After an incredible week in Romania with Marcus’ mom and sister, we had to say goodbye! We flew in to London and met up with my sister for some delicious Lebanese food before crashing hard at our Airbnb in Notting Hill. The next morning was bittersweet as Marcus left for Los Angeles to record an EP for his band First and Forever (another shameless fangirl plug). We said goodbye after spending 100% of our time together for 5 months and away he went!! My mom and I stayed behind for another week to explore London together. If we hadn’t been so busy the whole time I would have really been sad that Marcus wasn’t with me for this portion of the adventure.
Things certainly went at a much faster pace with my mom!! Once Marcus left we grabbed some pastries and hot chocolate and boarded the London hop on hop off bus. Of course, we sat on the top level of the double decker bus and saw most of the city all in one day. We learned a lot about the city from our fantastic guide and really enjoyed soaking in all the sights. From Big Ben to Trafalgar Square, it was great to get an idea of the layout of the city. And the best part of the hop on hop off bus was that we also got to take a ferry ride down the River Thames. It was kind of a gloomy day but going under all the bridges was so cool! One bridge that was particularly cool was the Waterloo Bridge, nicknamed the “Ladies Bridge” as it was built by women during the second world war. It’s the only bridge in London built ahead of schedule, under budget, and the stones used for construction clean themselves!
After a wonderful day, we met my sister at Whittard of Chelsea in Covent Garden for afternoon tea, which we substituted for dinner. It was delicious! We had some delicious hot cocoa, finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream, and pastries. I couldn’t believe that I had never tried clotted cream! It was a great girls night and I’m sure we’ll get high tea together again someday.
The next day we got up and went to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard. It was quite the procession, and I pushed myself way up to the front to see everything go down. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any pictures, there were so many people there and we didn’t have much of a chance to snap a pic for the gram.
After Buckingham, we walked down to the corner for some fish and chips, bangers and mash, and the best sticky toffee pudding in the world at the Bag O’ Nails pub. The pudding was warm, had plenty of custard, and had the perfect blend of sweetness and pastry. I’m salivating just thinking about it.
Our next stop was one of my favorite things we did in London, we visited the Tower of London! Despite its name and what I had always thought, the Tower of London is not actually a singular tower. It’s a castle and living quarters inside huge stone walls. We took a tour guided by a real beefeater, one of the tower guards dressed in the swankiest outfit as pictured below:
He was hilarious and very informative. The Tower has quite a dark history, as it housed those doomed to be beheaded. We saw the path that commoners took as they walked to their demise, as well as the stone where kings, queens, lords, and ladies were beheaded, including Lady Jane Grey, Anne Boleyn, and most of King Henry VIII’s wives. It was fascinating.
There are plenty of spooky tales associated with the Tower, including the mysterious death of two young princes who were next in line to the throne. There are a few happy stories as well, such as Winifred and William Maxwell who were slated to be killed but escaped the night before.
The Tower is also home to the Crown Jewels. Which are incredible, I saw diamonds the size of baseballs and rubies that were even bigger. The scepters and crowns of many of the Royals of England were awesome.
After the Tower, we hurried over to St. Paul’s Cathedral, but we missed entry by less than 5 minutes. But we struck up a conversation with one of the Security Guards, and she told us we should just stay a few minutes longer and we could stay for Evensong. Although pictures weren’t allowed during the service, it was an experience we won’t soon forget. Inside one of the most beautiful cathedrals I have ever seen, we listened to the beautiful psalms and passages, completing a perfect day. We then met up with my sister for dinner and, of course, ordered sticky toffee pudding again.
The next morning, after grabbing some pastries and hot cocoa again, we explored Trafalgar Square. We visited both the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery, amazing and free museums!! In the National Gallery we saw Monets, Renoirs, and Turners, and that was barely scratching the surface. Even though it was early November, London was preparing for Christmas and the gift shops were full of cute ornaments and other gifts with prints of famous paintings.
The National Portrait Gallery was fascinating, as it only contains portraits. Oddly enough, the biggest portrait we saw was of Ed Sheeran! We also saw the Queen and Prince Phillip, Princess Diana, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Queen Elizabeth I, and my personal favorite character in British history, Mary Queen of Scots.
We moved on from Trafalgar Square to the Jubilee Bridge, which has an amazing vantage point for seeing the attractions on the Thames. After some great views of the Eye and Big Ben (which unfortunately is under construction until 2021), we toured Westminster Abbey. Seeing the place where the Queen was crowned and where Kate and William were married was incredible!
