British Isles - Day 2 - London, England

We woke up to rain, with a forecast of 60 degrees and continued heavy rain all day. Ate breakfast at the hotel together, then we split for the day.  Tom went to Churchill War Rooms and the RAF Museum while I went to the studio where they filmed Harry Potter.  Finished the day my meeting up for dinner and dessert at Harrod's, the ultra luxurious department store in London which has an amazing food hall. 


Slept in a bit this morning but got up in time to enjoy continental breakfast at the hotel.  It's truly continental with breads, meats, cheeses, yogurt, fruit, toast, and Tom's favorite - croissants with jam.
After breakfast and a miserable shower with no water pressure, we headed out.  I asked the front desk how to turn on the towel warmer, and during the conversation he warned me not to turn off the water pump switch nearby or there would be no water pressure.  I ran straight back to the room and sure enough the pump was off, hence why the showers had been miserable this morning!  Got it fixed now and so we will enjoy warm towels and strong showers for the rest of our time here.


I took off on the tube for Victoria Station where I was to meet my tour bus to the studio tour at noon.  Stopped in a Boots (like a British CVS but better) to see if I could find some products that my sister had asked me to bring back.  Unfortunately the train station Boots had minimal stock but I will find a proper branch tomorrow. 

I took a tour bus from London out to the Warner Bros. film studio lot, about an hour north of London, for the Harry Potter Studio Tour.  They take you in a livery bus, which looks awesome from the outside but you can't see out when you are in the bus because of the film on the windows!  I loved the actual studio tour, but there was too much waiting around because the company made us get to the pickup too early and we got to the studio too early as well.  During the tour you get to see all the costumes, props, sets, and more from all the films.  The attention to detail was outstanding!  For example, in the Potions classroom, they actually filled 1000 vials, vases, and jars with various liquids and bones and whatnot to make them all look real.  I also got to try butter beer, the kids drink of choice in Harry Potter.  It tasted like cream soda with a thick head of butterscotch foam.  The foam was the best part for sure.  The tour included an iPod touch with narration and videos for more info about each of the displays.  Overall a great visit!  I hopped on the next bus back to London and met Tom at Harrod's for dinner.


Tom spent the day at the Churchill War Rooms and the Royal Air Force Museum.  The war rooms were excellent and Tom would highly recommend it.  It covers both his operations during the war and his life.  Tom warns that it wouldn't be engaging enough for kids, but great for adults.  The RAF museum had lots of planes and military history, but wasn't worth the hassle of the trek out there since due to metro closures, he had to take several detours. 


He explored Harrod's before I arrived - particularly enjoyed the electronics section.  We made our way through the mobs of people wandering aimlessly around the store and settled on the bistro in the food halls for dinner.  We enjoy pumpkin and Parmesan soup, endive salad with walnut and Stilton, duck confit, and veal pot pie.  After dinner we stopped in the confectionary section and chose some macaroons and chocolates to bring back to the hotel for dessert.


The forecast called for rain, which was not surprising for London, but apparently it was heavier than usual because none of the stores or the tube stations were equipped to handle the water tracked in from shoes and umbrellas - there was flooding and people seemed shocked and confused.  I guess the Brits are used to mild rain, not the downpours we get in the Southern USA.  We had no problems thanks to our raincoats and umbrellas and boots.  More rain tomorrow, but should be lighter and more scattered.  It's been a second long day of walking for both of us so we laid down to plan the morning activities.  Still working on the final plan but we know we are doing afternoon tea and then a tour of Buckingham Palace.


Cheerio!
Christina and Tom

British Isles - Day 1 - London, England

We arrived uneventfully in London around 1 am local Sunday.  For our first day, we slept in and then took a hop on/ hop off bus tour , stopping at the British Museum and doing a Thames River Cruise.  It was a nice way to ease into the time zone change, get some sunshine and fresh air, and move at our own pace.  Highly recommend this agenda for a transition day of jet lag!

