London has its own vibe, culture, feeling. My husband and I took at trip London for a city adventure, as well as the Cotswolds, to get a taste of country life. Today, we will review our trip to London.
Initially we set our trip for England and Scotland, based upon several English couples we had spoken with last year in Portugal. They said, Springtime was a good time to visit. So we went with Spring and arranged it all.
You saw on my REEL, how I am able to pack nearly 2 weeks in a carryon, and I joked as well saying, I could have gotten on with about 4 outfits in tow. Just wear, and repeat. Let’s face it every outfit is covered up by layers and in my case, layers and a trench coat. So, what did people see most of the time was the trench, black pants or jeans, and a sneaker. I added color by scarves to change things up.
The flight was a straight shot from Charlotte to Heathrow, London, and we left around 8 pm. I just can’t do the stop overs, as it is too much time sitting. So straight, direct flights are the way we go.
London was the first day, as well as the last 2.5 days portion of our trip. So, my posts will be London ( part I) Edinburgh Scotland ( Part 2) and The Cotswolds ( Part 3).
I met some English Ladies and noticed we all have fashionable “trainers”. Asked if I could snap a pic 🙂 I am wearing the black and cream Golas.
The Food and The Tea
The real worry was “Haggis” but that was Part 2 of our trip to Edinburgh. I don’t eat beans or mushrooms, nor blood sausage, so I stuck with some lovely sourdough, eggs and salmon breakfast many of the days. We did have chicken and veggies pot pies, chunky chips, and fish and I was quite happy with that. Very filling, very substaintial. Fish was haddock or salmon most times. Although I did have smoked trout in my finger sandwich at the Orangery for tea.
Being 25%b English, I had to book 2 teas in England. We had a wonderful tea at the Orangery, a part of Kensington Palace. It was a delight! I really felt quite pampered, and even noticed my pinky extending its approval, whilst having a cup of Earl Grey. We were given pots of tea of our choosing, and we both decided upon English Breakfast and Earl Grey. Yes, quintessential English. I need to get more loose-leaf tea, a strainer, and cup and make my tea the way it was served., It was so delicious! We each were brought out a tower, and of course my eyes are quite larger than my stomach. ( Especially with gastroparesis). I ate all of the savory sandwiches, which included a curry chicken spicy wrap slice, cucumber and dill, cream cheese, smoked trout. Then I was able to manage one of the scones ( our biscuits) with cotted cream and jam. Hubby finished the rest, although I had to try the raspberry tart that was calling my name
The Pubs and Meetup
We had visited several pubs and enjoyed the environment, often sitting at the bar. I got a kick out of the beer named, “Proper Job” an IPA. I think my family once thought I needed one of those, in between blogging/content creation and teaching guitar. I was able to meet up on our last day with Emma Peach, the blogger behind, a Style Splash. We have “Known” each other since we started blogging 10 years ago, and only now had met face to face! She was gracious enough to take the train to London to meet. My hubby, Emma and I had a great time chatting and laughing. It seemed as if we knew each other straightaway. Anyone that laughs at my sense of humor is alright in my book!
The Churchill War Rooms
The war rooms were something to see. Churchill was a revered man, Winston Churchill.
“Step back in time and explore the secret underground headquarters where the course of the Second World War was determined.”
We were seeing the headquarters, how the operated, when they operated, and got a taste of how Churchill worked.
It is quite fascinating to see the War Rooms, where men and women slept and conducted meetings and plans for the second World War, as determined by Churchill.
For this, there was a guided audio tour that explained each room in detail and is certainly advised.
The City
We stayed in Kensington and basically got around via walking and calling an Uber. One day we had walked about 10 miles, between Kensington Park and also Hyde Park. So picturesque that the swan and ducks, sit out of the pond and sleep or are so used to visitors. I did try and pet one and was almost nipped! I love to walk and explore, and so that is what we did the day we were coming in my plane. We leave the bags and then go out and explore what the neighborhood had to offer. I did want to go to Marks & Spencer, a quintessential English shop, but only saw M&S food. I did go into the Zara for a quick look and bought a few tops.
The liveliness of the city at night, and the fun times chatting with locals makes the pubs even more inviting. I loved the parks, the scenery and enjoyed the food.
We did either walk or take Ubers everywhere, especially if we had scheduled times. You can walk , however in Kensington Gardens, and spend a beautiful afternoon just enjoying the sights.
Rick Steves
Since we do our own trip planning, we often go by the Rick Steve Guidebooks, which are helpful in knowing place to go, and places to avoid. I will often research hotels/VRBOs based upon his recommendations. When we were in Pompeii, I used one of his tour groups, but he also has self-guided walks and tours you can use with your phones, if you need a bit more flexibility. I book the hotels and events this way and often find good restaurants and prices for such as well.
We ate quite well. London has an assortment of Eastern European foods, Asian, English and the lot. We ate at several pubs and enjoyed fish and chips ( love the chunky chips- here known as Steak fries). We also enjoyed some fish cakes ( me) and meat pies ( hubby), traditional English.
The British Museum
The British Museum is wonder. Artifacts from both Egypt and Greece are in stone and just as awe- inspiring as you would imagine. We reveled at the “Rosetta Stone” as well as the written Egyptian communication of Hieroglyphics. The Pantheon was shown as were all of the stories told by stone, and pictures. It was amazing.
I wanted to see the Death and Afterlife portion of the museum, where you see Mummies, tombs, the artifacts that they use at burials, and king’s coffins.
Buckingham Palace was extremely crowded, and we did see the guards (thanks to hubby’s long arms and phone camera. There would be no “changing of the guard” that day, but we did see guards on horses in a routine ritual.
“Big Ben kids”….
I can’t help think of European Vacation with Chevy Chase, when I think of Big Ben. It really is something to see.
London, with its high street, shows, and all there is to see, is such a wonderous place. I loved staying in Kensington and viewing the Gardens as well.
