This afternoon, we will check out of the hotel and hop on a train to Heathrow airport. I booked a room at the Sofitel at Terminal 5 for tonight so we could have a comfy last night in London, and an easy walk to our gate in the morning.
Our train leaves Greenwich at about 1pm, so we plan to spend this morning seeing a few more sights. The Painted Hall is supposed to be beautiful. It is the former dining hall of the 18th-century sailors’ hospital that the Old Royal Naval College occupies. Its ceilings and walls were painted in the 1700s with stunning scenes celebrating British history. People have compared it to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. This we have to see.
After paying about $50 entrance fee for both of us, it was a bit underwhelming. There was a large art installation of sorts inside that had just opened there that day.
What visitors to the Painted Hall expect to see (this is a photo of the brochure):
Nice, isn’t it? This is what we saw:
The giant lamps are nice, but I’d really rather see the ceiling. 🙂 Oh well.
That wraps up our visit to Greenwich. We’re walking to the train station, so of course it’s raining again. We transferred to the Elizabeth Line to LHR and experienced an ominous 20-minute delay about halfway there when the overhead electric lines stopped working. But we kept the faith and eventually made it to our comfy hotel room at the airport. We celebrated Halloween with Shepherd’s pie and a bottle of wine.
Our flight home tomorrow is a 10-hour direct flight to Austin. Nice and easy.
What a great trip.
Links for the curious:
The Painted Hall website to plan your visit. They have a well-done 3D virtual tour that’s worth a look, whether or not you’ve already visited in person.
Where to stay? If you want to stay at the airport, and specifically Terminal 5, Sofitel is your best bet. The Elizabeth Line from London runs to each terminal at LHR. It’s an elevator ride and an easy walk from the railway station to the hotel reception desk.
Sheila365 