It was very cold the day I landed at Heathrow Airport and then took the train into Victoria Station. I had been in sunny Spain, left from Mallorca, and then connected for London in Madrid. I was dressed in a red, white and blue cotton dress and clogs and had not even given a thought to the fact it might be cold in London, my destination. As I waited in line for information regarding finding suitable lodging, a kind gentleman must have noticed my chagrin in being so cold. He surprised me with a bouquet of flowers and smilingly greeted me with “Welcome to London.” I was flabbergasted, smiled back and thanked him. 
The service that offered lodging advice made a call and gave me an address for a bed and breakfast in Kensington. I would have gone immediately but decided purchasing a jacket or at least a sweater should be the first order of business. As I walked with my luggage down a street from Victoria Station, I noticed a men’s clothing store and advertisement for a sale. A mannequin was dressed in a very warm looking turtleneck at just the right price. I entered the store, pointed to the sweater and asked the clerk if I could buy that sweater. I didn’t care that it was orange with a red neckline–it just looked warm. Upon purchasing it, I immediately pulled it over my head and felt warm.
Then, I bumped into a girl who had traveled with me. We decided to find a taxi together. I told her I had an address and a reservation and probably she could find a spot there too since it was so early in the morning. We arrived at a charming house of at least three floors, perhaps four. The friendly woman at the desk registered me and gave me the keys also explaining that there were two keys: one for my room and another for the bathroom. She explained that all the rooms on that floor shared a bathroom so I would need to use the second key as I used the bathroom. She asked me to sign the register. I looked over and on the big book of registered guests, lay a cocker spaniel sprawled out comfortably and asleep to the world all over the book.
“Oh,” she noted absent-mindedly, “Would you mind terribly coming back later when the dog wakes up?”
dipity.com I came by later to sign the register
I smiled to myself. Only in London…with my suitcase, a bouquet of flowers, a warm orange sweater with red turtleneck at a small bed and breakfast would this scene take place. “Of course,” I responded.
What kind of welcomes do you remember?
btw I need to let you know I will be “leaving” for awhile during the month of June. I will post one more time, then I’m going up to see daughter #2 and help her pack up her classroom at the end of the year, get ready for baby, then going to Cincinnati for some consulting work. I’ll be back in July when our eyes, hearts and minds will be set on the 2012 Olympics. I already have London on my mind.
Safe travels, Georgette.
Thanks, Sandy. You too, as I know you will be traveling west of here.
Wow Georgette you lead such an interesting life! I know the UK has had and continues to have wintery type weather. How wonderful to have been in sunny Spain! I loved London- enjoy as it looks like you have some very busy times ahead!
Thank you for reading, Chris. This happened years ago…but, as my thoughts turn to the summer and London Olympics, I had to remember that first day in London and all the welcomes I experienced.
Wonderful story, Georgette. Have a fabulous, welcome-filled trip!
Thank you, Elyse. It was a wonderful trip back in the day, and I’m looking forward to June now traveling about…not in London but here, stateside.
I loved this, I almost felt like I was right there with you! Enjoy the next month with your daughter, very exciting time for you! Have a great summer.
Thank you, Darla. I still remember how you took some time off last summer…and I decided I should. A break is good.
It is! Enjoy yourself, you deserve it, Georgette. I am going to do the same again very soon. Too much going on in real life and it will be my last summer with the kiddos before I go back to work.
Thank you for the affirmation. Wow…family, work, blogging…you will be busy, but then that will give you a lot of blogging “fodder.” I know I will be gripped by wondering how everyone is while I’m away, and will probably sneak peeks (do not want to miss your or another friend’s FP
), but I do know reading, commenting, posting would be sporadic in June which is not fair…when I’m here, I want to be totally here.
Great story and love the dog…I would of really felt good there… Glad your taking a break and enjoying, even if work your family…driving or flying to Cincinatti?? Of course thinking of a drve by, could meet at a Carackerbarrel!!!
My most FUN Welcome…I was 18 and full of myself, just out of boot camp of the USMC. Went home to get my things and was headed for San Diego Marine Corps Base. Picture this; after landing, I go get my stuff, had a girlfriend or two meet me to help…Coming from CB Fl., I had to have my surf board in California…so I’m walking threw the airport, in dress greens, 3 inch heels, that now made me 6’2″..caring my surf board.. WELCOME TO SAN DIEGO!!!!!! yelled out a few other military personnel as I walked by where they were sitting…then, just some people asking to take my picture…..what fun and this young mind thought she was in heaven for a moment…sure wish I had one of those pics now…..thanks for bringing a smile from my past..hadn’t thought of that in some time…
What a great story, Margie! Thank you for re-telling it just like it happened. High heels and dress greens…what a fashion statement. Yes, I do wish you had a picture to share of that…high heels, dress greens and a surfboard. Oh thank you for this…I’m smiling big for my day now.
