Fortnum & Mason tea, Westminster Abbey and a Meat Pie

Cheerio! We've made it to our last day in London Town. WE. LOVED. LONDON. It was very clean.  You had the mix of old history, royalty & new, and (if you speak English) you didn't have to struggle with any language barriers. We would go back in a heartbeat!

For our last day in the city, we knew we wanted to do another tea. This is an event in itself, and we had heard rave reviews about Fortnum & Mason's tea in the Diamond Jubliee tea salon! Fortnum & Mason is an upscale department store in the Picadilly area of London famous for the market goods and hampers.

The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon was named after Queen Elizabeth's reign of 60 years. We had made reservations pretty far in advance, so I recommend doing the same if you have a certain day/time you want to attend. Especially if your visit falls on  the weekend.

Isn't the menu so pretty? Their theme color is the turquoise blue so everything had that tint! 

 

They have a few different menus to choose from. Take note! Your party does not have to choose the same one. We chose the Savoury Afternoon Tea and then the Vegetarian Tea. That gave us the opportunity to sample different sandwiches and treats. Make sure and do this so you can have a variety! 

At this tea service, all of the "courses" come out at the same time. Here you are also able to get "seconds" of the finger sandwiches. Everything was DELISH.  

 

We left STUFFED but this was our favorite tea of the trip. Definitely go to Fortnum & Mason's. Even if you don't opt for the afternoon tea, it's a great place for souvenirs and such. They sell loose tea and boxes of tea bags. We bought some for our friends and ourselves! We still are enjoying the tea. It makes us think of our trip every time we have it!

After tea, we strolled through town heading toward Westminster. You may have heard that Big Ben is under renovation, so he is silent for the next few years. We said we'd just have to go back to hear him ring. :-) 

One thing we knew we wanted to do was go to Westminster Abbey. This, of course, is where the Queen was married, where Prince William and Kate tied the knot, and the funeral of Princess Diana. You are not allowed to take pictures inside the main abbey, but you are able to tour the abbey throughout the week.

Instead of taking a tour, we opted to attend Evensong. Evensong is basically an evening prayer through music and verse. It is an official service, so you aren't allow to "tour" the building. We stood in line and were lucky enough to sit in the area with the choir (known as the "quire"). It was AMAZING. The sounds of the choir through the abbey were so beautiful. This was one of those moments we'll always remember. I highly recommend doing this if you have a chance.

Another fun thing that was happening when we were there was an NFL Football game! They had a HUGE party on Regent Street. They shut down the street and it was full of vendors, games, and live music. It was such a neat atmosphere. They were giving away free samples, and you could participate in a variety of games to test your football skills.   

 TOUCHDOWN!

After our leisurely day, we knew the only thing we had not checked off our list was a traditional British Pub and meat pie. We had made reservations (same day) at the Admiralty Pub in Trafalgar Square. It was a messy night and this was such a cozy atmosphere. It was a Saturday night, so it was packed.

We split a Scotch Egg to start and also got another round of fish and chips because - WHY NOT!? 

And then the meat pie. We weren't exactly sure what that meant, but really, it's just a pastry shell filled with  meats and vegetables. We opted not to get the kidney pie (eeek) so settled for the beef pie.

It was SO good.  Comfort in your mouth. We understand why they are so popular. 

It was the perfect ending to our week in London. We covered a lot of ground but hopefully one day will be able to go back and explore more! Next time we will talk about where we stayed -- then we get ready to cross the channel for a week in Paris! 

Cheerio and Cheers till next time, London Town! #SisAdventuresSaturday

XO,

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!