Taking Our 2020 London Trip At Last - Sept. 2023

3.National Rail’s Days Out Guide 2-4-1 deals:

We used these offers for several attractions and saved a bunch of money. To use, you and a companion simply travel by train (National Rail, not the Tube) and use your train tickets in conjunction with vouchers printed or tickets purchased through the Days Out website.

If you don’t plan on traveling by train or, like us, only travel by train one day, you can still use these offers your entire trip.

Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to explain in-depth here, per the webmaster (nothing illegal, I assure you! 😆), so if you would like further information, and can’t understand from the following paragraphs, please feel free to send me a private message.

We bought our “travel-in” tickets to start the first day of our vacation, and the “travel-back” tickets to end the last day. Tickets from Queenstown Road to Vauxhall (listed as London Terminal on ticket) return are the least expensive ones to qualify for the offers. (about £7 return, each). To get the offers, we either printed out a voucher from the Days Out website, or pre-booked our attraction tickets through DO.

Then we simply presented the vouchers/prebought tickets along with our to/from train tickets the day we visited each site. We used digital train tickets, in our Google wallets, and although we offered, only one site actually wanted to see them.

For the three attractions we used them for (Tower of London, London Eye and Royal Observatory), the two of us ended up saving about £70 net, after taking off the cost of the train tickets themselves. We could have saved even more at St. Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey but bought special behind the scenes tours for these places and needed to order our site tickets through the actual site websites. I highly recommend the Days Out website.

4.Rain: I would recommend waterproof raincoats instead of umbrellas. While most of our days were sunny, partly cloudy, or only lightly spitting rain, we had one day where we had to walk to a tube station, and it was pouring. It was so much easier to weave around people without worrying about carrying an umbrella. And at one point, I got hit on the head when someone couldn’t control theirs. The wind didn’t help; we saw several umbrellas blown inside out

Now, for the details of our trip, day by day.

Monday night/Tuesday, Sept. 11/12, 2023 – Left from Newark, NJ about an hour late, as we had to wait for our pilots to arrive from another delayed flight (there were storms in the area.) We made up time going over and landed at Heathrow, Terminal 2 (United) midmorning, only about 20 minutes late. Very quick to get through immigration/customs. No luggage to retrieve, as we did carry on only. Before setting out, we used the showers in the United lounge (we treated ourselves to business class) - a very welcome pit stop - and had a brief brunch as well.

All the airport signs made it easy to find the Piccadilly line to our hotel in Earl’s Court. And even if we got confused, there were many employees around who were more than happy to answer our questions. This was mostly true wherever we went. It was easy to use our phones - via contactless (credit cards in Google Wallet) - for just about everything, including our first ride on the Tube. We greatly miss using contactless for everything now that we are back home, as adaptation here in the US, and to some extent in our area, is really lagging.

Our room was ready when we arrived at our hotel (London Marriott Kensington, will try to remember to do a separate review of that later, but all in all well worth the cost), shortly after 1:30p, and while our executive king room (another splurge; after all we were here ten days) was on the smaller side, it was just right for the two of us. An “executive” room meant use of the executive lounge - very quiet, complementary hot/cold drinks, and some snacks each night, although we weren’t there for those too often - and the buffet breakfast in the restaurant each morning. The hotel was modern and a quick 7-8 minute walk to both Earl’s Court and Gloucester Road tube stations. There was a bus stop outside the lobby. We also had a Sainsbury across the street from the entrance.

After dropping off our luggage, we first went to the City of London post office to exchange some old bills we initially were going to use for our cancelled 2020 trip. In the last few years, the UK switched over to new bills and it was easy to get ours swapped out. We then checked balances on two old Oyster cards we had from 2017 and were amazed when we realized we had almost £40 left on each. That made Tube travel vastly less expensive for us this trip, even considering I had planned on using the “new money” I exchanged earlier for 7-day travel cards anyway.

Oyster cards now loaded with the new 7-day travel cards (set to begin the next day) and the rest of our exchanged money in hand, we walked across London Bridge to Borough Market. We spent the next two hours meandering and sampling, favorites being the mushroom risotto for me (omg! If you like mushrooms, get it! Google it to see what I mean! :D), and doughnuts from Bread Ahead for dd. She also enjoyed Turkish Delight from another stand, and I tried my first cider of the trip. While the Market was busy, it wasn’t really crowded, and we could mostly wander with ease, never waiting more than three or four minutes in line. Most vendors were open, and we had plenty of choices.

Next, it was back to the hotel to freshen up, as it was rather warm (upper 70’s) and very humid; we can usually deal with humidity (East coast people here, so we do get it all summer), but when you’re moving around so much like we were, it begins to take a toll! After resting our feet briefly, but not so long we would fall asleep, we meandered over to the Scarsdale Tavern, (6p reservation), about a ten-minute walk from the hotel. Dd enjoyed chicken Milanese, while I went with the fish and chips and a Guiness. The tartar sauce was delicious and really made the meal.

We stopped briefly at Sainsbury for a few snacks on the way back. Back in our room, we confirmed our plans for the next day, and were in bed by 9:30p. We hadn’t felt tired, or any jet lag all day, having gotten a few good hours of sleep on the flight over, but fell asleep almost immediately.

If you’re interested, I have sorted through some of our trip photos in my personal Google Drive and will post some at the end of each day’s report. (Moderators: Please don’t remove this link! Look at it first! It’s not advertising in any way, simply a way to show our trip in visual form!) Here is the link for Tuesday’s photos:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Ogr39vQKEq3lC2VcKlaZYk7I-BkZtEkR?usp=sharing

Looking forward to more! There have been some great reports on London lately.

Cathy, looking forward to the rest! We are in London now for 11 days, just missed you.

Hi Tammy! I remember thinking you would be there, especially when I heard about the train strikes! Hope you are managing to get around ok. Are you going to do a trip report, too? Have a great time!

Looking forward to more trip reporting. I appreciate your explanation of City Mapper. I haven't figured out how to use it, but am working on it. Usually Google Maps works find, but every so often takes a nap, same with Maps.Me.

thanks for the photos - just a friendly tip - if you move them to Google Photos, create an album for them and share that album with a link, it makes for easier viewing 😎

Horsewoofie - glad to see I could help you re: City Mapper! I'm pretty stubborn, and would not have used it if given the choice, but actually now I'm glad I did. It just took repetition on my part to make it easier to understand.

ramblin'on - I’ll try to keep posting pix for each day. As for Photos, I've used Photos before, and it's not as secure as Drive, when you're posting pix for all the world to see. I'm not saying my pix are worth copying, but Drive makes it a lot harder. If someone wants a copy of one of my photos, I'm glad to share, but I'd at least like to be asked first. Was it really so hard to use the Drive link? I just open the first picture and swipe to advance to the rest

Ohhh....details, lol!! You know that is my kind of TR!

Curious about where you showered? Does United have a pre-security lounge?

It sounds like you had a fabulous time! Day one in the books and good, lol!! Enjoyed the pictures. The mushroom risotto looked delicious!

Looking forward to the rest!