Oh … what a welcome!! Such a sweet story …
We will miss you but I know you will just roll in your time with your daughter and the grand-babies
Enjoy every minute.
One of my happiest welcome memories was when my family flew home to Saskatoon for a family reunion; all of my siblings & their kids had gathered at the airport with signs welcoming us. Our boys cheered, my mother cried, Dad teared up and we all absorbed the love that was there in Terminal A.
MJ
Thank you, friend, for sharing this story! I’m sure there were loads of smiling onlookers knowing this was quite a special arrival and welcome with signs and cheering!
Oh… you make me tear up as it dawns on me I wrote about “welcomes” and I’m planning to get away.
but just imagine the welcome you’re about to receive
MJ
You’re right, MJ. Thank you for always taking my thoughts a step further.
what a great memory! and hoping your break is productive, too!
Thank you, Theresa. Lots of memories I want to write down… I appreciate being able to share them with you… for a WI girl, you are the ♥ of TX!
you are too sweet!
Wow – Georgette. Enjoy that trip and keep us informed. I love hearing about your adventures.
Thank you, Renee. I will enjoy the trip. I love returning to that group each year where I have many relationships to renew.
Loved the follow-up on Atalaya…had never heard of it, and now I have.
Aw, I love this image!
My most memorable welcome was for the hostel I stayed at when I first arrived in Japan. A tall African man greeted me at the train station and walked me to the hostel. I remember being floored by the idea I was walking to a Japanese hostel with an African man, just arrived from thousands of miles away myself. The world I’d just left seemed so small by comparison.
I’m glad you enjoyed it. When we leave home, we find the world is big, and small at the same time. I like remembering all the guardian angels who make/made us feel comfortable, secure and welcome, thus making a strange world familiar. I know you had a memorable time in Japan and I love reading when you allude to “When I went to Japan…” It probably, was one experience that really shaped you into the person I have enjoyed meeting.
Georgette … you have THE best stories! What a wonderfully enjoyable read. Holy smokes! Like Darla said, I felt as though I was with you – or at the very least, you were telling me this story over coffee. What a delight.
Enjoy the next several weeks. I’ll miss your stories, but I am certain you’ll return with more goodies for us.
Thank you, LD. Gotta go and dedicate my mind to daughter and my j-o-b. Thank you for understanding. Of course, I remember that it’s been one year around June we connected due to your “snooping around”. So glad you did…I enjoy your work tremendously. I hope everyone is here when I’m back.
That is one unforgettable welcome. Just a perfect day filled with fun and adventure. And the dog, just dreamy. I wouldn’t wake him up as well. I wish you a wonderful trip with lost of beautiful memories.
I’m looking forward to getting away — and I remember it will be one year blogging with you. It’s been a great year in our blogging community.
My amazing welcome was last March when I went home. I was greeted by the whole family over a catered buffet lunch . The kids swam in a pool including my son. It was wonderful.
How wonderful and memorable! Your son will remember all the joy, activity in the pool with his cousins and I can hear lots of laughter while you eat. No wonder he said he would like to live in the Philippines. Thank you for sharing your memorable welcome.
Such a lovely story! Welcomes like that sure stay in the memory bank. Have a splendiferous time with your daughter preparing for that bundle of joy! One week til our first wedding, so just as I will find a little more time to blog in June, you’ll be gone. Wishing you safe travels!
Thank you, mama. You will be in my thoughts the weekend of your event. That weekend will be a great one to celebrate their anniversary in the future as it will be connected to a holiday.
When the girls were younger, I was grateful that both their birthdays were just days apart around Memorial Day so we could have time to celebrate and enjoy.
It will be even easier to remember because the wedding is the day before my birthday!
Oh my…Happy Birthday, soon!
Thank you, Georgette!
I just love traveling and then being made to feel at home like this…like you’re one of family and need to work around the dog. Great story. It reminds me to be more hospitable. Have a good trip. We’ll miss you.
Thank you, Barb. I’m looking forward to June, getting away and changing up my routine. It will be very tempting to visit everyone, but time will get away from me I know, making it impossible to consistently visit as I like. Just wanted to let folks know.
