We have spent the past three nights in London, with one more night to go, then a trip to Dover to board the Magic on July 6.
London has been a blast. We got here very early am Thursday. Our flight was on-time and uneventful - though I couldn't seem to sleep. Got our Oyster cards at the airport tube station (5 pounds, exact change - but change and info booth nearby). Rode the tube to High Street Kensington (with only minor issues in transfer at Earl's Court 
) We walked around High Street Kensington (area around our hotel) while we waited for our room to be ready (got into LHR at 6:25am). Wandered through Holland Park (actually thought it was Kensington Gardens - we were sleep deprived and a little confused
). Went back to the hotel around 1:00 to check in - the Deluxe Double turned out to be a little cramped for our family of 3, so "upgraded" to a Family Suite - basically the double with enough room for a cot. Oh well, at least we're not tripping over each other and the suitcases. Had a nap for a couple (or 3) hours. Finally got up and went for another walk - this time in Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park - which was actually right across the street from our hotel! oops. Then dinner (at a very SLOW) french restaurant. I understand it's a little different over here - people spend a lot more time over meals than we do in North America - however when you've had 3 hours sleep and a cranky 8yo, the food, the bill and goodbye would be great!
That said we were back and in bed around 10pm local time. DH woke up at 06:00 and said "we should get up". I laughed and we all went back to sleep until 9:15 - so much for being at the tower by 10!
Anyway, got up and dressed, had our continental breakfast in the hotel and headed for the tube. Went to the Tower of London. Great day - perfect weather - overcast so not unbearably hot - but still quite warm. Spent a couple of hours doing the touristy thing there, then got on the tube to go to the Eye. Now I have to say, going on the Eye is not my idea. DH and DD thought it was a great idea though - right up until they saw the lines!!! So, we've left that for another day (read probably never, at least on this trip). After all the walking of the day DD was about ready for a meltdown. But after a 99p (soft icecream cone with a flake stuck in it - cost 2 pounds though, not 99p) she felt restored enough to head back to the underground and the hotel. Another wrong tube later, we finally made it back. Got changed and headed out for another nice dinner - this time Italian, also near the hotel, also rather long - I'm sensing a pattern. Then back to the hotel and trying to get everyone to sleep DD finally crashed, but DH and I had trouble sleeping - being in a rather busy area can have it's drawbacks - like street noise. And did I mention no air-conditioning?
) We walked around High Street Kensington (area around our hotel) while we waited for our room to be ready (got into LHR at 6:25am). Wandered through Holland Park (actually thought it was Kensington Gardens - we were sleep deprived and a little confused). Went back to the hotel around 1:00 to check in - the Deluxe Double turned out to be a little cramped for our family of 3, so "upgraded" to a Family Suite - basically the double with enough room for a cot. Oh well, at least we're not tripping over each other and the suitcases. Had a nap for a couple (or 3) hours. Finally got up and went for another walk - this time in Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park - which was actually right across the street from our hotel! oops. Then dinner (at a very SLOW) french restaurant. I understand it's a little different over here - people spend a lot more time over meals than we do in North America - however when you've had 3 hours sleep and a cranky 8yo, the food, the bill and goodbye would be great! That said we were back and in bed around 10pm local time. DH woke up at 06:00 and said "we should get up". I laughed and we all went back to sleep until 9:15 - so much for being at the tower by 10! Anyway, got up and dressed, had our continental breakfast in the hotel and headed for the tube. Went to the Tower of London. Great day - perfect weather - overcast so not unbearably hot - but still quite warm. Spent a couple of hours doing the touristy thing there, then got on the tube to go to the Eye. Now I have to say, going on the Eye is not my idea. DH and DD thought it was a great idea though - right up until they saw the lines!!! So, we've left that for another day (read probably never, at least on this trip). After all the walking of the day DD was about ready for a meltdown. But after a 99p (soft icecream cone with a flake stuck in it - cost 2 pounds though, not 99p) she felt restored enough to head back to the underground and the hotel. Another wrong tube later, we finally made it back. Got changed and headed out for another nice dinner - this time Italian, also near the hotel, also rather long - I'm sensing a pattern. Then back to the hotel and trying to get everyone to sleep DD finally crashed, but DH and I had trouble sleeping - being in a rather busy area can have it's drawbacks - like street noise. And did I mention no air-conditioning? Yesterday was Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard. Rick Steves' guide made the comment of it being somewhat anticlimactic, but interesting to see every tourist in London gathered in one place, and he wasn't far off! We quickly headed for the underground again and headed for the British Museum. We wandered around Soho a bit (not intentionally...), then found the Museum. Spent a couple hours wandering around and had a quick bite at the Cafe. I'm trying to not think too much about the money conversions pounds to canadian dollars, this way I can save the crying for when I get home and see the credit card bill! Dinner was nice at The Prince of Wales for the traditional pub meal of fish and chips. DH had a lager, and I had an ale. DD and I shared an awesome mini dessert sampler - there was no mini about it! Full portions of sticky toffee pudding, rocky road brownie and ice cream with berry topping. And it was absolutely delicious! Back to the room to get ready for bed. We all seemed to be having a hard time sleeping - between the street noise and DD with a tummy ache it was after 1am local time before we finally got to bed. Then I had to wake everyone up at 9am!
So today was the "Original Bus Tour". We took the tube to Trafalgar Square (we're getting good at navigating on the tube - now that we leave tomorrow!). We ordered our tix online this am (bit of a discount), and had to redeem them at the main office. Not a problem since DD wanted the free kids pack - also available at the main office. So finally got on a bus - no room up top, but finally got to move up after a few stops. Did I mention the incredible weather we've been having? It has been absolutely gorgeous! Back to the bus - we stayed on until Leicester Square - where we got off to grab some lunch. We had Mexican - which was actually pretty darn good. Nachos, Enchiladas and a pitcher of Margaritas. Lovely. Back on the Bus to Marble Arch where we got off to go find the Disney store - looking for London merchandise. Yikes. There was a huge concert going on at Picadilly Circus. Jay Z or something. Anyway - HUGE crowds of people on Oxford St. Very claustrophobic - it was like being at Disney in July! We found the Disney store - walked through, found a magnet and t-shirt for DD which we then decided weren't worth standing in line to pay for! Back on the bus until Big Ben, where we got off to do the Thames River cruise to the Tower. Decided we'd had enough - it was almost 6pm. Headed back to the hotel for a quick rest then went to Wagamama across the road for dinner. I was expecting a little hole in the wall - not the big bustling dining hall that it was. The food was pretty good (rather salty), but the portions were a good size and it was kind of a fun place to be. Now we're back at the hotel getting ready for bed - hopefully everyone will be able to sleep tonight and get on some sort of sleep schedule again. This was the main reason I decided to come a few days early - so we wouldn't be doing this on the cruise. Glad my instincts were right for a change!
No comments:
Post a Comment