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!