I did like staying in the English house rather than a hotel or a hostel type housing. It was very affordable and preferable to my way of thinking. The dining room was wonderful too, serving tea in the afternoon after a long morning and early afternoon. They also served a wonderful breakfast.
Somehow you always manage to get my “memory juices” flowing – there are so many wonderful stories, it’s hard to pick just one. Perhaps the most amusing “arrival” came at the end of a long trip up the coast of West Africa, as I was traveling from Liberia to a final destination of London.
I went overland for a good portion of the journey – the sort of travel that involved local “taxis”, plenty of chickens and goats as companions and wearing long skirts with no underwear (much easier to relieve oneself by the side of the road, in a world with no “facilities”).
I finally flew from Dakar to Las Palmas, and found lodging at a marvelous hotel. The bellboy accompanied me to my room, taking great pride in showing me the ice, the flowers, the thick white and navy blue towels, the robe and so on. Hot, grubby, just slightly disoriented and so tired my internal censor wasn’t working too well, I turned to him and said, “I’ll bet you have hot water, too!” He ran straight to the bathroom to turn on the faucet and show me that, yes, they had hot water, too.
It was heaven!
I hope your travels are heavenly, too. And yes – we’ll all be here when you get back.
What an amazing story! I have never been to Africa nor the Canary Islands. A high school friend invited me to her home in South Africa and even made plans to go to Krueger Park during a possible stay, but we were in the throes of the college tuition years so regretfully, I didn’t take her up on it. Double regrets because, now I have lost touch with her and her parents who I had kept up with through the early 2000′s.
I’m sure that hotel room in Las Palmas with running hot water and a private bath was pure heaven! Now, that is an adventure and a memory. Traveling overland in Africa, oh my! I can only imagine how you communicated with the many languages involved and the trust you had to put in the food you were served. It’s amazing to count up the guardian angels who have protected us on such journeys. A very good friend of mine spent a year in France, not a third world country, and came home with a tapeworm! Your chickens and goats remind me of chickens and pigs on a bus in Mexico — something I wouldn’t dare do now with the terrorism there now. I am advised to only fly there and have someone meet me in a private car at the airport–this state of affairs saddens me deeply. Thank you for the assurance you will be here when I’m back. I do enjoy the conversation typically on weekend mornings.
Another tale of memories from an exquisite writer who brings every word to vivid life for me … love the dog part!! Think my fondest ‘greeting’ was from Micah at the airport … how that little guy can light up my life with his smile, hugs, & excitement … one time I even got flowers, candy, & a book!! XO
“Flowers, candy and a book!” Someone loves you very much. You’ve got two others who would notice when grandma leaves and comes back again. ♥♥♥ Triple blessings.
I’ve been to Germany and France, but I’ve never managed to make it to England just yet! I loved reading your post! Hopefully, I’ll be able to make it to London one day, but I can’t imagine going anytime near when the olympics are happening. That would be crazy!
Thank you for visiting. I hope that happens for you some day. Daughter #2 spent a memorable time there a few years ago. So glad she has had the experience. Agreed, being in London this summer would be a bit much. Watching the Olympics from my living room will suit me perfectly. Cheers!
What a nice story, Georgette! Sorry to be so late commenting – somehow the email notification got lost in old e-mails! Hope you have a wonderful visit with your daughter. I’ll miss you, but look forward to your return in July!
Thank you for catching this one, Dianna. When I’m back we’ll be thinking about London, I think. Yesterday, I packed for two trips and completed 16 pages of a scrapbook that needs my attention. Hope to finish it by the weekend and then I’m off and about.
Great story, Georgette. Now I know why I’ve not seen posts from you. I’ve gotten backlogged on reading. Enjoy all those fun things you have going on!
Thank you, Patti. I finished a 50 page scrapbook that had to get finished. We had oodles of pictures in frames around the house. I wanted to streamline the decor…answer: put them in a special scrapbook. All the frames went to a garage sale or donated. I’m feeling free and a bit more downsized.
Hi Georgette,
I know how the damp of London gets into ones bones so I can just imagine how happy you must’ve been to put on that warm sweater.
Love the dog story. Only in England would you have to come back to say hello to a dog! Why is that?
The English love their dogs! I will never forget how that day developed.
awww you came to London and we didn’t get to meet.
Hopefully next time you visit we can have coffee, it would be great. Sounds like you had a wonderful welcome to London.
This story came out of a memorable welcome oh so many years ago when I was a student. So no, you didn’t miss me. If I would go over again, you would know.