Day 2 in London! Tyler and I were very glad because the forecast called for sunny, warm weather. Unfortunately the weather wasn't that great, it was warm enough, but it was fairly cloudy...Anyway, we took the train from Guildford into London at around 9:40 am, arriving in London at just after 10. Our first item on the agenda was the London Eye. This iconic Ferris wheel is 135 meters tall with a great view of London and the Thames river. We had a flexi-fast track pass, so we were able to board in about 10 minutes, but the line was long and it would've taken about an hour if we hadn't have bought the other tickets. The whole round trip was 45 minutes, and we very much enjoyed getting to look down on London. The only con about this ride on the wheel was that there was an annoying little kid (american ironically) who was very loud and obnoxious.
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| Tyler and I at the top |
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| Big Ben and the London skyline |
We were able to see the whole of the London skyline. Although it was a little foggy, it was still nice to see as much as we did. Next, we crossed over Westminster bridge to Westminster Abbey and Parliament Square. Since neither I, nor Tyler had been inside of Westminster Abbey, we were willing to pay the fee to get inside and take a look around the amazing abbey. There were the tombs of many kings, queens and royalty. In addition, we got to see some memorials for Issac Newton and Charles Darwin. I also thought that seeing the coronation chair was a highlight.
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| Westminster Abbey |
After we left Westminster Abbey, we walked along the road towards Trafalgar Square, passing by Downing street where I believe David Cameron, the prime minister resides. As we were walking, the sun began shining, and it began to feel like summer. Right before we got to Trafalgar Square, we both were hit with a wave of hunger, so the search for food began.
After a few minutes of searching, we came across a McDonalds...But, no, we didn't eat here, next door we found a pub, and decided on getting a traditional meal. At first it was the pesto mozzarella burger that caught Tylers eye, but I recommended we order something more traditionally British. Having said that we ordered a hummus and bread dish, which was delicious, and bangers and mash. I was really surprised to find out that Tyler had never heard of this dish, because I had grown up with this familiar term. So, for those of you who don't know, bangers and mash is sausages and mashed potatoes. For the drinks, Tyler had a Guinness, one of his favorites, and I settled with a strawberry and lime cider, which tasted like juice. Overall we were very pleased with our choice.
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| Hannah with the cider and Guinness |
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| Hummus and bread on left, bangers and mash on right |
After we left the pub, we went into a souviner shop next door to ask for directions to Harrods. Originally, we were going to go to Harrods on a different day, but we decided that it would be fun to go today. The lady at the souviner shop recommended that we take a bus straight to Kensington (where Harrods is located), but we wanted the exercise and also wanted to see Buckingham Palace. So, from Trafalgar Square we headed towards Buckingham Palace. When we got there there was a line of smartly dressed people outside, so there must have been an event, so we quickly took our photographs and scrammed.
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| Outside Buckingham Palace |
From Buckingham Palace we walked through Green Park, to Hyde Park Corner. Then we realized that it was a straight shot from Hyde Park Corner to Harrods. By this time the sun was blaring down on us and we began feeling tired, weak and began getting very moody. Luckily we reached Harrods and began walking around the wealth of luxurious items.
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| Outside of Harrods |
When we got inside, the first thing that we began looking for were the bathrooms. Luckily we found some and they were called the "luxurious toilets". I can see why because the womens bathroom had an array of perfumes next to the sink and the whole room was very clean. When we left the restrooms, Tyler noticed a cigar room, so we just had to pay a visit in there. He ended up getting 5 cigars, but although we were in Harrods, the cigars were not overly expensive. Next we began looking for a place to sit and rest our legs and possibly a place to grab a bite to eat. We walked among many of Harrods food courts, but still couldn't find anywhere to eat. We were however able to grab a photo of a very familiar sight...BUBBLE TEA. We didn't get any because they were very pricey, but we were very glad to see that they had made their way into Harrods.
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| BUBBLE TEA |
On our search to find a bite to eat we came across a tea room rightly named "the Tea Room" next to the gift section on the second floor. Tyler and I were feeling like tea, so we headed inside. Although this was a very expensive "bite to eat" it was definitely worth it because of the experience. Tyler ordered the Belgravia which consisted of a pot of tea with a selection of 5 "tea fancies". I on the other hand ordered the Chelsea, which is just a traditional pot of tea and 2 scones with clotted cream and jam. I had the vanilla tea and Tyler had the afternoon tea. Hoping for a unique flavor Tyler was a bit disappointed because it tasted just like PG tips (traditional British tea)
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| Tea for 2 |
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| Belgravia (5 tea fancies) |
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| Scones with clotted cream (the Chelsea) |
After we were full and happy we continued our trip around London. Since our feet and legs were starting to give way to our tiredness, we opted on taking the underground from Knights-bridge station to the Piccadilly Circus station. We were pleased that this was quick and painless. We popped up in the middle of Piccadilly Circus and walked around, then walked to Leicester Square, then walked to Covent Gardens and grabbed a cold drink (mango smoothie) from a restaurant called "EAT."
From there, we headed back to Waterloo, and took the train to Guildford. When we got home we were welcomed with a chicken sandwich with piccalilli and pickles! A special shout out and thank you to my Grandma and Grandpa for making us some lovely sandwiches and thank you to my Grandpa for mapping out our route around London!!
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| Us, our smoothie, and the London Eye |
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