London Near Hyde Park

I’m currently writing this from the lobby of my hotel, across from Hyde Park in London. This hotel is very British, in many of the best possible ways. The bellmen all wear bowler hats and long, tan jackets with the lapel pins denoting their professional status. The lobby is ornate with stained glass skylights, dark wood tones and brass fixtures everywhere.

This is a place you an imagine being filled with cigar smoke decades ago, where men would conduct the business of the day drinking scotch. Daniel Craig’s James Bond would find this place to be just his style as he woos the women at the bar.

I just finished a conference nearby, at the Royal Aeronautical Society, about pilotless aircraft (sorry 007 – dangerous flying is now for robots). The conference was excellent – small, intimate and perfect for great, engaging discussions. I normally avoid staying at five-star hotels in London, across from Buckingham Palace, but this for trip it was the best option to be close to the venue and for networking with other participants.

The hotel lobby

The hotel has a club, which also makes it easier to justify the cost. The club offers three meals per day – breakfast, cream tea, and supper. Cream tea is my favorite of these meals. The British know how to do tea and biscuits better than anywhere else. English Breakfast Tea with soy milk, a little sugar and biscuits with lemon curd are the best afternoon treat. After all, when in England…

I’m always impressed with London. It has a culture that is reminiscent of New York, where there is a blending of different people, traditions and ideas. It has its own formalities, and yet it is happy to shed these for some good fun. People smile here more than they do in New York. People are happy to be here, to participate in a society that welcomes them. The Underground is a marvel of convenience. In Tokyo, the trains run consistently on time. Here they run constantly. And tickets are easier than ever. Simply swipe a credit card to get into the station and then again to exit and you are charged the exact cost of the ticket. There is no need to buy a ticket or worry about having exact change.

The Underground stations can also be a workout. My coach frequently puts suitcase carries on my workout plans. With station lifts (elevators) that are difficult to find or out of operation and few escalators, my 50 lb suitcase suddenly becomes my extra-large kettlebell. My 25 lb backpack is my added weight to make the exercise that much more intense. It is like training, but in real life and suddenly practical.