London
Our visit to London marked the very time we set our foot in continental Europe. Our hearts were full that we have checked our top bucket list. Such an achievement to see familiar places we always see in televisions and read on stories. It was a good attempt to see the queen but wasn’t lucky enough. We stayed 6 days and 5 nights, long enough to be emerged with the city, enjoyed the historical and famous sights and sounds and the food it offers.
Upon arrival, we checked in our hotel at Marriott Grosvenor, a traditional yet chic hotel in Mayfair District. We enjoyed the full breakfast and themed happy hour specials they offer to guests. It is close proximity to the Royal Parks (Hyde Park, Princess Diana’s Memorial Park and Grosvenor Park), US Embassy, famous Oxford shopping district. and just a mile away from the Buckingham Palace. Mayfair also has a lot of restaurant and dining places all around. We strolled our way around to know the lay of the grounds with ultimate goal to buy our London Travel Card. We bought the 7 day unlimited commuter card (Zone 1-2) that gives us access to local London red bus and London Underground network. You need a passport size ID to buy the 7-day travel card so I suggest you secure that before you travel as they are cheaper in Sam’s or Costco and to avoid the lines in the photo booths.
We spent our second day cruising in the Thames river from the Westminster/Parliament pier to London Tower pier to Greenwich pier and back. With the London travel card, you can get 1/3 discount to London Thames River Boat services. This is a good way to see the London skyline and scout for places you want to spend more time later on. We started from the Parliament pier to our first stop in London Tower.
We stayed in this area for couple of hours and toured the Tower of London. We were mesmerized by the dazzling Royal gemstones collection in the Crowne Jewel, captivated by the historic armory exhibits in f the White Tower and learned history of the lines of royalties through time. They also raved about the ravens being the guardian birds of the Royalties. This is one of my top places to see while in London. We continued our river cruise from London Tower to Greenwich to visit the Royal Observatory.
The Greenwich Royal Observatory is the home of the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) where you can travel through time and space. This is where the local time is zero GMT and it is one of the Unesco’s World Heritage sites. We stepped in the prime meridian line where the eastern and western hemisphere of the earth meets, just like the equator where the northern and southern hemisphere divides. The a great place to explore and learn London’s contribution to astronomy.
Our last stop was a quick stroll the the London Olympic Park which was a must see in our list given that the 2012 Olympic was just a year before this travel time. This is our first try to use the London Underground transit system where you need to “Mind the Gap”.
The next morning, we leisurely the landscapes, gardens and fountains following the Princess Diana Memorial Walk in Green Park. We want to be early enough to witness the Buckingham Palace Change of Guard so we wanted to stay in the area. The area could get crowded for the event and it was suggested to be in the place at least one hour before. It was a pleasant site although there are lots of warning to be mindful of our personal belongings as there are lots of pick-pocketers around. Next, we visited Churchill War Museum and learned about London and Churchill’s ordeal against France and Germany at the onset of World War II. Crossing the Thames River through Westminster Bridge, we went to the London Eye. One needs to experience this ride at least ones in a lifetime to say that you visited London. Nonetheless, the 30-minute ride offers great view overlooking the Thames river and London skylines from Westminster Abbey, the parliament, the cathedral , among others. We spent the rest of the day walking along Thames river and crossed back to the other side of Thames through the Millennium Bridge to the grounds of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
We spent the day in the Windsor Castle. It is less than an hour easy train ride from London proper to Windsor Riverside Station, however, the ride is not covered by our London travel card. It is a five minute walk to the castle. Windsor Castle is the largest currently occupied castle in the world. The tour to the state apartments which features fine art collections and elaborative paintings and carvings in the walls and ceilings of Royalties living and entertainment areas. The grounds tour is a sight of well manicured landscape, the famous St George Church where Prince Harry and Megan wed, a peak to Queen Elizabeth’s current living area and the Royalty crews living quarters. In the afternoon , we went for a boat ride right outside the magnificent Windsor Castle. The sights includes a statue of Queen Victoria, Royal Mews and a view of the Crown Estate. We wrapped our day in Windsor with a quick visit at the Royal Windsor Shopping Center then headed back to London. We grabbed some Chinese food in Chinatown for dinner which wrapped our day.
The navigated through town in the next day. We went to hear Sunday mass at the Saint Paul’s cathedral. The cathedral has the iconic dome in London skyline and the interior and grounds are as amazing. This is the home of the Bishop of London. We ventured in the British Museum and learn more about history and British inventions. Admissions are free so that is a bonus. We also went shopping for some souvenirs at Harrod’s just to see this world famous shopping center. We basically took advantage of our London card and just ride around town. We end up going back to the London Tower to get some closeup pictures in the bridge.
We went for a day trip to Bath, Salisbury and Stonehenge the following day through a tour company which we do not avail normally. We spent most of the day in the bus and enjoyed the view of England’s countryside. Bath is a quaint town popularized by Royalty “bath resorts” given the rish mineral contents of its water source. Salisbury Church is also known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, an Anglican church and has the tallest church spire in UK. Stonehenge let you walk through an ancient landscape that no one can explain what is really the intention of these gigantic rocks lying in the middle of nowhere. Overall, I think the trip is good for first time traveller like us.
We visited Westminster Abbey the following day and walked into this historic and popular venue that commemorates the life of Royalties. They held lots of wedding ceremonies, dedications, crowning ceremonies, burials and served as a resting place of many famous royal and British icons. This is one of my top to go place while in London. Just like a lot of locals who enjoys hanging out in the parks, we also just had fun as we stroll around the area and got lost in viewing one building structure to another along White Hall until we reached Trafalgar Square. and the National Galleries. We also went to Museum of London in the early afternoon and spent the rest of the afternoon riding the red bus cruising the neighborhood of London and Westminster. We even hunt for the locations scenes of the movie, Notting Hill. We were back in Trafalgar and Picadilly Circus area for dinner to see the night crowd, the festive street decors and city lights of London.
We spent shopping in Picadilly Circle Oxford Circle visiting Fortnum and Mason and grabbed few samples of this famous tea. The kids also enjoyed the Hamleys which is similar to the FAO Toy Store in New York. We wrapped our stay in London with an early dinner at another London Pub and enjoyed the last savory taste of Fish and Chips and beer.
London definitely did not disappoint. We’ve checked a whole bunch of to see and to do’s but definitely a place where we will come back again in the future. We head off to our next adventure in Paris through the Eurostar bullet train passing through the English Channel.