Pam,
Ahhh, I wondered if you'd chime in! Yep, I know how you love the details - like minds here. Get ready for the rest of the novel. Lol. Now that I've finished sorting my pix, I'm writing as fast as I can. :D

The United arrivals lounge at Heathrow, just past baggage collection, has about eight to ten reeeaaallllllly nice shower rooms. It was one of the deciding factors for us getting business class seats this time. Problem is, now we're spoiled!

Glad you're enjoying it so far. And, yes, the risotto was just THAT good. I might try to re-create it at home.

Much more coming, hopefully more by tonight.

"It was one of the deciding factors for us getting business class seats this time. Problem is, now we're spoiled!"

Well, that is interesting. I've never flown United...always have flown Delta so didn't realize there are lounges outside the secure area. I do agree that once you go Business Class you are setting yourself up for needing to repeat the adventure!

Pam,
British Airways, who we also debated on flying, also has arrival lounges outside the secure area. I'm not sure about others. My husband and son used the BA ones several years ago on their UK trip. But we shied away from BA after reading how they tend to change scheduled flights much more frequently than they used to. We had absolutely no changes with United, and that was after ordering our plane tickets almost six months ahead. (Granted, we're lucky flying from the East Coast; we usually don't have to deal with many connections.)

United has a departure lounge, too (also with showers - we didn't use those), but inside the secure area. Maybe that's what you're remembering? It's where we waited before our flight home.

Bookmarked and following along (I'm in the love long trip reports group). I'm deep in pre-trip research for my (first!) visit to London in March. The risotto stand is now on my list 😁

Wednesday, Sept. 13 – Got an early start today, made it to the Blackbird Pub – close to the Earl’s Court tube station - by the 8a opening, and had a relaxing full English breakfast for each of us. The pub was empty when we arrived, but filled quickly as we ate. Breakfast was by far the best meal here and we returned another morning as well.

Next, using our newly topped-off Oyster cards, we took the tube to St. Paul’s Cathedral. We had some time before our Triforium Tour, so we climbed up the 528 steps to the top of the Dome. And were glad we did it with fresh feet, although there were plenty of places to stop on the way. (We told each other we were simply stopping so much, just to take pictures. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink. I think I should have put in more time on the elliptical at the gym!) Along the way, we had wonderful views and a nice breeze to counter the still very humid conditions.

Next, the Triforium tour took us behind the scenes to - among other places - the normally off-limits library (newly reopened after being refurbished), the top of the circular staircase, Christopher Wren’s gigantic model of St. Paul’s, and the balcony from which most tv cameras are placed to show the full length of the church. It was a nice mix of things we couldn’t have seen otherwise, and well worth the money. Afterwards, we visited a few more places on our own, finishing up by early afternoon, and grabbed a quick snack at the cart in the crypt before heading off.

The Hunterian Museum was next, a wealth of anatomical specimens, medical equipment, instruments, and models from the late 1700’s. We have a similar museum near us in Philadelphia and were interested in comparing the two. This museum only reopened in May after a five-year facelift and was a great way to spend a few hours.

Next, we stopped to get a snack at a nearby Pret. Although it was late afternoon, the food was still very fresh, and we had plenty of selection. Then, back to the hotel to change and rest our feet a bit, before heading out to a cheese and charcuterie restaurant, Pick and Cheese, for supper. Located in Seven Dials Market, it operates on a conveyor belt system, and the night we went, it was unlimited plates for a set price, for 75 minutes (Wednesdays only.) The food was awesome, but the experience was spoiled a bit as the entire market was extremely hot, and the stools where we sat at the bar were a bit uncomfortable. We booked about a month in advance, as it was popular.

After supper, since it was only around 9p, we decided to walk over to Trafalgar Square, for some night views. After a few photos, and getting a second wind, we continued on to Piccadilly Circus for dd, a BBC Sherlock fan, who likes the opening scenes to each episode showing views of the Circus and other areas in London. It’s been compared to NYC’s Times Square, but we didn’t think it was as big or busy. However, dd got a few pix and was happy to have seen it in person. We caught the tube back to our hotel and were in bed shortly after.

Today’s photos link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1RFNsk2D8v7NVH1VLQt2HbpR7qXcH93uX?usp=sharing

I'm loving your detailed trip report. We have also visited the Mutter Museum which is the one I believe you are referencing in Philadelphia? Fascinating collection!

Helen - Thanks! It's a lot of fun writing it and reliving our trip. Yes, the Mutter Museum was the one near me I referred to. Such interesting museums, both of them!

Thursday, Sept. 14 – British Museum day, but first we stopped at Speedy’s (another nod to BBC’s Sherlock series), for breakfast. A very tiny place, but good food at reasonable prices, and it didn’t take long to get our meals. Today started off sunny but cooler, mid-50’s and not as humid, a welcome change. It warmed quickly but didn’t get too hot, and there was a nice breeze. In the museum itself, some areas were a bit warmer, while others remained cool. We arrived about ten minutes after the museum opened, inadvertently via the Montague Place entrance, and it took less than five minutes to get in, most of which was taken up by the required security bag check.

We managed to visit almost all our must-sees, including the Rosetta Stone, Lindow Man, the Sutton Hoo ship room, the Game of Ur and the mummies. Dd graciously put up with me when I spent well over an hour and a half in the mummy section alone (frustrated want-to-be archaeologist). I reciprocated by giving her plenty of time to scrutinize the clocks and watches section. Sadly, the gallery with the Parthenon Marbles was listed as being closed, so we didn’t go there, and the Japan area was roped off as well. Then, the Medieval Europe eye-opener tour was cancelled, so we just concentrated more on the other areas. The crowds were surprisingly light, with only the Egypt/mummy sections being what I would call crowded (understandably.) We also enjoyed afternoon tea as our lunch here (12:30p), and I’m glad I made reservations before we left home, when we saw several groups without them turned away. We had enjoyed tea here as a family in 2017, and it was just as good this time around.

Then it was off to the British Library by bus (traffic was a bit more troublesome now, so it took longer than we figured to get there) and the Treasures room. Having seen the NYC Library treasures, I was eager to compare the two. The British Library focuses more on books and paper ephemera, while NYC’s has more “stuff” (i.e.-the original Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals, etc.), but we found both equally fascinating. Among my favorites were the Lindisfarne Gospels and a Gutenberg Bible, while dd enjoyed seeing papers from Michaelangelo; we both found the two Magna Cartas interesting.

At this point, we had planned on getting back to the Tower Hill area, to see a scheduled Tower Bridge opening, but ended up walking slower than anticipated and missed it by about ten minutes. We did see several openings during our trip, though, so while we were initially disappointed, it all worked out.

We walked across Tower Bridge, and took many, many photos as we went, then continued with a long, meandering walk along the South Bank, down to near Blackfriars’s Bridge. It was a beautiful, balmy evening, and we stopped quite a bit not just for photos, but also to enjoy the nice evening.

We had 8p reservations booked for Founder’s Arms, and were a bit taken aback by how busy and noisy it was. Our table was set further from the bar, though, so it wasn’t too hard to talk. I started with smoked mackerel pate (dd tried it and wrinkled her nose; no worries, more for me!) then had a nice chicken, ham, and leek pie. Dd enjoyed the pork and ale sausages. I tried a cider, while dd was happy with her tap water. Still getting used to water being warmer than we normally drink, but otherwise just fine.

