Yah! We are going to London ... Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, warm beer, and they speak English!
It was such a treat to be back where everything is in English. Nevermind that the Brits speak with that lovely accent, making everything they say such a delight to listen to ... I had become immune to so many things in my environment that I simply did not pay attention to because they were in German or Hungarian or Italian. Posters on the subway walls; advertisements in store windows; menus outside restaurants; artifact descriptions in the museums ... I could read them all! And, asking for directions! What a treat ...
Thursday - Happy Thanksgiving. AND Happy Birthday to Laury. Best. Sister. Ever.
It was snowing and blustery when we left the airport in Nuremberg Germany. The slight delay while they de-iced the plane was something we were at least familiar with! And the weather when we landed in London was delightfully warm ... overcast but no rain and no bone-chilling wind. We were happy.
We've become fans of VRBO.com for our rentals. Small apt in the heart of Chelsea.
We took advantage of the nice weather and started walking the streets of London. Yes, they drive on the "wrong side" of the streets, and it was weird seeing the driver on the "wrong side" of the car, but the city sure knows how to protect it's disoriented tourists ... signs were painted on the street at every cross walk...
And lovely city streets they were ...
In Germany, it's getting dark by 4pm, so we thoroughly enjoyed the additional hour we got with the time change in England ... seeing the sights in daylight before our dinner reservation at 5:30pm.
Buckingham Palace
Definitely prettier at night with the lights
Yah! We're in London!
The streets were packed so we were happy to be on foot. Unlike Germany, pedestrians do not obey the street lights ... if you see a break in the traffic, you go with the crowd across the street! Love it!
London was pleasantly graffiti free ... even their classic telephone booths.
Pinch me ...
Westminster Abbey ... lovely with a little night light.
Time for pub stop. Yes, the beer was warm. No, they don't serve Bass Ale.
Dressed for Christmas
Thanksgiving dinner in London. Duck with spinach, chorizo, potatoes.
Close to traditional fare.
Sea Bass cooking in banana leaves ... close to Bahamian fare!
Just a week before leaving for London, Michelle suggested that we look for tickets to a play. We scored seats to see Wicked, and it was ahhh-mazzzzing. We had hoped to get last-minute matinee seats to see Book of Mormon, but they only have matinees on Tues/Wed, and we didn't want to spend $250/per ticket for an evening performance on Friday/Saturday (even though we heard that people were flying over from NYC to see the show b/c tickets there are $900/per! We are retired after all!).
I forgot how much fun a live performance was.
And, boy, can this witch sing ...
After the show, we walked the night away until my feet couldn't take it anymore.
They had started decorating for Christmas which was an added delight.
What a day ... and it's just our first day in London!
Friday
Thankfully, there was a Starbucks across the street from our apartment, so the decision on where to go for coffee was an easy one. We have an Afternoon Tea at the Brown Hotel at 12:30, and we've been told to arrive hungry ...and to wear a dress! Check, check. Dan even sported a tie.
We had time to spend 2 hrs at the National Gallery before our tea time. Admission is free, something you don't see very often with such stellar collections. The National Gallery is all paintings, and even though we've been to so many wonderful galleries in Europe, each collection has something that takes your breath away. This time is was the Impressionist paintings ... by far, our favorites.
Michelle - styling the London Look.
This city, more than most we've visited, had the best-dressed people on the streets.
12:30 .... Time for Tea
The Brown Hotel ... just down the street from the Ritz! ohlala!
The English Tea Room.
So yes, you pay a lot of money for a traditional Afternoon Tea. But it was so worth it! A wood paneled room, fireplace, piano playing, deep leather seats to sink into, truly refined English service.
And loads of really good food that they keep restocking. Assorted finger sandwiches, scones, fresh jam and clotted cream (aka butter to us Yanks!), fresh fruit, pastries, and the cake trolley. And of course, a list of 18 teas you can try. We could only manage 3 different types before the end of our 2-hour service. And the icing on the cake (so to speak) was the rain that fell while we were indoors enjoying our tea. Skies cleared when we were done ... how civilized!
We spent the rest of the day at the British Museum. It's huge, free, open late, and packed with antiquities that they plundered from the days when they owned most of the world.
Like the Pantheon ... shouldn't this be in Greece?
This was my personal favorite. The original wing of the museum. Packed with a little bit of everything, but not so overwhelming.
Saturday.
Our last full day in London, and the highlight was the Fat Tire Bike Tour. We did this in Berlin and found it to be the best way to tour a city and get a nice history lesson. And after two days of extensive walking, our feet welcomed the change of pace!
The weather was nicer b/c there were less clouds, more sun, but much colder.
Having a tour guide helps you get to the right spots...
like being in time to see the changing of the guards ritual.
Yes, that is sun and blue skies!
Trafalgar Square
Westminster Abbey
They were in the process of putting up the royal Christmas tree.
Riding thru Kensington Gardens
After our last fabulous dinner in London, we had time for a little bit of shopping ...
Seriously, the store took up an entire city block.
But, of course, bring home a souvenir of tea from Harrods.
Sunday.
Goodbye to London. No complaints at all about our time here. Good food. Polite people. Beautiful old buildings. Rich history. Minimal graffiti. Expensive, but when you don't know the exchange rate, it's all relative!
The only thing that didn't go our way was when Ryan Air changed our return flight from 1030a.m to 7:00a.m. This meant catching the bus at 4:00 a.m. for the London Stanfield airport (1.5 hr bus ride out of town). Not our favorite time of day ...
But we got to ride in one of those cute London taxis!
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