London Pt. II
London Town. Considering its close proximity to Dublin and the constant buzz a leading city adorns, it's no wonder Chris and I found ourselves back in England's capital city. This time around, we made the trip to help Chris' parents celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. We explored new areas, discovered new favorite restaurants, and revelled in awe at Lin Manuel-Miranda's Hamilton. I hope you enjoy reading Part II of our London experience and get some ideas for your next trip to this great city!
If you haven't read my previous post about London, you can click here.
Friday, August 10th:
Getting from Dublin to London is about as easy as it gets. We flew out early in the morning on a Ryainair flight, landed at Gatwick Airport, and took the Gatwick Express into the city. We opted to stay in the Westminster neighborhood at the DoubleTree, which was nice and reasonably priced. If you recall, the last place we stayed in London was a dump and an expensive dump at that. The DoubleTree wasn't that much more per night than our last place, so it was 100% worth the upgrade to stay in a nice hotel. My only qualm with the DoubleTree in Westminster was that it wasn't near a tube station. Because it was the four of us for the weekend, it was just as economical to take taxis everywhere, so we didn't need to be near a tube station. However, in the future, if it's just Chris and me, I will look into staying at similar hotels near tube stations, like the DoubleTree in Victoria, for example, for ease of getting around.
What was pleasantly unexpected was that we were able to check into our rooms right away that morning. It was nice to freshen up before heading out into the city and enjoy the warm cookie provided by the front desk!
That morning, we headed to the Tower of London with Chris' parents. This was their first visit to London, so the Tower was a must. You have to see the Crown Jewels if you're in London! Since Chris and I had previously toured the Tower, we let his parents explore it on their own while we checked out something we hadn't seen before. Just down the River Thames in Bankside's Cultural Quarter is Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.
We scored a spot on the last tour, which started at 12:30 p.m. The tour lasted a little over 30 minutes and we learned about the theatre, the performances during Shakespeare's time, and even saw the actresses warm up for that day's 2:00 p.m. performance.
The Globe Theatre as it stands today is a replica of what historians believed the theatre looked like back when it was built in 1599. This is actually the third Globe on the site as the first theatre burnt down during a performance of Henry VIII when they lit off cannons that caught fire to the thatched roof. It wasn't until the 1990s that the current theatre was designed and executed by an American who wanted to bring Shakespeare's glory back to life.
The theatre resides on Bankside, which back in Shakespeare's day was the "darker" side of the city. It was the "Vegas" of London, if you will. Bankside was known for its arts and culture, gambling, ladies of the night, and pubs.
During that time, there was no internet to announce shows and most people couldn't read a newspaper, so the theatre would fly a flag to let the city know a show would run that day. The theatre used to cram up to 3,000 people per performance. The cheapest ticket would cost you 1 pence to stand in "The Yard," which is the equivalent of floor seats in today's world. There could be 1,000 people standing in the yard for a show and don't think for a second those people would excuse themselve to use the restroom. For another pence, you could sit in the lower galleries. Because entry was relatively inexpensive, the shows were always well attended.
The Globe Theatre is stunning. The woodwork, stage, and thatched roof are worthy of marveling. The tour was short and fanastic, plus getting to see the actresses warm up was an extra bonus. Our guide was eccentric, passionate, and did a wonderful job telling us the great stories of Shakespeare's playhouse. Tickets were £17.00 per person and worth it.
After our tour, we walked through Bankside's Cultural Quarter and up the Queen's Walk towards the Tower Bridge to meet up with Chris' parents. This area is so cool. I had never been over in this area. Chris and I were in awe with every turn of the corner. There were quintessential English pubs, a man dressed in safari gear playing a tuba that shot flames in front of a Shakespeare mural, a pirate ship, an alley that was straight out of Harry Potter, an old pirate ship, and an imposing cathedral.
Plus, there were some great views of the city. Below is a picture of Millennium Bridge, which was in Harry Potter, with St. Paul's Cathedral in the background, and a shot of the skyscrapers in London's financial district.
When we met up with Chris' parents, it started raining considerably, even thunderstorming, so we took cover on the Queen's Walk and watched the storm roll by. It had been forever since we had seen a thunderstorm, so it was kind of nice to wait it out and enjoy the storm.
When the rain cleared, we retraced our steps with Chris' parents back towards the Globe Theatre to have lunch at the cutest place called The Anchor. It is a traditional English pub that has been around since 1615 -- that's 400 years! They are known for their fish 'n chips, which did not disappoint at all. The piece of fish was massive, so there would be no shame in sharing between two people! It's a great spot to grab a quick lunch and pint.
Right outside of The Anchor is one of the pick up points for the River Thames Cruise, which was on our short list of to-do's for the weekend. We love to see a city from the water and with how finicky the rain had been all day, it was the perfect way to catch some cover and see the sights. As you can see from the pictures below, it was raining while we were waiting for the boat and then sunny by the time it came to pick us up. Classic London!
The cruise doesn't give you a wealth of information about the buildings, but enough to learn a little something new. Some of the highlights include the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Parliament, the candle monument dedicated to the Great Fire of 1666, Parliament, and the London Eye. It was a fun way to see the city and hitch a lift down the river!
We hopped off near Westminster and the sky was so cool over the London Eye!
Since the sun popped out, we decided to walk from Parliament to our hotel. Seeing the gold building shine in the sun was pretty incredible.