Then it was back over the Millenium Bridge to Blackfriar’s tube station; while crossing the bridge, we noticed Tower Bridge opening in the distance. It was a long zoom with the camera, but we caught just a bit of it. An easy ride back to Earl’s Court and our hotel, and we were in for the night.

Just a rather embarrassing (for me) side note here: in our travels today, I just happened to look up at one of the map diagrams on the inside of the tube car, and it finally dawned on me why they call it the Circle line. Dd just gave me a face palm and shook her head. (Although, to be fair, I think Oval line would be more accurate. Lol)

Today’s photos link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1IjDXbu7pokCUE0bleDtU1Pb3fmpSSxB6?usp=sharing

Friday, Sept 15 – Slept in a bit today (although neither of us are really late sleepers anymore) since we were only going as far as the Natural History Museum this morning. We ate breakfast at the hotel; it offered something for everyone, including eggs, bacon, sausages, made to order eggs, fruit, muesli and the like, a few deli meats/cheeses, and pastries. I enjoyed one of many cappuccinos this trip.

We had not pre-booked tickets (the Museum is free, booking suggested), and when we got there, the line for those without tickets was longer than we anticipated, while the line for ticket holders was non-existent. So, we simply called up the website on our phones while standing outside the gates, ordered digital tickets, and a few minutes later were inside, having bypassed the growing non-ticket line.

Even though we have been to several natural history museums in the past, each seems just a bit different (in a good way), and we ended up spending almost 2 ½ hours here, checking out dinosaurs, dodos, and all other manner of preserved things. It was a bit busier than we’d encountered elsewhere, with a few school groups, but we never lacked space to view the exhibits. I joked to dd that at least the groups of school kids were easy to spot, as they were much shorter, and all wore neon vests.

Because we had read good things about the Victoria & Albert café next door, we opted to have a later lunch there before starting our V&A visit. While all of London’s museum eateries had nice surroundings, the V&A took it to a whole new level, with colorful ceramic tiles, beautiful glittering chandeliers and paintings everywhere. I later found out it is considered the world’s first museum café. Quite a change from the museum eateries we have at home!

My potato and leek quiche and dd’s beef bourguignon, along with the salads that came with – the lentil one was my favorite – were very nice. Dd had room for a cherry almond cake, but I waited until later in the afternoon to indulge. We debated whether to take our food out to the courtyard, with its little wading pond; it was another beautiful balmy day, but most of the tables were being used and we didn’t want to sit on the grass. When ordering our food, though, we were asked if we would be eating inside or out. If you want to go outside, they will give you paper plates, etc.

Over the next few hours, we saw among other things the very sparkly and remarkably uncrowded jewels section (Queen Victoria’s coronet was my favorite); walked past what seemed like miles of incredible silver and gold plated . . . . everything; saw very cool swords; the recently re-opened “re:Imaging Musicals” exhibit; the Japan section; and lots of marble statues. Dd finished another section or two on her own, while I enjoyed a cream tea and another chance to get off my feet.

We ate supper not too far from our hotel – Chelsea Brasserie. Since it was another beautiful evening, we picked seats just inside one of the open floor- to-ceiling windows near the street. We had privacy yet still felt part of the hustle and bustle outside. Dd was not as fond of her main dish tonight – seafood ravioli – but I enjoyed my duck frites, and a side of broccoli. We both had yummy Creme Brulés for dessert and dd enjoyed a glass of Moscato.

We rode the bus home, and another slightly embarrassing moment for me (I seem to have had a few this trip!) We were let off close to our hotel, it had gotten dark, and as I looked around for the entrance, I remarked to dd that I thought our return bus stop was closer than this. She just took me by the shoulder, turned me around and pointed. Well, what do you know? There behind me was . . . our hotel. Eek. Not really all that easy to miss, as it was at least ten stories tall. I had just lost my bearings for a moment. Either that, or I really am getting old. Sigh. On that note, we turned in for the night, dd still laughing all the way to our room.

Today’s photos link:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1b4jT-HrHgXt8OM3lSKx8iWWtPs1SIz_U?usp=sharing

I’m envious of your mother daughter trip. I did several with my daughter years ago before life (kids and a job) got in the way. She is still my favorite traveling companion.

Lyndash - it was our first long "only mother and daughter" trip anywhere, and as we both have strong opinions on things, I was a bit nervous ahead of time. But it really did end up going great - I think because we talked it over ahead of time and made sure we were in agreement. And she's so much more fun, now that she's an adult!! :D

Concerned - thanks; it only took us six months to bring it all together! Lol. But as for carry-on, well, we did actually check a bag going home, as we simply had too many souvenirs at the end. But it held all our dirty laundry, and we carried on the most important stuff. Going over, though, carry-on just made it so much simpler!

Saturday, Sept 16 – another nice relaxing breakfast at the hotel (and more cappuccino, yum), then we were off for our Tower of London visit. What a change on the tube this morning! It was about the same time we had caught it the last few mornings, but a weekend day, so the tube was much emptier. No rush hour to contend with and we got seats immediately. Today the temperature was supposed to reach around 80F, but again with much lower humidity, so we crossed our fingers and hoped for the best.

We arrived at the Tower about 15 minutes before opening, as I knew we would want to take pictures. This ended up being our favorite attraction of the entire trip, and we returned to the area several times before going home.

I planned on using our first 241 offer here and knew we would need to stand in line to purchase a ticket, as this site only required you to pre-print a voucher. It was a bit annoying to have to stand in line to buy a ticket, while watching those already in line with tickets ushered in right at 9a, but it actually worked out for the best. In the ten minutes or so it took us to get our tickets, the line to enter completely disappeared. By the time we had our tickets in hand, we just sailed right in. This was one of the sites where they didn’t want to see my rail tickets, only the vouchers. A savings of £33 this time.

For the next 6 ½ hours, we completely enjoyed the Tower and all it had to offer. I had guessed we might spend a few hours here, but even I was amazed (when we finally left close to 4p) at how very long we stayed. And yet, the time seemed to fly by.

We started by seeing the crown jewels (no lines whatsoever), taking several passes by them in the nearly empty room. Prior to the jewels themselves, you walk through other rooms filled with items such as the fanfare trumpets, coronation robes and a gigantic silver-gilt punchbowl (wine cistern, to the more discerning viewer.) If I remember correctly, the punchbowl can hold 144 bottles of wine. Now that’s the setup for a great party! For security purposes, no photos allowed. And to note, the guards on post outside the building are not just for show – they are actual members of the military ready to defend the jewels (or us) should the need arise.

Next, we hooked up with a yeoman warder tour (we had Yeoman Warder Terry Riggs – I hope I remembered his name correctly!); he was very funny and really put into perspective some of what we were seeing. Ironically, when my husband (at home this trip) looked back at photos from a trip he made with our son in 2018, he discovered they also had the same yeoman warder for their tour. What a coincidence! We made sure we took a picture with him, as he graciously posed after the tour.

Wanting to beat the rush if we could, we had an earlier lunch, where again we were amazed at the quality of the food in the “cafeteria.” We both opted for the lamb dish, with potatoes and veggies. I also got a cookie that was bigger than my entire hand, and dd went for the chocolate cherry loaf. Everything was delicious!

