Holiday 2023 Officially Begins

Going against almost every packing habit of the last 5 years, most of my stuff is loosely/badly packed in the suitcase so that it’s not mostly empty & so that the British Snacks will have something to keep them from being bashed to fragments on the trip. The only things in the carry on are the “must travel with me” items & a change of clothes; You only need to have your luggage delayed once before you start doing that.


This is my Heathrow-adjacent hotel in Hatton Cross. I’ve been upgraded to a ‘King’ room, which presumably has a bigger bed, but also has a fainting couch.

I’ve ridden the tube to find my terminal for tomorrow. The hotel I’m staying in isn’t in the grounds of the airport, but is extremely airport adjacent , and the tube run between here and the terminals is free. ( Airport terminal hotels were super expensive; the price of the tiny little windowless cabin I stayed in last time more than doubled )

I’ve managed to kick things off with a cold+sore throat combination, so that’s going to be fun. I have a reusable mask with me, so I’ll be at least trying to wear it on the flights, out of consideration for others.