Windsor - Bath - Stonehenge

Halloo! Today we leave the city and explore Windsor Castle, the town of Bath (famous for the Roman Baths) and Stonehenge! We had booked another full day of guided tours via Golden Tours. We met the bus very early, and our first stop was the town of Windsor. Of course, it’s famous for the Queen’s castle, but it was such a cute town. We arrived and walked through the "train station" heading straight to the castle.

We were provided an audio tour so could take our time exploring each room. A lot of the rooms look straight out of medieval times! This is where the Queen’s Order of the Garter meets annually – it’s known as the most prestigious order of chivalry in England and the UK! We walked around the grounds some more then went into St. George’s Cathedral. Of course, all eyes of the world will be on this chapel this year for the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan.  I can only imagine how beautiful the grounds will be that day!

As we headed to the bus, it was time for the changing of the guards. Much easier to see and appreciate at this residence than at Buckingham Palace!  It's like your own personal show.

We said goodbye to Windsor and settled in for lunch on the bus as we drove toward Bath. Bath, Windsor, and Canterbury have something famous in each of their cities, and for some reason that is all our minds associated those cities with. They are SO much more. Such charming little villages with the cutest shops and restaurants and cafes. We could’ve spent a day in each but on the guided tours – we had limited time. I guess that’s the whole point of the tour - to give you highlights so you'll want to go back!

We arrived in Bath and headed straight to the “Roman Baths”. They were just in the middle of this little city.  We had heard a little about them but words do not do it justice. It was such a neat experience to walk through the walls and floors of this place that was packed with so much history. You were provided a audio tour where you could learn fun facts or travel back in time and hear someone’s perspective as like they were here hundreds of years ago. You could even try some batch water at the very end.  Ewww.  Not the best.  J

Before we headed back to the bus, our tour guide had recommended stopping and getting a Cornish pastie (pronounced passsssstie). It was very similar to an empanada filled with beef and vegetables.  It was a little restaurant called The Cornish Bakery. It was a perfect little snack on this cooler day!

When we got back on the bus it started to rain. We made our journey over to Stonehenge. By the time we got there, it was cold, windy, and rainy. We were let out and given time to explore. We took a little shuttle bus out to the rocks.  There’s not too many words to say about Stonehenge. It is what it is.  It was SUPER neat to see and amazing to hear about all the theories of how they rocks got to where they are. After you walk around the rocks though, there’s not much else to do. We both felt like there was way too much time allotted here, where we should have had more time to explore at Windsor or Bath. The change in weather probably didn’t help our mood either, but we were troopers and made the best of it!

What a day of touring! We were exhausted so had a little snack and toast before calling it a day. 

Next up -- A morning at a museum, Bubble Tea (YES) and a show on the West End!

Being a royal, London tea, & friends and food

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!

London Town Day 1 and 2

Last year we went on a two-week vacation to London and Paris to celebrate aushellbell’s big birthday! We had such a great time and over the next few weeks we plan to share the highlights of our trip: Where we stayed, what we saw, and what we ate!

Today we start with our first days in London Town.  We arrived around lunch and could not check into our hotel yet, so we set off on foot to explore our “neighborhood”.  We were staying right next to Hyde Park at the Marriott Park Lane (more info on that later!).  It always takes us a while to get our bearings, and it was no exception here.  At first everything seemed so far away – but a few days in, we realized we were in the heart of it all with tube access at our feet. 

We had planned weeks in advance most of our meals using TripAdvisor and OpenTable.  It helps us plan our schedule (and keep our sanity) knowing where we are going to eat and at what time.  One of the must-eat meals in London is their Sunday Roast.  We had heard great things about Blacklock Soho’s Sunday Roast and had reserved it months in advance.  Thank goodness – they were turning people away! It was on a small street and claimed to have roast “almost as good as your mum’s”.  You can go “All In” and get some of each or pick one meat (beef rump, lamb leg, or pork loin).  It’s served with all the English “fixings”:  Yorkshire pudding, vegetables, and potatoes.  It was SO MUCH FOOD.  And so yummy.  It was a perfect start to our trip, and we highly recommend making reservations in advance so you can experience a true “Sunday roast”. 

Afterwards the jet lag was REAL but we tried to stay up a tad longer.  We meandered our way back to our hotel and called it a night. 

The next morning, we woke up bright and early for our GoldenTours tour – “The Total London Experience”.  For the trip we planned a good mix of planned events and leisure time.  We wanted plenty of our own time to explore but wanted to take advantage of tours to help us see as much as we can.  We took a cab down to Victoria’s Station where we hopped on our bus for a day of sightseeing.  We try to do a city tour the first day of all of our trips to help us get acclimated to the city.

Stop 1:  St Paul’s Cathedral

We wound our way through London over to St. Paul’s Cathedral.  One of our favorite things to learn was that this was the church were Mary Poppins “feeds the birds tuppence”.  This cathedral is also famous for the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Dianna. We had time to walk around the cathedral and go down into the crypt.  It’s amazing to think the history and the footsteps we were walking in.

Stop 2:  Changing of Guards at Buckingham Palace

The tour guide had this great idea that we could cross plum across town and be able to catch the Changing of the Guards.  They dropped us off a few blocks away and said GO! It was crowded, it was raining, it was not well planned. The changing of the guards happens at any “home” of Queen Elizabeth so our recommendation is to catch it at Windsor Castle.  LOTS less people and the same pageantry you would expect.

Stop 3:  Tower of London

We left Buckingham Palace (we’ll go back, don’t worry) and ate lunch on the bus and headed over to the Tower of London.  When we arrived we had a little time before our ticketed entrance.  We walked around and decided to stop in for some chai tea to warm us up! Talk about a nice view!

We met back up with our group and all went in together.  The first stop was to visit the Beefeater who gave us history of the tower and of their job guarding the castle.  Fascinating.  The Tower is most famous for being the home of the Crown Jewels but it was so neat to walk around all the other buildings and prisons.  Inside the building that held the jewels (and later all the Queen’s residences) you are not allowed to take pictures.

Stop 4:  Boat Ride to Greenwich

From the Tower we got on a boat and took a trip up the Thames to Greenwich.  It was so neat being on the boat.  We were able to go under Tower Bridge (which everyone mistakes for “London Bridge”) and passed through the various “neighborhoods” of London.  We got off at The Old Royal Navy college and were able to stand between the “spot” that marks the “Eastern and “Western” Hemisphere.  There is a visitor center there that has lots of fun activities and interactive displays. Of course, mkmaddox, had to try on everything!

To conclude the tour, we got back on the boat and heading down the Thames back toward the city.  Our final stop was at the London Eye.  We decided to wait on the Eye for another day but talk about a photo stop view of the Parliament Building and Big Ben!

We ended the day with a London bang by having probably the most infamous London meal – fish and chips! We had researched and researched where to eat this meal, and this was one of our favorite meals of the entire two-week trip! Based on other reviews, we made reservations in advance (again, they turned several away) at The Mayfair Chippy.  It was such a charming little restaurant.  You can order food to go as some did while we were there.  We shared an heirloom tomato salad for an appetizer then the piece de résistance came out.  It was the crispiest, flakiest, freshest fish.  I still think about this meal.  It was served with tartar sauce and mushy peas and curry sauce over a bed of chips.  We were stuffed but couldn’t pass up the Sticky Toffee Pudding served with ice cream.  The staff was so nice and accommodating and this was such a delightful meal to end a perfect day.

Can't wait to share the rest of our trip.  Stay tuned for more #sisadventures fun!