We used Big Bus tours of London.  They received good reviews online and in Rick Steves guidebook, had a discount to book in advance via the web, and stopped only a few blocks from our hotel in Kensington.  Found that the Blue buses, which have audio recordings in multiple languages and headphones to plug in, are much more frequent (5 min or so), but the red buses (10-15 min) with the live guides are much more educational and entertaining - definitely worth waiting for the Red at the first switch point.

Tip: Take a seat up top either in the first few rows or toward the very back for the best views.  Grab a paper map or download the phone app so you know the numbered stops to plan where to stop at.  The guide announces them as you approach so that you know when to get your things together to hop off.  Bring your own small headphones for better sound.

We used the bus as our transit for the day and took the entire loop, just broken up into several segments as we hopped off for the British Museum, the Tower Bridge Pier, and finally took the bus back to our hotel.   Ticket included a Thames River cruise on City Cruises.  Took advantage of it toward late afternoon.  We boarded at the Tower Pier and cruised toward Westminster.  We got in line just after 4 pm and had to wait about 45 min so leave time for queuing if you are on a schedule to get somewhere.  Again best views are from the top deck and there is time to get a good photo of Tower Bridge while the passengers all board.  The ride was about 20 min plus another 15 to dock and disembark.

Around noon, we transferred to the green line of the bus and it was a 5 min walk to the British Museum from the closest stop.  Spent about 2 hours at the British Museum.  We had downloaded the Rick Steves Travel App with audio tours and podcasts before the trip and I highly recommend it.  The Rick Steves guided audio tour was excellent!  Covered all the highlights of the Egyptian, Assyrian, and Greek exhibits in about an hour and was flexible enough that you could easily pause and explore more of a gallery if you were not ready to move on at the pace of the tour. Great turn by turn directions through the gallery and good commentary, if a bit cheesy at times. Rick Steves's phone app was great and included a map to reference during the tour.

Lunched at Savoir Faire, a 2 min walk from the British museum.  Had excellent reviews on Trip Advisor and the food did not disappoint.  Generous portions that could be shared.  We split a bowl of mushroom soup to start and I ordered braised lamb with veggies and mash.  Tom had a baguette stuffed with steak, brie, caramelized, and horseradish sauce.  Neither of us could finish our entrees.  After lunch and the museum, we returned to the bus line and took the bus to Tower Bridge, the launch point of the previously mentioned cruise.

After the cruise, we grabbed a tea and scones to go from a little bakery and we hopped on the bus again for an impromotu afternoon tea and took the last hour of the route around Hyde Park and Kensington Palace to end up back in Bayswater near our hotel, The Hotel Byron.  Carnival, an annual three day festival in Notting Hill which is the Caribbean community version of Mardi Gras, is happening this weekend.  We saw the stragglers of the parade and festivities dragging themselves home around 7 pm and we were glad we had avoided the area today.  The parade continues Monday so we will plan to visit other parts of town again.  The party did not extend to the street of our hotel so that area is still quiet and the police are prompt to end the noise by 7 pm and start the cleanup.

After a quick change we headed out to find a pub for dinner.  Ended up walking to Paddington Station, about 10 min away.  Our first choice place had great reviews as a pub, but didn't serve food.  The second choice place was full and we were starting to feel the jet lag so we picked the first place we saw across the street - The Dickens Tavern.  Grabbed a quiet corner table and ordered food and drink at the bar.  I went for cod and chips with garden peas and Tom got the steak and ale pie.  After an hour plus wait, and no food we finally asked what was going on and they explained the kitchen was backed up.  We waited another 10 min then gave up and cashed out.  It was now 10 pm and we were exhausted and starving so we grabbed shawarma wraps and walked home and crashed.  Needless to say we provided an appropriate review for the Dickens Tavern on Trip Advisor and would not recommend it for anything other than a drink.

Tomorrow we are splitting up - me to Harry Potter film studio tour and Tom is doing the Churchill War Rooms and the Imperial War Museum.

Until tomorrow!  Christina and Tom