Hi all,
We arrive at 6:45 AM on a Monday at Heathrow and will take the Heathrow Express to Paddington. So, depending on how fast we clear customs, we will still be arriving fairly early, perhaps as soon as 8 AM. We are staying at an apartment in Notting Hill. There is a chance we may be able to check in early, but won't know till a few days before we arrive. If we can, we would probably just walk the neighborhood including Portobello Rd. But if we can't then we will put our luggage in lockers at Paddington and explore.
We typically will push to stay up as long as possible on that first day to get the body clock acclimated. So we will want fun things to do - nothing intellectually heavy - I would never plan on a museum on the first day.
One obvious choice is to walk in Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens. But I am wondering if folks have any other suggestions, even if it means riding the tube or a bus somewhere else.