After resting up at the hotel, we took a cab to SoHo to do a little shopping and grab some dinner. Since we weren't able to eat at Flat Iron last time in London, we were determined to do so this time around. We got to the teeny, tiny restaurant a little before 7:00 and the wait was two hours long, but we were able to put in our names and receive a text when our table was ready. That was fine by us because we had some shopping to get done since Chris' parents' luggage hadn't yet arrived [long story short, the luggage missed their layover in Philly, got delivered to Dublin, then flown to London, but never got delivered to us in London, so then we had to wait for it to get back to Dublin days after we were back home -- it was a nightmare]. The shopping is great in Soho, so it didn't take long to pick out a few things for the weekend and before we knew it, it was time to head back to the restaurant.
Flat Iron is one of London's latest, trendy spots where you can get a delicious steak and salad for £11. Yes, £11. What's the catch, you ask? There isn't one. It's just great steak at a reasonable cost. Well, the catch might be that they don't take reservations and space is very limited, so you have to fight out the wait, but it's worth it. Plus, look at how fun their steak knives are! The restaurant has fun vibes, the service was great, and it was the perfect way to end our first night in London.
Saturday, August 11th:
We woke up Saturday to beautiful blue skies and a renewed energy. We hopped in a cab first thing to try and see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately, Her Majesty wasn't at Buckingham that day, so there was no ceremony, but it was still fun to see the royal palace.
After seeing Buckingham Palace, we did a little more shopping, grabbed lunch at Pret, and headed back to the hotel to get ready for the matinee showing of Hamilton at the Victoria Palace Theatre. We were SO excited to see the show, plus it was extra special since it was a gift from the Murray kids to their parents in celebration of their 40th wedding anniversary.
The Victoria Palace Theatre is absolutely beautiful and the show was a complete stunner. Chris and I are obsessed with the soundtrack and are looking to go see it a second time this winter back in London.
We continued the 40th wedding anniversary celebration after the show with dinner at Brasserie Zédel, a hidden Parisian restaurant with art deco finishings. This came on recommendation from one of our film crew guys, Adam, who lives in England, so we had to check it out. Being in the restaurant felt like we were transported back in time, like we were in the Great Gatsby or something. It was such a fun atmosphere and the food was great as well. I'd recommend the french onion soup. Prices were decent, so we had no problem ordering starters, mains, dessert, and drinks. It was the perfect place to celebrate Chris' parents and hear their stories from the last 40 years.
Sunday, August 12th:
We woke up on Sunday and headed to Pret for breakfast. [I have a minimum quota of 3 Pret visits per London trip.] Then, we hopped in a cab to go to Royal Albert Hall. We couldn't get onto a tour for a couple hours, so we got our tickets, and then explored Hyde Park. We started by visiting Princess Diana's Memorial Fountain, which don't hate me, is a bit understated? It was designed to reflect her life and symbolize her openness, but honestly, it reminded me of the concrete curbs you see in American suburban neighborhoods that fill with water after it rains. I liked the fun looking ducks that hung around it though and the lake beyond it with the fun sculptures.
Next, we started walking through the park towards Kensington Palace. Along the way, we came upon a big, magical tree, and people holding out their arms. We were like what the heck is going on, and then we saw them. There were green parakeets everywhere and if you stuck your arm out, they would land on you. It was the coolest thing!
Hyde Park is expansive, but we made it to Kensington Palace in a short 10-15 minute walk. Before the palace is a pond with lots of swans and ducks. It would be a nice place to sit awhile and take in the scenery around you. The palace is pretty too.
That's a pretty nice residence, I'd say. It was almost time for our tour, so we made the short walk back to the concert venue. Royal Albert Hall was the vision of Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, but he died before the foundation stone was laid. For that reason, Queen Victoria had the hall named for her late husband. Interestingly enough, Queen Victoria had a lavish memorial built for Prince Albert that cost all the funds that had been raised for the construction of the hall. This postponed the building of the hall because she needed to replenish her funds. In order to get enough money, they sold leases for seats in the concert hall in advance, which worked to get enough money to finish the project. These leases still exist today, paid in full, as they are set in stone for 1,000 years. They are passed down from generation to generation, and some are even sold for hundreds and sometimes millions of dollars.
The tour of Royal Albert Hall was unbelievable. We learned about its history, saw the Queen's box, her private staircase, and go into her "retiring room." The unexpected highlight of the tour was sitting in a box and listening to the BBC Orchestra and Symphony Choir rehearse for their show later that night. Basically, we got a free concert. Er, well, the price of a tour ticket, which was £14.50, but wow, that was cool. We felt very lucky.
Enjoy the photos below of the hall and memorial in dedication of Prince Albert.
The last stop on our London tour was to visit Abbey Road, which is where Abbey Road Studios is located and where the Beatles recorded several albums. The studio is closed to the public because it still functions as a recording studio for famous artists. However, the highlight of going there is getting your picture taken while walking across Abbey Road, like the cover of the Beatles Abbey Road album. Be aware, the road is still open to traffic and cars do drive up and down it often. We were there on a Sunday afternoon and it was still a pretty busy road at that time, so just be careful. I also recommend taking a taxi out to Abbey Road since it is a little ways outside of the city centre.
We finished off our trip with a quick lunch at Pret [yes, again], took the Gatwick Express back to the airport, and landed in Dublin that night after a short hour-long flight.
London, as always, was a whirlwind of great food and sightseeing, but this time we had the added bonus of celebrating with Chris' parents and the best show out there, Hamilton. It was the perfect weekend to kickstart their trip and I greatly appreciated their openness to seeing things we hadn't before. We couldn't have asked for a better time!
Combined with my first post about London, I hope that if you ever plan a trip to London that you're able to get some ideas of things to do and see!
We have made it through all our scheduled visitors for the year and will be back to our regularly scheduled travels with a fun trip for me to Paris to see Jeremy and his mom, Switzerland for our wedding anniversary, and Budapest in November.
Until next time...
Cheers! xo,
