Day 1
We took the chunnel from Paris to London and I had another scare with my train tickets since they were also in my married name meaning that they differed from my passport. Luckily I had no problems. The high speed train went under the English Channel and all of the tunnels on the way were making my ears pop horribly. I was stuck sitting across from an English guy who started snoring about two minutes after he put his sleep mask on and had his legs way over into my space. I finally just kind of kicked him and he startled awake and put his legs where they belonged.
Anyway, when we got to London we hit the ground running. While we were waiting to check into our flat we had lunch at Sorrento. It was this little place recommended to us by Nick, the front desk guy at our apartment building. It was GREAT. The food was super cheap and the homemade spinach and cheese quiche I had knocked my socks off. The lady who ran the place was so friendly and kept calling us all “darling.”
Then we headed to Westminster Abbey and got there just in time to attend the Evensong service. It was interesting and I enjoyed hearing the boys choir sing. Time well-spent in my opinion. We had dinner at The London Pub and all ordered fish and chips. We managed to squeeze in Westminster Abbey and fish and chips in a pub all in our first few hours in London.
Day 2
We took a train to the Cotswolds today since the weather for the rest of the week looked iffy. Part of the movie Stardust was filmed in the Costwolds. Anyway, it rained a little on and off while we were there but it was nothing much. We got off the train in Moreton-in-Marsh and walked around there for a while and then headed to another Cotswold village called Bourton-on-the-Water, which I thought was prettier. They both had lots of interesting shops and we had lunch at a traditional pub called The Black Bear. They had a fire going and it was fun to listen to the locals talk. One guy was saying how he had to fire a girl because she’d been e-mailing her boyfriend all day. It was comical. Tomorrow it’s supposed to rain a lot so we’re planning to visit The British Museum.
Overall London has not been quite as interesting as Paris because it is much more modern than Paris since much of it was destroyed in WWII. The attractions are much more spread out here so it’s not as walkable as Paris either, but we are still having a fantastic time.
Day 3
Today we went to The British Museum. It was much more enjoyable for me than the Louvre because everything was in English, and it was FREE. Can’t beat that. The highlight for me was listening to a talk by one of the museum staff about the pictures in the portrait gallery there. I also found the mummy section really interesting. After that we had lunch again at Sorrento and it was delicious once again. Then we walked to Oxford Street and went into some of the shops there. Dave wanted to go back to some of the shops around The British Museum so we did that. I went into the museum to use the bathroom and ended up getting a really cool necklace from one of the shops there. The design was moulded from some Byzantine earrings from 600 A.D.
Anyway, then it was off to the grocery store to shop for dinner. We ended up having Cumberland sausage with mashed potatoes and crumptets with clotted cream and jam for dessert. I have decided I am a fan of crumpets. You should try them. They’re sort of like English muffins only more spongy, so jam, honey, etc…soaks all through them. Yum.
Day 4
We tackled the Tower of London today. It was pretty cool. I think my favorite part was seeing all of the graffiti that prisoners had cared into the walls while they were held there, many of whom were tortured and eventually executed. The crown jewels are also housed at the Tower and we got to see them, which was quite interesting. It was packed with school kids though, which did take away from the atmosphere. Dave felt like many of the displays were hokey, but they did bother me as much as the drovers of elementary-schoolers. Even so, it was definitely worth visiting.
When we finished at the Tower we made our way to St. Paul’s Cathedral and were disappointed to learn that we had to pay to get in. So, we had to be satisfied with what we could glimpse from the lobby. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around and visited some shops. Then we went back to the flat to regroup and figure out where to go for dinner. We finally decided on a pub called The Plough that was supposed to be good but when we got there it was packed so we started looking for somewhere else. After a good bit of walking we ended up back at The London Pub (where we had dinner our first night in London). At first we were a little disheartened to be there again, but the fried chicken sandwiches we got tasted amazing.
