Ok, a bit of a disclaimer before I start sharing the details of our incredible trip to Europe: We saw so many incredible sights and landmarks in Europe that it would take hundreds of posts to document every single moment of our trip. So, as much as it pains me to do, I'll just share my favorites. Don't worry, though... I won't leave out anything big!
I absolutely adored London. From the double decker busses to the charming accents and the easy-to-navigate London Underground, Nate and I fell in love with this city and we are definitely going back as soon as we can!
After a long but surprisingly comfortable red eye flight from New York JFK to London Heathrow, we hopped on the Underground to get into the city. Our train ride was quite long so we all got a nice snooze in before we decided to get off the train. I had no idea where we were headed so I was pleasantly surprised to see Big Ben right in front of me when we walked up the stairs from the Underground platform. It was definitely one of those moments in my life when I truly couldn't believe that what I was seeing was real!
The Palace of Westminster (the building that is connected to Big Ben) is truly stunning. It serves as a reminder of both London's age and rich history. We spent a few minutes around this part of London taking in its many views of famous landmarks like the London Eye and Westminster Abbey. We opted not to head toward the London Eye because it's a bit expensive, and instead enjoyed the ringing bells of Westminster Abbey as we took cover from the rain. The bells don't ring on a regular basis, so if you're planning a trip to London check out the Westminster Abbey bell schedule here.
Once we had checked in to our flat, we decided to make our way to King's Cross Station. Yes, we are huge Harry Potter fans so of course we had to have our pictures taken at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters! There was a bit of a line to have our photo taken at the platform, but it went by fast because we were so excited to be there. Side note: Platform Nine and Three-Quarters isn't actually between platforms 9 and 10; it's actually just inside one of the main entrances to the station. Don't waste your time wandering around the train station like we did! There is a photographer there to take your picture with a fancy camera, but they'll let you take pictures with your own camera if you want so you don't have to pay for the picture they take. There's also a really cool shop just to the left of the platform where you can buy anything from Chocolate Frogs to replicas of the Elder Wand. If you love Harry Potter, you'll love Platform Nine and Three-Quarters!
Our next day in London was jam-packed with sightseeing around London. Our first stop was Buckingham Palace, which was overly crowded with people who had come to see the Changing of the Guard. It was fun to be there, but it was a bit crowded so we didn't get to see much. Our next stop was the Tower of London, which isn't actually the really cool looking bridge you see in pictures of London. The Tower of London is a fortress with tons of history and amazingly gory stories. A tour around the fortress led by one of the Queen's Beefeaters (yes, that's a name for guardians of the Tower of London) is a great way to add life to the somewhat bland walls that surround my favorite part of the site: the Crown Jewels. If the gnarly stories behind the Tower of London don't do it for you, at least go inside to see the Crown Jewels. You just might find yourself drooling at the sight of thousands of diamonds and other precious gems. And quickly wipe the tears from your eyes when they tell you that you can't take pictures inside the exhibit... don't worry, you'll never forget what you see!
We spend the next part of the day wandering around an adorable market near Notting Hill. If you're looking for a not-so-cliché, well-made souvenir from London that you will treasure for years to come, check out the little shops by Notting Hill. I was stingy with my money during this part of the trip and opted not to purchase anything which, in hindsight, was smart but still kind of hurts a little bit. One word: Cashmere! You can find more about Portobello Market here.
The last iconic part of London that I couldn't get enough of were the double-decker busses. Purchasing an Oyster Card (a combination bus/Underground train pass) and riding around the city on the top of a double-decker bus was, in my opinion, the best way to see the city. We passed by so many remarkable buildings on our way to Trafalgar Square and back that the ride itself could have been the highlight of the day. Do yourself a favor and set some time aside to ride the bus around London. You won't regret it!
One of the most memorable parts of our few days in London wasn't actually a tourist sight, but a piece of street art we found just a block or two away from our flat.
"Let's Adore and Endure Each Other" is located on Great Eastern Street in Shoreditch, London. I think it's the message that this piece shares that I love so much, especially because of how applicable it was in our situation as a family traveling together, having to learn to get along after spending long hours together, sometimes feeling tired or hungry. Sometimes we adored each other, sometimes it was all we could do to simply endure each other!
This lesson became extra predictable on our third day of the trip. We had picked up rental cars to drive from London to Edinburgh and driving on the left side of the rode proved to be a bit more difficult for us. Within 10 minutes of our journey to Scotland, Nate accidentally hit a curb on the left side of the car and popped a tire in the rental car. What was supposed to be a beautiful day spent driving through the Cotswolds and then into Scotland ended up being spent in a tire shop waiting for the tire to be repaired. We were all frustrated and tired of waiting to get back on the road that "adoring" each other quickly turned into "enduring" and sometimes not enduring each other.
Although at first it seemed like time wasted, it was time spent together laughing about our horrible luck and how it's ok that things don't always turn out our way. And what's a family trip without something going wrong? Despite our little touch of bad luck, we left London with heavy harts, promising that we'd come back soon.
Special thanks to myself for bringing: Xanax. Seriously. It's how I got a good night's rest on the red-eye from JFK to Heathrow. I'm not a doctor so I'm not going to recommend it or anything, but it saved my first day in London because I slept so well on the plane and wasn't too drowsy when I woke up in Europe!
Biggest regret: That we didn't have more time! I'm sure that will be my regret for every one of these posts, but with good reason. There is so much to see and do that it's hard to budget your time accordingly. However, I definitely regret that we didn't get to see Bath and the Cotswolds. Definitely on the to-do list for next time!
To see next time: The Harry Potter London Tour looked amazing, and it has great reviews on TripAdvisor! I also would love to go back and tour Highclere Castle, the filming location of Downton Abbey, and Chatsworth House, the home used in the 2005 version Pride and Prejudice as Mr. Darcey's country estate Pemberley.
If you've been to London or England, what was your favorite thing you saw there? If you've never been before, what would you like to see the most?
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