Obviously my plan to update every day about our trip never reached fruition. Oh, well. We're now back in the good ol' USA, and we had a great time in London. I'll give you a very Spark Notes version of our trip, and if you have any questions about any of the things I mentioned, feel free to ask. (By the way, Jen is the only one showing me any comment love lately. What's up with that?? And thanks, Jen, for commenting!)
Monday, we...
...went to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard. It was pretty cool, but we didn't have a good enough place to stand to see/hear everything. We got the gist of it, though. Darryl and I would have been okay with it being about 20 minutes shorter.
...went to Trafalgar Square and ate lunch at Cafe in the Crypt.
...went to Harrod's. Y'all, that place is insanely ridiculous. Where else can you buy a 6-carat diamond and pick up a 10 pounds of shrimp at the same time? We had a dessert there (surprise, surprise) in a big frou-frou cafe.
Tuesday, we...
...went to the Tower of London. This was probably one of my favorite touristy places that we visited. So much sick and twisted history there. We saw the Crown Jewels, of course, but what I was fascinated most by was the exact location where Anne Boleyn literally lost her head.
...went to the British Museum. Darryl and I were both disappointed by this museum, but primarily because we didn't really understand what it was all about. We thought the museum housed collections from the ancient past to the present, but we were wrong. It is room after room of Mesopotamian pottery, Egyptian tombs, and such. Now if you're into the artifacts of ancient civilizations, you will love this place. If not (and I'm in this group), it is just like one long 10th Grade World History video. The building is impressive, however...and I did see the real Rosetta Stone.
...walked along the Thames to see Big Ben and the House of Parliament "lit up" at night. Beautiful.
Wednesday, we...
...went to Westminster Abbey. I loved this as well. I think you could spend a full day here and still not see everything.
...kind of saw St. Paul's Cathedral. The only reason I wanted to go there was that Charles and Diana were married there. (It was a wedding I reenacted MANY times with my Barbie dolls.) There was a long line, however, and we were both tired, so we pretty much just stuck our heads in the door, looked around as far as the eye could see, and ducked out.
...went to the area known as Piccadilly Circus and bought some souvenirs.
...saw the musical Billy Elliott at Victoria Palace Theatre. I love, love, love musicals, and this one was wonderful. The choreography alone makes this production worth seeing. It is based on the movie of the same name that came out about seven years ago. So, so good.
Thursday, we...
...did the London Eye, which is a huge ferris-wheel type contraption that allows you to see London from "way up high."
...took a train to Oxford. I really wanted to see the school (which is sprawling and all over the place). We also had "cream tea" at a little tea room called The Rose and had some awesome scones with clotted cream and jam. (I agree, Tim..."clotted cream" is a really gross name for something that tastes that divine.)
...did NOT go to Stratford-upon-Avon. It was in our plan all along to take a tour of Shakespeare's birthplace, but by Thursday, I wasn't up to it. Will my English degree be revoked because I was in London and failed to make that pilgrimage??!?
Friday, we...
...walked around the area where our hotel was, soaking in the last bit of London.
And then we left.
A little something extra that probably isn't covered in any tour guide manuals...The public restrooms in London are nothing short of amazing. Spotlessly clean, and, AND...you get your own little "closet" with floor to ceiling walls. (I really had nowhere to work that in earlier, but it is something I thought y'all should know.)
We really had a wonderful time. We missed Amelia terribly, of course, but it was also nice to spend time just the two of us in such an interesting place. I've wanted to go to London since I was in college, so I'm thrilled we had the opportunity. We're also very grateful to my parents, who kept a very, very active 17-month-old girl for a week. I think they may need weeks to recover. :)
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3 comments:
Sending you some comment love! Reading all your posts about London reminded me of a story I need to tell you in person about the Churchill hotel and a single malt scotch called Sheep Dip. I am not making this up. Can't wait to hear stories in person!
Thanks for the comment love!
Kim, definitely tell me that story.
Jen, I kind of want to kick myself for it. At the same time, however, we were dog tired and it's a five hour (round trip) venture...and we were spending nine hours on a plane the next day. In retrospect, we probably should have planned that trip earlier in the week.
Of course, I think that just gives me an excuse to go again. :)
And I hate to disappoint you on the Dickens front, BUT...I didn't really see any Dickens stuff. There is a very small museum in London that supposedly is the house where he "might" have written NICHOLAS NICKLEBY (sp?), but I've heard there's not much to it, so I didn't go. Now, if there were a place in London marked as the location where he wrote TALE OF TWO CITIES, I'd be there for sure! :)
So glad I visited blog-land again to get the details of your trip. Love the comment about "clotted cream" & glad you clarified that it tastes divine! Sounds like a great trip & some good couple time!
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