We spent much of the afternoon walking along the Tower wall and into the buildings along the way. I started slowing down midafternoon, while dd still wanted to visit the White Tower. After deciding I just couldn’t take all those stairs, I went back to the restaurant for another cappuccino and to put up my feet for a bit (common theme?), while dd reassured me she would take lots of pictures.

The cafe was a bit more crowded now, and I ended up sharing a table and having the most wonderful conversation with two Brits down from the north (never got exactly where they were from) on a day long bus tour. We discussed everything from New York City to university (my son is getting his graduate degree currently), and even – to my delight – Dr. Who. Both dd and I are big fans, with her loving the most recent Doctors, and me of the 4th Doctor generation (Tom Baker and K9) although I do watch the newer show as well.

As they went to leave, the couple casually mentioned that Tower Bridge would be opening in about 15-20 minutes. Well, heck! We could finally see it! I sent dd a quick text letting her know, and she said she’d try to make it. I scurried back up the Tower wall, where I had another wonderful surprise. There on one of the railings, not three feet away, perched one of the Tower ravens, Georgie (pink band on her leg.) Tons more picture taking ensued!! I never did meet up with dd on the wall, but she texted me a few minutes after the Bridge closed again, assuring me she had gotten plenty of pictures, in addition to also seeing another of the ravens up close. We met up again in front of the café.

We had scheduled a London Walks tour for tonight (Ghosts of the Old City), but just two days before we left home, we got an email that our guide was sick and had to cancel our tour. We tried to find another for the same time, even with other companies, but really the only other things on offer were Jack the Ripper tours, and we were not interested. So, after a bit of discussion, we re-worked our schedule, and opted for a visit to Leadenhall Market, for pictures. After wandering for a bit, we enjoyed some pastries from Aux Merveilleux. Sadly, the Hoxton Street Monster Supplies store was closed on Saturdays, and we never got the chance to visit their other location.

However, I didn’t think to rebook a restaurant, after cancelling the one near where our walking tour would begin, and only realized it on our way out this morning. We really didn’t want pizza, and from a quick look the only other place I wanted to try in Leadenhall, Luc’s Brasserie, was unfortunately closed. On a Saturday night. Sigh. So, we decided to try another pub, a short walk away, called Cheshire Cheese. (Not the one of Ye Olde fame.)

It was certainly more of a local pub, and I didn’t know how good the food would be, but we made our way through the small crowd and found a table. I knew we looked like tourists, something confirmed when a friendly gentleman started asking where we were from as I stood at the bar to order. I had a nice few-minute conversation with him until the bartender could take my order.

While waiting for our food, we caught some of a football (soccer to us) match on the big screen behind us, even as my husband was doing a play-by-play of the Penn State football game for us via text. Dd had bangers and mash and a diet Coke (or Pepsi, can’t remember; she’s ok with either), and I went for the steak and kidney pie and a Guiness. While not gourmet food, it was good, and we enjoyed people watching as we ate.

As we had no other plans for the night, we took a slow walk back to Leadenhall, where we got some nice night shots, then over to Monument station for the ride back. It was obvious it was a weekend night, and people were out for a night on the town, as we had to stand the entire twelve (13?) tube stops back to Earl’s Court.

Today’s photos link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ZucXe_PFN5k7_nmSR3XhJEsLvsqq6bZ6?usp=sharing

I am really enjoying reading this! My husband and I went to London in 2019 and we are taking our niece this coming May.

Did you reserve restaurants for dinner?

BethFL - thanks! I really do enjoy writing reports like this and I hope I help future travelers, like so many trip reports I read helped us.

We did reserve quite a few places, although with the exception of Pick & Cheese, tea in the British Museum, and Sunday roast (although for us that was last minute that morning), I don't think we really needed to.

Of course, we were traveling in what is typically considered shoulder season, and we encountered far fewer crowds than those I was reading about in early spring/summer. I'm not sure how May will be for you next year. However, I'm booking hotels for Scotland early next May myself, and if the lack of rooms still available is any indication, I have a feeling it will be another busy travel year.

Good luck and enjoy your trip with your niece! What a nice aunt and uncle you are!!

Re the restaurant in the Leadenhall area being closed on a Saturday night, that’s pretty common in the City (with a capital C, that is - the financial district). Weekdays the area is buzzing with bankers and people working in the financial sector, but it really empties out over the weekend and a lot of the cafes and restaurants in the heart of the City are closed completely both Saturdays and Sundays.

Golden Girl - interesting. Even after looking at maps of the city for so long, I never realized that area was the financial district. Makes sense then that things would be a bit quieter on the weekends. (Although one of the pubs was still rocking when we came back for evening photos! Lol)

Sunday, Sept 17 – We again ate breakfast at the Blackbird, as it was another somewhat more relaxed day. Our plans today included the Postal Museum, the Mithraeum, All Hallows Church and the London Eye. At least those were our intended plans. We actually ended up doing a lot of rearranging, but in the end came out of it better off, I think.

After seeing a documentary several years ago, about London’s postal system, dd thought it would be fun to visit the Postal Museum and take a ride on the Mail Rail. The Mail Rail, a narrow gauge driverless underground railway, ran from 1927 to 2003 and carried London’s mail beneath the streets to avoid growing road traffic congestion. After being mostly abandoned in 2003, it was refurbished as a tourist ride in 2014 and opened as such in 2017. (thanks to Wikipedia, for helping me remember that info! Lol)

Our ride took about 15 minutes and went past a few sorting stations, with narration and projections on the tunnel walls at various intervals. It was a fascinating ride, but I’m glad we weren’t taller. My head was almost touching the top of the enclosed car (I’m 5’8) and I just kept thinking of how scrunched up my 6’4 son would have been. The Museum itself was also interesting, a fun look at London mail for the last four or five centuries. It took us another hour or so to walk through.

At this point, we were going to have a quick bite and visit the Mithraeum, but dd had been asking for a Sunday roast, and as this was our only Sunday in town, I finally gave in and decided we might as well go for it. During breakfast, I had Googled a few options, and finally settled on Hawksmoor, although we needed to reserve at the Borough Hawksmoor to get the time (1:15p) we wanted.

With plenty of time to get there, we took a bus over and sat in the front seat in the up-top section. It was an entirely new, very cool, perspective on travel around the city, and to be honest, just a little scary at times. From our angle, it appeared we would run into things or not stop in time, and I shot a bit of video as a visual souvenir.

We used City Mapper to get to Hawksmoor, and it took us directly through Borough Market. All I can say is, maybe early Sunday afternoon isn’t the best time to be at Borough Market! I thought the tube at rush hour was crowded, but this took lack of personal space to a whole new level! Dd had to grab onto my backpack so as not to lose me in the absolute crush of people.

I must admit, the Sunday roast was very good. I’m not a huge roast fan to begin with, but we both really enjoyed it. It was well prepared (decently red, we don’t like our meat overcooked), nicely accompanied by carrots, a whole roasted head of garlic, potatoes nicely crispy on the outside, a huge Yorkshire pudding, and extra gravy. Plus, a small dish of horseradish sauce for me – just mildly hot. Perfect! (We didn’t eat the greens, though. Kale? Maybe? Yuck!)

