Cheerio from London! Today's #SisAdventuresSaturday takes us to Buckingham Palace, afternoon tea at Claridge's, and a stroll through some new neighborhoods with friends. One of the main reasons aushellbell chose London for her trip was her fascination with the royals! The history, the traditions....everything. Who knew it would only take a few days for us to be welcomed into the family!
One thing we knew we didn’t want to miss was the tour of
Buckingham Palace. We booked these
tickets in advance from the Royal Collections Trust,
and we were able to select the day and time for our tour of the State
Rooms. We added the Garden Tour to our
ticket as well. Since this is an active
home for the Queen, we were unable to take pictures inside.
It was an audio tour
filled with royals and music, so we were able to take our time going through the Palace. We loved every second of this tour. There was also a special exhibit at that time
showing gifts the Queen has received from around the world. So neat to see! When the tour wrapped up, we
had a little snack in her café, then started our intimate tour of the
Garden. Highly recommend this add-on if
you have a choice. We learned a lot more
history and behind the scene facts along the way.
Based on the time of year, we had packed very fallish
clothes and rain boots, but we lucked out with the weather. Most days were clear blue skies and sunshine!
This was one of those days. After the
palace tour, we had reserved (in advance) afternoon tea at Claridge’s. We strolled in the beautiful weather from the
palace to the hotel.
We had only heard
wonderful things about this Claridge's tea experience, and we were not let down. The atmosphere was GORGEOUS and they had a
harp playing during our tea time. It was so elegant and peaceful. Simply a delight.
The first course of every tea service is the finger
sandwiches. Unbeknownst to us, however,
is that this course is typically served “all-you-can-eat!”. We ate our first plate, then they asked us if we wanted another tray!?! We elected to
just have a few bites of our favorites since we knew we still had more treats
coming our way!
Next course was the
scones and clotted cream. I could have
eaten my weight in these.
Then finally,
the sampling of desserts. These were so
beautiful. You could say too pretty to
eat!?!? NOT REALLY. They were like little works for art.
The super nice thing about this tea (and others), is whatever you didn't eat, they boxed up in the prettiest package for you to take home. We were able to enjoy these beautiful pastries the next couple of days. YUM.
We left our tea and took a leisurely stroll back to our hotel. We had made plans that night to meet up with
one of our friends who had moved from the States across the pond. It was so wonderful to see her and meet her
husband! We met them at our hotel then
they took us out for an adventure on the town. First stop was walking through Hyde Park. We had no idea it was so big! We
walked through the park and came out in South Kensington. It was such a cute little area filled with shops and
restaurants!
We strolled for a bit then
they brought us to one of their favorite local restaurants, Al Arez. A Lebanese restaurant almost across the
street from Harrod’s. Let me tell
you. WE FEASTED. London is a melting pot of fabulous foods and this one did not disappoint! We had a smorgasbord of hummus, meats, rice, naan and then the best baklava EVER. They
were so sweet at the end to give us hot teas to go. Very economical for the quantity AND quality
of food.
We ended our night with a ride back from So. Kensington on the tube and said goodbye to our friends. What another fun day!
{Note about “the tube” – London’s underground
transportation. We had been hesitant to
use, for no real reason other than it was just unknown to us. Our friends took us on our first ride and we
never looked back the rest of the trip. Don’t be hesitant. It is SO CLEAN
and so easy to use. It will make your
life much easier!}
Next #SisAdventuresSaturday, we head outside of the city to Windsor, Bath & Stonehenge. Stay tuned!
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