London (take 1 & 2)

Our first and last stop happened to be in the glorious city of London. We absolutely loved the history, English-speaking natives, and easy tube transportation. This city was by far one of our favorites to visit! Both times we were in London we stayed in an Airbnb. Our first stay was somewhat of a trainwreck, so I am not recommending him. But our second stay was beyond amazing. We had a lovely hostess named Silvia who was the kindest soul. She made sure things were great for us throughout our journey. Her place was a little outside of London, but we were going to Wembly, and her home is very close to a Tube stop that goes in and out of london frequently! Fresh off the airplane, we wore our luggage the entire first day (little did we know how heavy it would get over the course of the trip!)

      

Days in London: 5

Transportation: Oystercard to ride the tube (Super used friendly, clearly labeled, easy to follow). We purchased ahead of time but you can pick up at any airport or train station! We also walked as much as possible.

Accommodations: Airbnb with Silvia  & disaster Airbnb not worth mentioning

Things to Know: We purchased the 3-day London Pass. This was beneficial because of what we wanted to do while there, however you should decide what you want to do and add up the prices. If it makes sense - I would absolutely recommend it!

Our Stay

Day 1

Tower of London

This historic site was one of our favorites. We hopped on to a free Beefeater tour that began right inside the door. This hour tour provided us with a plethora of history and charismatic stories. This really made our trip. We were able to see the Crown Jewels and grabbed lunch at the cafe inside. Food was tasty and reasonably priced. 

The crown jewel (Dustin)

Legend says 6 crows must always be living at the Tower or the monarchy will fall. They keep 7 crows there by clipping their wings because they aren't superstitious :) Many of the birds live way beyond the typical lifespan.

Bloody history, even though only 7 people were executed within the Towers' walls

Courtyard where some executions took place and where the staff live today

Site where Anne Boleyn was executed

Thames River Cruise

We had originally planned to visit Westminster Abby, but when we got there (3pm) the line was too long and they stop admission at 3:30. So we opted to use our free River Cruise through the London Pass. We just rode up and down the river listening to the free commentary. After a long day of traveling, this was nice and relaxing. 

Tower Bridge, frequently mistaken as the "London Bridge"

Hello there Big Ben!

Westminster Abby - See ya tomorrow!

River Cruisin

Tower bridge from a different view

The London Eye

Finished up our first day with Fish & Chips with mushy Peas! Yum!

Day 2

Hop on Hop Off Bus Tour

We started our morning with a Hop on Hop off bus. Positives- got to see a lot of the city and learned a few things. Negatives, took way longer than it should have and we missed most of the changing of the guards, and commentary was subpar.

    

Yummy pastries for breakfast!    

    

Crossing the Tower Bridge

St. Paul's Church

St. Pancras Station 

Changing of the Guards/Buckingham Palace

Because our bus tour took a little longer than expected, we caught the end of the changing of the guards. Be forewarned it is a long ceremony and about a million people also attend.

Westminster Abbey

After we caught the end of the change, we headed to Westminster Abbey to visit the gorgeous church for real this time. The entrance fee was covered with the London Pass. The history and beauty inside were so timeless. No photographs are allowed inside of the church, but we snagged some in the courtyard and out front.

        

Churchill War Rooms

After touring the abbey, we grabbed lunch and walked to the Churchill War Rooms. The War Rooms were something that Papa had mentioned he had always wanted to go back and visit, so this was a special visit for us. There was a bit of a line, but it was worth it! The rich history and real feel of the timelessness of the space will remain with us forever. Churchill was such an important and influential in both British and US History.

The way Walt & his wife signed love letters written to each other when apart. Reminded me of the letters Nana and Papa had written to each other <3

Rick Steves WestMinster walk

Throughout our trip we completed many of Rick's suggested walks. This one started at Westminster and walked us to Trafalgar Square.

After our walk, we stopped at Honest Burger for dinner. The burgers were delish, but even better was this killer hard cider! Yum!

We walked across the Millenium Bridge (from Harry Potter) on our way to the Globe.

Globe Theater for Midsummer’s Night Dream

The globe theater was a wonderful choice for a theater show. London has very affordable broadway plays and musicals, but I am so glad we chose to go to the Globe. The modern day interpretation with original lines was hysterical, engaging, and performed by very talented individuals! Not to mention they sold prosecco popsicles. Just FYI you will want to buy tickets way in advance! We ended up having to purchase obstructed view seats that were great and not very obstructed, but they were all that was left.

Day 3

Hyde Park/Kensington Palace

We strolled through the park and stopped by Kensington Palace before heading out for the Chelsea Stadium tour. After our visit, we learned that they give tours of the Palace - sounds pretty neat to me!

  

Chelsea Stadium Tour

Dustin's favorite European soccer team is Chelsea. We toured Stamford Bridge on a super neat behind the scenes tour which was conveniently included in our London Pass. Dustin was in all his glory seeing the pitch in person!

  

  

 

Rick Steves' West End Walk & Shopping

You can't venture to any city without a little shopping. We loved shopping in the West End! We stopped for lunch at a FANTASTIC place called Flat Iron Grill, where we had 10E steaks that were awesome! (Well I chickened out and got this burger with strange but yummy mystery sauce on it)

British Museum

By the time we got to the British Museum, we had been carrying our luggage all day and were pooped. This is a free museum with a lot of history. We were a bit too pooped to appreciate all of the wonder, not to mention there were MASSIVE crowds when we went. We were able to see the Rosetta stone, mummies, and lots of greek/roman statues and architecture.

Day 4 (on our return)

Platform 9 and 3/4

Just as Dustin wanted to get to a game, I wanted to leave for Hogwarts. Unfortunately the Hogwarts Express wasn't running. Instead we waited in an hour plus line to attempt to get through. It was totally worth it. My inner nerd was geeking out. Of course Dustin has minimal knowledge and picked the Slytherin scarf. uh. Need to work on educating him!

   

Wembly Stadium for the FC Community Shield

Dustin has always been an avid soccer (or futbol) fan. The one request he made on this entire trip was to attend a soccer game. Luckily we have some extra special helpers cough*Uncle Dave*cough who made this dream of ours a reality. I should mention getting tickets if you are not a season ticket holder is near impossible to any match! But this was so worth it. Our seats were incredible, and even though the team we were supporting, Leicester City, lost we had an amazing time! It is a whole different beast over there! One thing we noticed was that you could not consume alcoholic beverages in your seats, but only on the concourse. This kept many of the fans in their seats and loud the entire time!

     

Day 5

London Eye

Our last stop for the entire trip was to ride the London Eye. I will admit it was a bit unorganized. We had purchased tickets online for 12noon, shower up at 11:30 and chaos ensued. We had to wait in a pretty long line and were shuffled onto the eye around 12:15. The other people in our capsule were pretty greedy and stood in the good photo spots for most of our 30-minute ride. It was neat but I think a one time experience. 

If you made it all the way to the end of this post- Cheers mate! London was a fantastic, modern city with a TON of history. It is absolutely worth at least a 3-day stop. We hope to be back soon :)