Inside, we saw the Lady Chapel, the coronation chair, the Poet’s Corner, the cloisters, and of course the Royal Tombs. Westminster Abbey is the final resting place of Edward the Confessor and his wife, Elizabeth I, Mary I, Charles Darwin, Sir Isaac Newton, Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens, and Mary Queen of Scots.
Next it was time for dinner at The Admiral, where we had amazing meat pies and, of course, sticky toffee pudding. And then on to the fulfillment of my lifelong dream of seeing The Phantom of the Opera on the West End at Her Majesty’s Theatre. I have been entranced by the story of the phantom since I was 11 years old, when I would watch the movie every single day, and devoured the original novel by Gaston Leroux. My dad took me to see the show in Vegas when I was a teenager, but nothing could compare to this experience. My amazing mom got us the best seats in the house, and the cast gave a moving performance. I got chills when the phantom descended from the rafters, and my tears were uncontrollable when he uttered the last lines of the show. It was truly one of the best experiences of my life! We were even able to wait outside the cast door and meet all the actors, including Josh Piterman who played the phantom.
The next day my mom and I took a bus tour all across Southern England. We woke up early and caught our bus at Victoria Station. Our first stop was Windsor Castle, which was incredibly impressive. It was a very foggy morning, and though this didn’t make for great pictures it was stunning in reality. The fog did eventually die down, and we were able to see the Royal Standard flying, which meant the Queen was in residence. The lawns of the castle are stunning with all the fall colors, and the history in that castle is so extensive.
With all that, though, my favorite part of Windsor Castle was the Queen’s Dollhouse. It belonged to Queen Mary, wife of Queen George V and mother of Queen Elizabeth II. This is a dollhouse built on a 1:12 scale and was designed by a team of architects, designers, and engineers and completed in 1924. Everything in the dollhouse actually works, including electricity, plumbing, and elevators. There are working shotguns, incredibly detailed linens, and a garage full of fully operational Rolls Royces.
We hurried off to the bus, snapping a picture in the station with Queen Victoria’s train. We grabbed a huge box of shortbread cookies and gobbled them up on the way to the next destination.
Our second stop was Stonehenge, an amazing site that truly took our breath away. It was a cold and somewhat windy day, but there were hardly any people there which gave us a very intimate experience. Interestingly enough, Stonehenge is a huge mystery to the archaeological community. Because the ground is very soft and precarious, a big portion of Stonehenge hasn’t even been excavated. What we do know is that the sun centers perfectly at the solstices, it was used as a burial ground, and that it is around 4,000 years old. What we don’t know, is how the 25 ton stone pillars were transported at least 18 miles so long ago, and who exactly built the monument and why. There is a lot of really interesting history that is worth looking into.
Our third and final stop was the town of Bath, and specifically the Roman Baths. Here, ancient Romans discovered a natural hot spring and used it for a huge bathhouse that also included temples and wells. Because of the minerals in the water, it was very healthy both for bathing and for drinking. Today, it’s a museum that shows what it would have looked like a few thousand years ago and the typical life of those who would have frequented the bathhouse. It is a beautiful building, and we were able to try some of the bathwater for ourselves!
We met with my sister again, but since we ate in Bath all we were looking forward to was some dessert. So, for the fourth time of the trip, we grabbed some sticky toffee pudding! We returned to the Bag O’ Nails for their epic and scrumptious version of the dessert.
Our final day out in London started with the Portobello Market! We browsed the stalls, enjoying some sweet potato fries and quiche. We saw beautiful antique dresses, eclectic jewelry, and of course the work of local artists. We purchased a print of the colorful Notting Hill townhouses and browsed a bit more. Afterwards, we headed over to Harrod’s, the iconic department store of London. It was packed with Christmas shoppers, and we enjoyed ourselves guessing the prices of Chanel and Dior dresses, only to find out we were off by a few thousand pounds.
Then it was off to the Coca Cola Eye! It was lightly raining and very dark outside, which made for a very different view of the city. We looked out and said goodbye to one of our favorite places!
We finished off the trip by meeting up with my sister for the last time and grabbing some Indian food at Dishoom, where I had one of the best meals of my entire life. I have loved Indian food for a while, but I have never had food like this before. It was honestly incredible, and the dessert was out of this world. We waited almost two hours for our table but it was so worth it. Not only was the food delicious but the vibe of the restaurant was great, too. It has an art deco style, and we felt very swanky eating the delicious food.
And just like that, our time in London was over. After over 5 months of living abroad, I headed back to the States for a month at home! Good thing we returned to London just in time for Christmas!
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