We landed at Gatwick around 1700 and took the slow train into London for GBP8 instead of the Gatwick Express which cost about 50% more but only saved 3 minutes journey time.
In London, we had booked to stay at the modest Stuart Hotel where we had stayed less than a year ago. But they shifted us to a sister-property called Eden Plaza a block away. It was marginally better but equally pokey, which is the norm for budget hotels in London.
After checking-in around 1915, we quickly turned ourselves round to meet a friend Steve and his partner Kelly at Hammersmith McDonald’s at 1945. We had a nice Indian dinner at a place called Cinnamon and then a drink at the pub. It was a rowdy night at the pub as England had just beat Croatia in the Euro 2004 soccer.