But I must ask – exactly how are you supposed to eat your pudding? Fingers, knife and fork, gravy, no gravy? We just cut it into pieces, doused it with the (delicious) gravy and ate it that way. An alcoholic ginger beer for me and a sour cherry Nongroni (very sour, she said) for dd and we were good to go. We indulged in dessert, too – sticky toffee pudding for me (one of my favorites) and a sticky toffee Sundae for dd.

You are right. We eat Yorkshire pudding with a knife and fork and the gravy. Eating the European way you hold the knife and fork for the whole meal and cut and eat as you go rather than cutting it all up at the start. We put a mix of the different foods on the fork at the same time, so a bit of Yorkshire, a bit of meat, bit of veg.

For those who are interested, Virgin also has those wonderful showers, but I think they close at 1. And honestly, for me, those showers are the best thing about Business Class.

Helen - good to know (for next time! :D) Glad to see we inadvertently did it right. We kind of mixed up everything on the plate as well, for each bite. Really yum!

Cala - yes, exactly! Nothing like coming off a long haul flight and getting a shower right away. Makes the cost a bit easier to take. (although flights in business going forward - especially for next spring, when we want to travel again - have literally doubled in cost now.) Interesting that Virgin has the showers, too. I will keep that in mind the next time we plan our flights into LHR.

Sunday (cont'd)

Sufficiently stuffed, we waddled out and again thought about visiting the Mithraeum. However, a quick check online showed there were no more spaces available (it was free, but you had to book. Our original booked time had long since passed.) Dd was a bit disgruntled (can’t have it all, kiddo!) but came around quickly when I suggested the National Gallery instead.

It hadn’t been high on my list to do, but we wanted to get away from the drizzle, she loves Rembrandt, and we’re both huge Van Gogh fans, so win-win. We did get a bit distracted by other paintings as we went looking for our favorites, surprising since I’m not really a huge art enthusiast. I was thrilled that I got to see another one of Van Gogh’s sunflower paintings, though, and now have a new favorite painting by him – Two Crabs. Beautiful colors! We stayed so long in the Gallery, they closed the souvenir shop to others as we finished our purchases and were ushering everyone else out of the museum, too, as we went to leave.

I remember thinking earlier in the day we might not have luck with the London Eye this visit because of the rain, but kept that thought to myself, as it was another of dd’s really-want-to-dos. As it turned out, it finished raining while we were in the Gallery. The ground was wet, but the sun was peeking through a bit as we left, so we decided the London Eye was on.

I know many consider the Eye just about as touristy a site as can be, but we had a blast and got some amazing shots, especially of the Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) and Parliament. As the ride came back around, city lights were just starting to come on, and the views were awesome. Also, we both dislike heights but had no problem whatsoever walking around inside the compartment. I would definitely ride again.

Supper tonight was a bit of a challenge. I had managed to persuade dd to try Dishoom for one meal (she’s not a spicy food lover), and this was a great night for it. We would come into Earl’s Court station, then catch the Piccadilly line one stop to High Street Kensington and walk to Dishoom.

Well, for once we failed to check TfL, and the Piccadilly line to the High Street station wasn’t working. By this time, I was too tired to walk the 15-20 minutes there, or even wait for the bus, and suggested just going back to Blackbird for supper. Hmm. Not our best decision. Although we got a table after a short wait, the pub was very busy. After ordering at the bar, it took some time to get our food; I never did get the salad I ordered (I asked about it twice); and supper food was not nearly as good as breakfast. It was our only real “fail” of the entire trip, but we chalked it up to being tired and let it go.

Today’s photos link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1RbAnI2aznp8jBmOgBtUw2V18ZOSP97lC?usp=sharing

Monday, Sept 18 – Another breakfast in the hotel, which just made it so easy on these early departure days. Today, on what ended up being one of our busiest days, our plan was to take the DLR (Dockland Light Railway) to Greenwich.

We began at Earl’s Court, took the tube to Monument, then walked to Bank and picked up the DLR to Cutty Sark there. As mentioned, so many times on various travel forums, we sat in the front carriage. Even though I had read these were driverless cars, we actually had a driver who operated the controls most of the way. It was fun seeing the enclosed tunnels at the start of the trip, then the up and down overground rails the rest of the way. As we came out of the station at Cutty Sark, I was happy that dd remembered we had to tap out. The tiny post on which to do so was not the most obvious, and if I had been by myself, I would certainly have missed it.

By now, the cappuccino had gone through me, and we needed to find a restroom. Fortunately, there was an Ole & Steen handy, and we both used their restroom, after ordering small pastries and, of course, another cappuccino for me. Such a hardship to take a little snack break. :D

As we had purchased timed tickets (again, 241 offer) for the Royal Observatory, we headed there first. City Mapper showed a walking time of 15 minutes, but I’m convinced the app really doesn’t consider how slow we somewhat out-of-shape tourists are on the steep hill up to the Observatory. No joke. Get your legs in shape before you leave home!

We had tickets for 10:30a but ended up being about ten minutes late. No worries! They were happy to let us in anyway. (I’m thinking back now, and it might have been entry within a certain time frame – 10:30 to 11 maybe?) Again, we showed first our digital 241 tickets, then asked if she wanted to see the rail tickets. Yes! Finally, someone who wanted to see them! But really, she admitted it was more because while she knew about the Days Out 241 offers, she had never seen someone actually use them. She only took a cursory glance and waved us in.

Dd was much more excited than I to visit the Observatory, but I shocked myself by enjoying this the most out of everything we did in Greenwich. Of course, we checked out the meridian line and got some fun pix. It wasn’t very busy. And we took photos of the amazing London skyline, stretching from the Millenium Dome on the right, all the way to just past St. Paul’s Cathedral on the left. Pictures do not do it justice. The dark rain clouds behind the skyline at one point really enhanced the pix, though. (Especially as those rain clouds, for the most part, left us alone today.)

We next walked through the Observatory itself, including climbing up to the Great Equatorial Telescope. (I sent pix of it to my astrophysicist grad student son, and he really liked it.) Dd loved all the clocks and I found it fascinating to learn how they solved the problem of keeping precise time on a moving ship, as well as finding accurate longitude with which to guide those ships.

Next, we walked back down the hill and over to the Maritime Museum (free, no timed entry needed, no lines). While still interesting, much of this seems geared to children more and we only spent about an hour here.

Then it was off to a later lunch at Goddard’s Pie and Mash shop. As that’s all they serve, we debated whether to try it, but ended up very happy we did. As I placed our orders at the bar (the steak and kidney for me and another cider to try; and traditional minced beef, I think it was, and a Coke for dd), I was gently made fun of for getting the gravy and not the liquor, by a gentleman ordering at the same time. I just replied we weren’t THAT adventurous. Lol. We finished off the meal with what I consider “dessert” pies – an apple with custard for dd (not nearly enough spices, she said, but still good) and a sticky toffee pudding with custard (first time eating one with custard) for me. Yum!

It had been gently raining a bit the entire time we ate, but started to clear up as we left the shop. We explored town some, stopping at Greenwich Market briefly, but it was small and almost half the booths were food, something we didn’t need now that we had eaten. But the good smells could have tempted us any other time.

