Day 175 - ... and we're back!

Time is a strange thing. I don't think I will ever get used to having breakfast in one country then travelling 5,700 kms and having dinner in another. That's what happened on Monday. We left Toronto at 9 am, flew for just under 7 hours to land at London Heathrow at 9 pm. That sounds like the start of a math question: if two people board a plane in Toronto at 9 am, eat a really horrible breakfast of airplane food an hour after take off and have an equally mysterious sandwich thrown at them 1 hour before landing 7 hours later at 9 pm, how many kilometres into the flight will they be before they lose all sense of time and space.

The answer: Who knows?! It's all a Gravol-popping blur.

The last train to Moreton leaves from Paddington at about 9:45 pm, so since we weren't going to make it back to the flat, we chose to stay at a hotel near Heathrow. This got me thinking about giving you a few tips if you or anyone you know is looking for a way to travel to London relatively cheaply (it is a big city, so will never be that cheap):

A room at the Moxy Heathrow. Small
but functional...and cheap!
Source: marriott.com

• Hotels near Heathrow are one-third to half the cost of hotels in central London. For example, if you arrived today without booking ahead of time, you could get a room at the Heathrow Moxy Hotel (a new chain in the Marriott family) for ₤58 (about $103 Cdn) or go a bit more upscale and stay at the Renaissance for ₤117 (about $210 Cdn)...and remember, that's last minute.
• You can get to these hotels for free by using the local bus service from the Central Bus Station which is part of Heathrow. This isn't something advertised by the hotels very loudly; they push the Hoppa Bus service, probably because they get a cut. Here's a link to show you where you can travel for free and which buses to use. 

  

  ...and the Renaissance Heathrow.
  Roomier and you get tea!
  Source: marriott.com

• To get into London you could use the well advertised Heathrow Express Train. That will set you back about  £25 (~$45) if travelling during their peak times (7 am - 10 am or 4 pm - 7 pm Monday to Friday) or £22 if travelling during off-peak times. You can save a wee bit if you book a return for £37 (~$66). Pretty steep for a 15-minute ride! But, if you're willing to take a bit longer...say 25 minutes...you can take the Heathrow Connect. These trains leave from the same platform as the Heathrow Express and run every 30 minutes and arrive at the same station as the Heathrow Express (Paddington). They cost about £10 one-way, and are even cheaper if you manage to get yourself a rail card that provides you with a discount. Phil and I have one called a Two Together Railcard that gives us 1/3 off all rail fares in the UK...the only caveat, we have to travel together when we use it. But there are also discounts if you travel in a group of 3 or more, and you don't need a special card for that. You just need to make sure you get your ticket from a real live person at a ticket booth as the discount often doesn't appear on the automated ticket machines (learned that the hard way).
• If you want to be a real local, you can take the Tube from the airport right into Central London. The Piccadilly line will take you right to ... you guessed it ... Piccadilly Circus in about 50 minutes! And all for only £6. If you want to save even more, you can buy an off-peak travel card for the Tube for £12.70 which gives you unlimited travel for the day. Still want it cheaper? Get an Oyster card (just like Toronto's Presto card) and it will only cost you £5.10 to travel in from Heathrow. Don't be afraid to take the subways here!
• If you do use the train, then you'll have a train ticket! Why is that exciting? Because then you'll qualify for a slew of 2-for1 offers to big London attractions. This includes The London Eye, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey...the list goes on and on. These get updated all the time, so check the expiry dates on what is available.
• And if you're looking to eat good food cheaply, check out this article in TimeOut magazine published in January of this year.

Now, the only question I have for you: What are you waiting for?!!