Kensington. I also took a half-day tour of Windsor Castle and St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, outside of the Greater London Area. At night, I went to a few bars and pubs in Kensington (near where my hotel was located), as well as Chelsea, and Bloomsbury. I also rode the London Underground (“the tube”), and compared to the New York Subway, it was easier to figure out and much cleaner. (In the 1990s, those in power cleaned up the NYC Subway, and made it safer.)

     As I said in DOTTY’S DIMENSIONS: THE PREFACE: “I had the time of my life, and I vowed someday to return to London.”