Next, we wandered over to the Old Royal Naval College, and all around the grounds. We didn’t visit the Painted Hall, as it was getting late, but the employees there were gracious and let us use their restrooms. Near the Thames, we spotted the opening to the tunnel under the river, but had our sights set on going back by boat.

At this point, it was just a matter of deciding between the Uber boats or the more open City Cruises boats. It was windy, but not very chilly, something to be considered when on the water. But we really wanted to take photos without glass in the way, so we went for the (more expensive) City Cruises, back to Tower Pier. What a lucky decision! More on that in a moment.

We ordered our tickets at the window, and got the next to last boat, at 5:10p. I could have ordered digitally, but the ticket window was empty, and the boat wasn’t sold out. With twenty minutes to wait, we took some pix of the Cutty Sark (one thing we didn’t have time to visit) and of the Thames. The sun was peeking through intermittent clouds, and it was pleasant along the water, although we did put our raincoats back on to cut some of the breeze.

During the 30-minute ride back to Tower Pier, I was confused as there was no commentary, but chalked it up to this section of the river not having a lot to comment on. We took more pix and had a nice conversation together on how we thought the trip had gone to date. (awesome, was our conclusion)

The best part of the ride came, though, when we got close to Tower Bridge and lucked out seeing it opening as we passed by! I could not have thought to plan that in a million years (although, if anyone else asks, I’m ok with taking credit for it. :D ) Again, many more photos were taken. It was hilarious (yet understandable) to see why the Bridge opened though – a very small sailing ship, with a verrrrrryyyyy tall mast. Such a great ending to our boat ride.

After yet more pictures of the Tower (our favorite, remember?), we caught the tube to Blackfriars and walked across the Bridge, to Doggett’s, for supper. Wonderful place! We got a table for two right next to the window, with a nice view of the Thames. The food was very good – salmon and dill fishcakes for me, chicken and chorizo for dd, a shared order of halloumi fries and the best cider to date for me (a strawberry-lime Swedish one). We didn’t rush, as we were heading back to Tower Hill when we were done.

Our last event for the evening was the Ceremony of the Keys, at 9:30p. Although we did have to queue for tickets online, a month in advance, I didn’t consider it very hard to get them. Just time consuming. Ahead of time, I had checked when ordering began (very considerate of them, it started at a decent 4p, or 11a our time), had the website booted up on two computers (taking no chances), and hit the order buttons right at 11:01a when the site let me through. I was #343 and #410 in the queues respectively and waited 43 minutes to be able to order on the first computer. Not quite half the days were booked at that point, but I was able to get our first choice. The system gives you 15 minutes to order (£5/ea.). I don’t think it took me more than five.

We checked where to queue for the event when we visited the Tower earlier in our trip and tonight arrived about 25 minutes ahead of time. While waiting, we talked with others also waiting, then right at 9:30p simply showed our digital tickets and were let in.

The whole ceremony took just over half an hour. It was different than what we expected, but both of us agreed it was very cool. To be part of something that has been going on every night for the last 700 years is incredible. I highly recommend it.

Today’s photos link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10VHTb-2LKNI51JaNvBPJkYT1dIGHiN94?usp=sharing

Concerned local - thanks for the extra info on Yorkshire puddings. I might just have to try and make some at home now.

Tuesday, Sept 19 – Again we ate at the hotel since we had Westminster Abbey on tap today and wanted to arrive early to be close to the front of the line to hopefully get verger tickets upon entering.

Taking the tube today was another adventure, as rush hour was even more pronounced. Again, if you value your personal space, the tube at times like this is not for you. We just shrugged and went for it. We were so packed together, we really didn’t need to hold on to anything – the people all around us ensured we kept upright the whole way. We did make sure to hold our bags in front of us, though, and keep a hand on our Oyster cards, but we never felt unsafe. Just squished. At least it was a shorter ride.

After departing the tube, we walked to the Abbey taking yet more pictures along the way. So nice to see the Elizabeth Tower without scaffolding. We were close to the front of the line and had to briefly pull on our raincoats in some heavy drizzle, while waiting.

The gates opened a few minutes early and we got our wristbands for the Hidden Highlights tour, as well as bought tickets for the 11:30a verger tour. It didn’t take long before we were rounded up for the first tour; with just 15 people, it was easy to hear our guide, Daisy, and we visited some very interesting behind-the-scenes places. Also, Daisy had been involved in security for both the Queen’s funeral and the Coronation and talked a bit about what it had been like.

We had to leave the first tour, for our second one, before getting a chance to see the Queen’s Gallery, but our wristbands got us in later after the second tour. For our verger tour, we were a bit bigger group. As the morning wore on, the Abbey became quite crowded, and we had to stick close. Among other things, we got an up-close look at the area around Edward the Confessor’s tomb (no photos allowed out of respect) and were allowed to sit in the quire. Both tours were very interesting and informative. The Queen’s Gallery was equally interesting, but sadly we couldn’t take pictures.

We later compared the two – St. Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey – and decided we enjoyed the Cathedral a bit more. St. Paul’s had a much more open feeling (space-wise), while the Abbey was crammed full of tombs, plaques, and monuments to the dead, both on the floor and the walls. Both buildings were equally spectacular, though.

After our verger tour, we stopped in the café for a light bite (sharing a Caesar salad, a very nice creamy pea soup, and a cream tea), then visited areas not on our tours, including the very empty, serene Cloister Gardens. This also gave me a quiet spot to call and pre-book a taxi for the following day when we were to visit Audley End House. (It was just a bit too far to walk from the train station, and other public transit was lacking.)

Initially, our plans this day called for us to also visit the Imperial War Museum in the afternoon, but we both agreed the Abbey deserved the extra time we took. We wandered a bit more, took a few more photos and visited the gift shop, then headed out. People were beginning to line up for Evensong as we exited, and we briefly considered it, but we had a play booked, and wanted to relax over an early supper.

We had tickets to “The Play that Goes Wrong,” and chose the Ivy Market Grill for supper, close to the Duchess Theater. We should have let our waiter know we were going to the theater, but we had budgeted over two hours for our meal and the theater was only a five-minute walk away. However, it took quite a long time to get menus, then even longer to get our meals, and though we had time for dessert, we felt rushed.

We made it to the theater with ten minutes to spare, and enough time to see a bit of the pre-show “entertainment.” It was a great show; we laughed almost the whole time, and enjoyed drinks and ice cream during intermission, something we just don’t get at those Broadway shows. Just a note: the theater was very warm, and it felt good to get back out into the cooler night air afterwards.

Again, we took the tube to Earl’s Court, and our favorite blue police call box, and I took a quick detour to Sainsbury for a few more snacks, while dd headed up to the room. Another double check of our plans for the next day – we had ordered advance train tickets and wanted to make sure we made the train on time – and off to bed.

Today’s photos link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1CJUDSynbCaBSTnSO7SKIRo2Ur_MtCAWT?usp=sharing

Wow, you are really seeing so much and covering a lot of ground. Champion tourist awards to you both! Have you had a step counter, it would be impressive. Thanks for sharing.

I loved Westminster Abbey back in 2011 when I went. I was able to slip into a mass being held that had just started as I was ready to exit. I’m Catholic but feel like we’re kissing cousins with Anglicans so it was really special. I still remember it and the priest who said mass, my first experience of a woman priest.