Day 5
Today we started with The National Gallery then had lunch at a pub called The Shades. It left a lot to be desired. The waitress was Russian (we think) and didn’t communicate well and the food was sub par. On our way there we ran into this big march going on that had to do with the G20 Economic Summit that is about to take place in London.
After lunch we went to the National Portrait Gallery. My favorite part was seeing all of the original paintings of the Tudors. It was raining outside when we got done there so we decided to pop into the Portrait Café for some tea/coffee and scones. I really enjoyed that. I think tea might become a part of my daily routine when we get back. We’ll see. We left there and it had stopped raining so we started making our way to St. James Park. That was where a hungry squirrel actually started climbing u my leg thinking I had food in my hand. I was a little freaked out at first but then wanted to get a picture of it but it didn’t work out. That was cool. Then it started hailing/raining on us. Luckily that was short-lived. We decided that it might be worth making a trip to Harrod’s since the weather was less than favorable. I am so glad we did. I now know why it is “the world’s most famous department store.” It far exceeded my expectations. I have never seen so many of the finer things in life in one place. It was really fascinating. There was no limit to what could be purchased here. Ask me and I’ll tell you more about it. We did end up buying some bread, cheese, and pasta sauce from the Harrod’s food hall and had a nice spaghetti dinner at the flat. Tomorrow it’s Hampton Court Palace. Hopefully the weather will be a little better!
Day 6
We started out today thinking that we were going to Hampton Court Palace, but after buying our train tickets from one of the self-service ticket machines we were told that there were no direct trains going to Hampton Court that day because of engineering work. So, we got a refund for the tickets and took the Underground to Hampstead, a suburb of London. It was a really pretty place and we got to walk around for a bit in Hampstead Heath, a huge sort of park/nature area there.
We had lunch there a visited a few shops. Then we hopped back on the tube to London and shopped for our dinner. I guess supper of pesto pork chops didn’t quite satisfy us because after about an hour we were determined to go and find dessert somewhere. We managed to find a place nearby called Patisserie Valerie where Dave and Will scored some ice cream and I got a big slice of double chocolate cake, which I now wish I hadn’t eaten because I feel disgusting. Oh, and before we went shopping we went back to The British Museum because there were a few more rooms will wanted to see. We got to see the Rosetta Stone. It was much bigger than I expected it to be.
Anyway, tomorrow we’re going to try for Hampton Court Palace again. I can’t believe tomorrow is our last full day here. It’s pretty sad really, although I am looking forward to seeing Pip. And it’s probably best that I stop being a complete glutton sometime in the near future.
Day 7
Today was our last full day in London. Our flight leaves from Heathrow tomorrow at 12:20 p.m.
We went to Hampton Court Palace today and it was really enjoyable. The weather was good, it wasn’t crowded and the gardens were magical. I could have wandered around in those gardens for days. We brought sandwiches along for lunch and ate them on a bench amongst a tone of daffodils and flowering trees.
It was really fascinating to walk the same halls as the Tudors and so many other English monarchs. I got a picture with Henry VIII that I will treasure. ☺
We got back to London around 5 p.m. and wanted to make the most of the time we had left so we walked around the Covent Garden and Soho neighborhoods. It was really lively and very pedestrian friendly. It’s the only area I’ve seen here that remotely reminds me of Paris. We eventually stopped for dinner at a “ristorante Italiano” called Piccolo Diavolo. It was excellent and the wait staff were actually Italian and super friendly. I had mushroom risotto and Dave got a lamb streak. Will went for chicken cordon bleu. It was all very good and the tiramisu I got for dessert was the best I’ve ever had. Overall it was a great experience and a fun way to spend our last evening in London.
Now we’re all back at the flat packing. I am sad that the trip is ending, but it has to of course. It will be nice to get back to friends, family, Pip, and spring weather in Fayetteville. I am already thinking about our next adventure – hopefully to South America or British Columbia.
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