We left Nashville around 2:30 pm on Thursday, January 16, 2014 and arrived in London's Heathrow airport the following morning at around 7:00 am. Needless to say, we were running on mostly adrenaline and no sleep as we explored London on our first day. We took the underground train to Paddington and was able to get an early check-in to the Royal Eagle Hotel. After dropping off our luggage, we went back on the underground train to Notting Hill.
#1 Take a stroll down Notting Hill.
This was such a charming place with quaint little shops. I could definitely picture Julia Roberts meeting Hugh Grant at the Notting Hill Bookshop. One of my favorite stores had antique sewing machines everywhere!
#2 Shop at the Portobello Market.
Portobello Road goes straight through the heart of Notting Hill. This market is one of the most famous street markets in the world. Although we didn't buy anything, I enjoyed seeing all of the little stands of fruit and veggies, and I was especially fascinated with all of the variations of olives you could buy. You could also watch street artists in action.
#3 Visit the Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens.
After visiting the Notting Hill area, we walked to Kensington Palace and the gardens. We saw the location of Princess Diana's memorial fountain although it was turned off. Our main mission in this area was to see the Peter Pan statue. It was adorable.
By this time, the day was getting colder and colder, and we were getting so tired from all of the walking and the jet lag. Nevertheless, we kept plowing ahead and made it to Harrod's.
#4 Go shopping at Harrod's.
By now, we're starving. As luck would have it, we stumbled upon a wonderful restaurant, The Georgian, inside Harrod's.
#5 Have afternoon tea.
I believe this was my favorite meal of the whole trip. In fact, I loved afternoon tea so much, I had it all three days in London! I quickly learned that afternoon tea is not just a nice cup of hot tea. It is a rather standardized menu. No matter where we ordered it, it came with a selection of finger sandwiches (egg salad, smoked salmon, and cucumber), warm scones with clotted cream and strawberry preserves, and a variety of little cakes and pastries. In fact, the only variation was the tea itself. At Harrod's, I ordered the "Blackcurrant and Hibscus" tea. It was so good that I ended up buying some to take home. I was told I had to make a minimum purchase of five pounds. What? I was startled for a minute, but I still was determined to lug the five pounds back home. It was that good! Then, the guy said, "Not weight. [Duh] Currency." Oh. Right. This is going to take some getting used to!
After taking the underground train back to the hotel, we were in bed by 7:30 pm due to the time change. Our first day in London was amazing!
Saturday, January 18, 2014 - my birthday!
We took the underground train to Victoria Station.
#6 Watch the changing of the guard in front of Buckingham Palace.
Close. We did see the guards, but the changing of the guard was cancelled for the day. Oh well.
#7 Celebrate your 50th as a Queen and have your photo with your crown in front of the Palace.
OK. Time to get a little silly. I must say, though, that Steve and Keely treated me like a Queen during this whole trip, not just on my birthday. And, it was so nice!
#8 Visit Westminster Abbey.
Such a beautiful place. We didn't go inside Westminster Abbey, but we did go inside St. Margaret's Church right beside it. I loved all the stain glass windows the most.
I didn't realize how large Big Ben was!
#10. Eat fish 'n chips in London.
You could buy this stuff all over the place. Where did we go? St. Stephen's Tavern. I'm not going to resist any establishment who recognizes Stephen as a saint. :)
#11 Take a ride on the London Eye.
The views were spectacular!
#12 Take a ride on a double decker bus.
We purchased an all day pass so that we could hop on and off throughout the day. A tour guide made it fun as well as informative.
#13 Cross over Westminster Bridge and view the Houses of Parliament.
The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Houses of Parliament: House of Commons and the House of Lords. It's the building that Big Ben is attached to. I didn't realize that until later!
#14 Take a ride on a ferry down Thames River.
Our Captain did a great job serving as tour guide. I giggled at all of his corny jokes throughout the whole ride, much to Steve and Keely's dismay. We rode under the London Bridge. I was surprised at its lack of grandeur. The Tower Bridge was much more impressive.
#15 Visit the Tower of London.
On the way to the Tower of London, we saw this amazing castle. I'm still not sure what the name of it is. Keely and I both agreed that if we had our choice, we would live there as opposed to Buckingham Palace or the Kensington Palace.
From here, we rode the double decker bus to the Ritz Carlton. We had heard that they have the best afternoon tea. What we didn't know, though, was that they're always sold out, requiring reservations as well as formal dress. This was a blessing in disguise. As a result, we headed across the street to a charming St. Pierre Cafe for my birthday dinner: afternoon tea, vegetarian ravioli, and chocolate mousse cake. Mmmmmm. Best birthday ever!
Sunday, January 19, 2014. Our last day in London.
#16 See Wimbledon.
I knew this would be one of Steve's favorite activities in London. Considered the most prestigious tennis tournament, this place was rich with tradition and history. We booked a tour of the facilities. I learned that surprisingly most of the complex was only used two weeks out of the year. It's a private club with only 500 members. We got to see center court where they still had not cleared the scoreboard from Murray's win last year over Djokovic. This was one proud place as Murray was the first British man in 77 years to claim the title.
#17 Go to the British Library - it's the world's largest library!
This was another fascinating place. Here, we viewed the original and current Magna Carta, a document almost 800 years old! (We weren't allowed to take any photos.) We also got to see some of the Beatles' original song writing . . . some on the back of envelopes. We also viewed first editions of Peter Pan, The Secret Garden, and Paddington Bear.
#18 Go shopping on Oxford Street.
This is one of London's most popular shopping destinations. Once again, I didn't buy anything. . . not for lack of trying!
We had dinner at Cafe Concerto. Yes, another afternoon tea. :) We headed back to the hotel for an early night since we were leaving for Paris in the morning.
Monday, January 20, 2014.
#19 Take a photo next to Platform 9 3/4 before departing for Paris.
For any Harry Potter fans, this was a must see. We had also planned to see the real Hogwarts Castle, but it was closed for the winter.
This is my favorite photo from the whole trip.
London was more than I ever hoped for. Next up: Paris!
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