Lyndash - thanks! Glad you're enjoying it. Yes, we were pretty active, going on 18k+ steps each day. But we left plenty of time for absorbing it all and resting our feet and rarely felt rushed in any way (supper before our play probably being the only time!) I was always amazed when we arrived back at our hotel and it was going on 9/9:30p, because it never felt like that long of a day. But we definitely slept well.

We had visited WA back in 2017, but only had time for Evensong, so I've been wanting to return since then. I loved the service then, and it was interesting, too, that it was on St. Patrick's Day and they had a special guest speaker, I guess you would say. So you had a woman priest? Very nice.

Wednesday, Sept 20 – We were up earlier today, to grab a quick hotel breakfast, and make sure we got to our train on time. From Earl’s Court we took the tube to Victoria station, then another tube ride to Tottenham Hale. From there, we caught the 9:10a National Rail train to Audley End. It was a nice ride to AE, and we started seeing more countryside just before Bishop Stortford, I think it was.

As mentioned, I had pre-booked a taxi for the short 1 ½ mile trip to Audley End House, as other modes of transportation involved convoluted routes and it was a bit much to walk. We met up with Mick, our driver from Audley End Chauffeurs & Taxi Service, (recommended), right outside the station, and right on time at 9:50a. The fare to AE House was £10.

We had been worried about the weather today, as there was a 90% chance of rain from about 11a onwards, but figured we would be inside the house much of the time. And we had our raincoats. So, imagine our dismay when we got to the gates of Audley End House, right at opening time, to find them closed, with a sign saying they were shut for the day because of the weather. Huh?!?!

We believe it was the strong winds that did us in. We heard the grounds of AE House have quite a few big, old trees and I’m guessing the folks there worried those trees could blow down on unsuspecting tourists. Dd was heartbroken. It was her biggest must-do of the trip. To be fair, if we had simply looked at the AE House website beforehand, we would have seen notice of the closures (the day before was closed as well); it was just something we never even considered, as the day started with bright sunshine. Lesson learned. Double and triple check the website before traveling!

The whole time we were trying to figure out what to do, Mick was wonderful. He parked, got out of his taxi, and tried to help us find out what was going on. When we decided to go back to the train station, he didn’t charge us for the ride back, and even suggested using one of the other taxi stand drivers should we want to go into town for the day. (He couldn’t take us as he already had more bookings lined up.)

We discussed our options, and in the long run decided not to wait around for our afternoon 5:11p train, but to instead take the next train back to London and go from there. On the way back, we decided to visit the Imperial War Museum, as we had not had the chance the day before, and it was still calling for heavy rain in the afternoon.

It was a nice walk from the nearby tube station to IWM (pre-rain), where we again opted to have lunch first before starting our visit. Again, even though it was a bit more crowded, the museum café came through big time. I had a wonderful barley and vegetable soup and another Caesar salad, and dd went for the tomato/mozzarella/pesto/spinach sandwich (on a nice soft roll; very good, she said).

Satisfied with our meals, we spent a few hours in the WWI section. It was interesting to view history from a British point of view. We took a brief peek at the WW2 section, before admitting we just couldn’t see any more. A quick stop in the gift shop, then we headed back to the hotel. It was our earliest return of the entire trip, but we wanted to do some packing, as well as sorting through our many souvenirs, before supper.

After about 30 minutes, we had everything packed up to where we felt confident we could tour a bit more the next morning before leaving. Regarding our luggage going home, I realized early on that we probably wouldn’t get away with just carry on for the trip home and had packed a small foldable (very thin) duffle in the bottom of one of our suitcases. Going home, we loaded one of our roller bags with dirty laundry and checked it and used the duffle to carry all our souvenirs onto the plane. Everything fit nicely into the duffle and the checked bag made it through just fine.

Now we were ready for supper, and our final restaurant of the trip – Dishoom. Dd realized how disappointed I had been at not visiting earlier and offered to try it now. I was still a bit worried as I knew reservations weren’t taken after 6p, except for a few larger parties, but dd said we could wait as long as we needed.

It was raining a bit heavier when we exited the tube station, but we were sheltered by an overhang while waiting in line and didn’t need to keep our hoods up. We waited about 40 minutes to enter, then waited another twenty or so at the bar, before we got a table. Our meals were fantastic and pretty much made up for the wait. We shared an order of lamb samosas and garlic naan. I got the Chicken biryani while dd went for the Murgh Malai. I also ordered a mango and fennel lassi and dd had a very nice, not too tangy, cider. We finished the meal by splitting a crumble, with coconut ice cream on top.

I ended the night by calling my parents back in Pennsylvania, to wish my mom a happy birthday, as her birthday was the following day, and I knew we might be too preoccupied with our trip home to do so then.

Today’s photos link:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1oSUQHu1GLKAMCVVqkHac4u2I_HrYwwhW?usp=sharing

Too bad about the house closure.
My English Mum grew up in the Saffron Walden/Audley End area in the 1920’s and 30’s.

I have enjoyed your report so much—love the details.
We just returned from a week in London with our adult daughter and had a great time. Your report brings back some memories and ideas for next time.

SJ - the way we look at it now, it's just another reason to come back again. From the little we saw of the area, it looks very peaceful.

Patty - thanks! Details are what helped us the most, so I just wanted to return the favor. Plus, I just love reading long trip reports! And it's a way to relive our trip all over again. :)
Isn't it fun to travel with the kids when they're grown up? Glad you had fun as well. Will you do a trip report - I'd love to read yours!

Thursday, Sept 21 – Never ones to leave a stone unturned, we got a very early start this morning and headed over to Spitalfields market – antiques today. I enjoyed browsing but am not in any way qualified enough to determine if the items were authentic or priced well, so I opted just to look and not buy. We stayed about 45 minutes, then after yet another check with TfL to make sure there were no imminent delays on our needed tube lines, we decided to squeeze in a final quick visit to the Tower Hill area and St. Dunstan in the East church ruins. We were glad we did, as it is a beautiful, peaceful place, and lent itself wonderfully to photos. And it didn’t hurt that we could get one final look at our favorite Tower before heading back to the hotel.

Check out was noon, but we were ready to leave for the airport before that. Again, we checked with TfL, to reassure ourselves there were no delays on the Piccadilly line, and one more time left Earl’s Court station and our favorite blue police box, on our way back to Heathrow. It was reassuring to note that we still had several pounds left on our Oyster cards when we tapped out a final time at the airport, yet another good reason for a return visit in the future.

Our flight home was relaxing, a bit boring, and most importantly, uneventful. We had a nice meal in the United lounge, and toasted our successful trip with champagne, then relaxed until boarding. We took off a few minutes early, arriving back at Newark fifteen minutes early. Although we were able to successfully complete our Mobile Passport apps on landing, and Newark is listed as one of the airports where it is used, it was not available this time and we had to queue with everyone else (other than the Global Entry people, of course.) What was ironic was that while standing in line, we could see a monitor asking us to sign up for . . . yep, Mobile Passport. Another sigh. Fortunately, we weren’t too far back in line, and we were “officially” back on US soil about twenty-five minutes after landing.

