17 November 2019 - London, UK
The plan was to start early - get some good old full English breakfast and do as many things as our aged bodies possibly can. We did start early; unfortunately, the restaurant we had planned on going to was still closed (side note: internet results are not always accurate.. surprise!) so we ended up getting coffee and a light breakfast from a Pret A Manger near the train station. Then with food in our tummies, and armed with oyster cards and cameras, we were off to seize the day... carpe-ing the diem or something of the sort.
First on our agenda, Abbey Road. There were a few people already (though not too many as it was still early-ish) at the "Beatles" site, waiting to cross the road and do the pose with a wary eye towards oncoming traffic - I actually didn't realize before then that it is an "active" road.
Next stop: Notting Hill and Portobello Road, including the famous blue door (from the Notting Hill movie). Nice little neighborhood. No sign of William Thacker or Anna Scott though.
Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. We found a fish and chips stand by the Tower entrance so we made a quick stop to split one order - had to have fish and chips while in London, eh.
We didn't have enough time to go inside so we just took some photos outside and crossed the Tower Bridge - sometimes mistaken as the London Bridge referred to in the song (and no, thankfully, it is not going down going down going down).
After a needed rest/break for our aching feet and legs at a small park near the bridge, we walked again in search of lunch. Unfortunately, another setback, the restaurant we initially went to was packed - they said Sunday lunches usually are - and they referred us to another place (The Trinity) instead, where the food, as it turned out, was actually pretty good.
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| Sunday Roast and Scotch Eggs |
Leadenhall Market. This place was featured as Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter movies. As it was a Sunday, some of the shops were closed. Still, it was a nice place to just walk for a few minutes and imagine a place to where no ordinary muggles can go.
Covent Garden Market. Wonderful shopping hub, a bit on the high end for a lot of the shops. And since it was mid-November, it was close enough to Christmas for lots of beautiful festive decorations. (I just really love Christmas! 😊) Also had my first ever English Afternoon Tea in a little tea shop called Whittard of Chelsea.... so fancy. 😏😂
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| Afternoon Tea at Whittard of Chelsea |
Evening mass at Westminster Cathedral.
A small (or perhaps not so small to the British, I apologize) ignoramus moment: I thought we could go to St Paul's Cathedral and spend some time there for mass... only to realize sometime during the day (and fortunately, before actually going there) that it is an Anglican church. 😳 So we decided, as we didn't have enough time anyway, to just skip this and go to Westminster Cathedral instead.
After the evening mass, we went back to our hotel to get our stuff and decided to wait at the train station for our night train to Edinburgh. A nice lady at the Euston station let us stay at the lounge (and have some snacks/refreshments) until it was time to board our train - it was still a couple hours wait so we were very thankful for this.
The Caledonian Sleeper was nice -- to me, as a first timer on a sleeper train. Though our room was a bit tight for two people (and two weeks worth of luggage), I wasn't really expecting it to be otherwise anyway. It was a very interesting experience taking a shower over the toilet (covered though) while trying to maintain your balance or brushing your teeth while watching the country-side pass by. There was a tiny hitch at breakfast, but it was so tiny I won't ruin this post by going into details.
Overall, not a bad full day in London. Still so many places and things I wish we could have seen and done -- clearly, London is not meant to be explored in a day -- but I will back. Someday. I still have money in my Oyster Card left to use after all. 😜