All that was left to do was greet husband/dad past security, endure the two-hour ride home (by this time it was midnight to us), and greet our very excited puppy on arrival at the house. Oh, and sort through our combined 7,000+ photos. Gotta love digital!

Today’s photos link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_8CboCQuBKc2hyBiw3sHHJDt5DeCyDsP?usp=sharing

The United arrivals lounge at Heathrow, just past baggage collection, has about eight to ten reeeaaallllllly nice shower rooms. It was one of the deciding factors for us getting business class seats this time. Problem is, now we're spoiled!

There are quite a few lounges with nice shower rooms offered by various airlines, and you don't have to fly business class to use them. I bought a one day pass to the Air France lounge at CDG when I had a 7+ hour layover there for around €50, and it was well worth it.

Completely enjoyed your trip report. Thanks so much for the time I know this took. I hope to do another London centric trip in ‘24 or ‘25. Thought I was done, but thanks to you and a few others, I gotta go back! I will combine it with an Oxford stay as well. So much to experience and not enough time or money, eh?

Lyn - So glad you enjoyed it! I know we're going to have to do another trip back in the future. But, yes, just not enough time or money certainly.

Just a few last thoughts:

*Try to check the TfL website at least the night before and the morning of traveling anywhere in the city. I was always worried something - line work, accidents, etc.- would derail our plans, but we were fortunate (mostly; first try for Dishoom notwithstanding) and never ran into problems. City Mapper usually offered several routes to take if other lines were down. And once we learned to read the online TfL site map that showed where the closed lines were in relation to us, it was easy to follow.

*A view on cream tea and clotted cream: we first had clotted cream this trip during our afternoon tea at the British Museum. But I obviously hadn’t remembered much from our 2017 visit, and was surprised when presented with scones, jam and . . . . butter?!? Ahh, wait. Right. That yellowish stuff was the much-touted clotted cream.

It took me a bit to try it again - it looked so much like butter, and I just can’t eat that much butter at once - but I quickly got over my hesitation. Omg! Rich creamy goodness! I didn’t remember enjoying it quite as much last time.

And while we felt one full tea was enough, we deemed cream tea acceptable more often, happily. But I’ve heard clotted cream is apparently not as well made here in the States. I’m still looking, though, and will experiment with what I find. And I will join the argument – cream first, jam on top (and lemon and ginger tea.) Dd prefers peppermint tea.

*Leave plenty of time to get anywhere! We learned quickly the times shown on Google Maps and City Mapper were highly optimistic for our touristy untrained legs. We would leave what we thought was a huge cushion, only to discover we were going to make it somewhere just in time. Once, our bus was more than seven minutes late arriving at the stop (roadwork). And often we couldn’t walk quickly enough in the time our apps said it would take. Otherwise, we relied heavily on them, and they worked well.

*Contactless (on our phones) was sooo easy! Maybe too easy. I’m glad so many places asked if we wanted a receipt, as simply holding up our phones to the reader made it hard to keep track of our spending. Several times I needed to check my credit card account to remember what we spent. And we got used to using it very quickly.

*We felt very safe in London. Of course, we took precautions. I had a very small Pacsafe security crossbody bag that I used to carry my passport; a credit card; atm card; Medjet card; a few meds; Oyster card; and some cash. Dd had a slightly bigger Pacsafe security bag, and usually carried her phone in there as well. I kept my phone in my front pocket or my hand, and it was always tethered to either my bag or my jeans. We both had larger Travelon security backpacks we used on the planes, but they were heavier to carry, so we relied on simple string backpacks for our raincoats and water bottles when out and about.

*This was definitely the shoulder season, and things were a lot less crowded than we read about from the summer. Not counting our long wait at Dishoom, we generally never had to wait more than a few minutes to enter a site or get tickets. Often, our restaurant reservations weren’t needed. It also helps that we are early morning people and like to be at sites at opening if possible. I guess I have trained my kids well, since they haven’t expected to sleep in on vacation in years. :D

*Most restaurants added a service fee of between 10-12.5%, so look at the bill before adding any tip. Sometimes it’s listed on the menu, too. We were happy with all the service we received, so we just left it on the bill, and in one instance – where the service was exceptional – we rounded up a few £ more.

**How soon can we return?

good report - thanks

Great trip report! Thanks for posting it.
You certainly had a full itinerary and got to see a lot.
You did a great job of trip planning!

Thanks for sharing so much detail - very helpful. You saw a lot on your trip, giving me hope as I work on my seemingly packed itinerary for March.

Nigel - thanks; appreciate the kind words

Rebecca - thanks! Six months of on and off planning and most of it came off without a hitch. What we missed is just something we've added for the "next time" list.

Mary - thanks for reading! As I said up front, I absolutely love reports that have plenty of details and couldn't do otherwise with mine. They really do help! But one more tip, and I know it's often repeated, plan on taking some down time in each of your days. It doesn't have to be added into your days in writing (we certainly didnt), but after an hour or two of touring, do a cream tea, or sit and just people watch for a while (with a cappuccino, of course, if you're a coffee lover! :D ) We knew we would be stopping every so often, so we made our trip as filled as could be and went with the flow.

Concerned local - glad you enjoyed the trip report!

As for the clotted cream, debate, well, see I look at it this way. I know that butter is churned while clotted cream is separated with heat, but when something looks like butter and spreads like butter (even if cc is just a bit thinner), and even if it tastes better than butter, then I say let’s treat it like butter. If you were to add butter and jam to bread, which would you add first? Surely not the jam? 😳

But you know how rebellious we former colonists are! 🤣

ps - I’d be ok with substituting in Earl Grey. Hot. 😎

I have both butter and cream. Butter first (a thin coating) then jam, then cream. The jam forms a sugary barrier between the double dairy.

jonatmantim1, I really enjoyed the trip report! It brought back many fond memories of prior trips in the 90's and anticipation for my upcoming trip next spring. I will definitely be coming back to refer to this many times!

I love Dishoom and am so glad you got to go! It's such a fabulous restaurant - I can't wait to go when I'm in London! So many wonderful restaurants!

FWIW, though, I agree with the remark above about putting your photos in Google photos rather than Drive. If I see a long list of files that I have to click on to view, I just don't bother. It's too much time and work (yes, I'm lazy like that). 😊 I opened a few but it's so much easier when you can see large thumbnails of them all. Just an FYI and obviously, your decision. I did like the photos I opened, though.

Golden Girl - that’s an interesting idea, although we were never given butter, too, with our scones. I guess I could have asked for some, but as it was, I felt my arteries hardening just adding the clotted cream and jam! 🤣

If I can find a good supply of clotted cream here at home, I might just try that.

Mardee - I’m glad to know you will reference my report while planning your trip. 😀 Fingers crossed the time goes quickly for you. As for Dishoom, once I showed dd that they had some less spicy options, she was good to go. Not quite the same level of Indian food around us, but I’m going to keep looking.

As for the photos, no worries. I always look at photos like that in a slideshow, but I can understand you not wanting to take the extra time. I just added them in more for people who might be taking their first trip to London, since that’s what happened with me before our first ever trip there. And as I said before, I don’t find Photos very secure, while those in Drive are far harder to misuse.

And thanks for reading!

Princess Kate says jam first 😬

😆

🤣🤣

Ummm . . . I’m just going to stop right here . . .