LONDON AND THE BRITISH ISLES: Part One / Alma's Blog

THE BIRTHDAY

My husband’s 70th birthday was approaching, so we decided to celebrate it in London. Then, we planned to board a cruise ship for 12 days and cruise around the British Isles. So, we discussed the long trip and decided to spend 3 nights in London (near the Tower Bridge) before boarding the cruise ship, and then 2 nights in a different part of London (Covent Garden area) after we finished our cruise (before we headed home). A total of 18 days (including our first day of traveling from Tampa “non-stop” to Heathrow Airport in London)! A great flight (by the way) that I will discuss later in this article. It was going to be a long vacation packed with a ton of fun and adventure!

Just the way we like them!

THE HOTEL

So, upon arrival in London (on my husband’s actual birthday), we checked into the Leonardo Royal Hotel (45 Prescot Street, London, England). A great location since it was only about 3 blocks (walking distance) to the beautiful Tower Bridge and the amazing Tower of London!

Our hotel (the “Leonardo”) was a very modern hotel with a nice restaurant where you could eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a quiet setting. The first night, we were tired from our long overnight flight and still adjusting to the time change, so we decided to just eat at the hotel restaurant. The food was not bad. We did not know what to expect because the last time we were in London, we did not care for the food at all. Our room included a free breakfast every morning, and we were happy to find out that the hotel restaurant had a wide selection of food for us to eat for breakfast. So, we always started our day off right by eating a good breakfast every morning before we set out on our adventures in London!

THE TOWER & BRIDGE

We planned to ride the Big Red Bus around London to see all the sights we could in two days, so we bought a 2-day pass to use to “Hop-on and Hop-off” the bus. The price of the tickets was only around 120 pounds for two days (for two people), which we thought was very affordable. We also thought it really was the best way to see all of the wonderful, historic scenery in London. Besides, what is more fun than sitting on the top of a fabulous double-decker “Big Red Bus” so you can take great pictures around the City and enjoy the incredible weather while you are there? FYI: If you do not know, London does not always have the greatest weather. However, while we were there (for 5 days), there was not a drop of rain! We were very glad, especially while we were riding on the top of the (open-air, uncovered) double-decker Big Red Bus!! We (actually) got lucky and caught a break!! YAY!!

THE BIG RED BUS

From the top of that Big Red Bus, we enjoyed seeing many beautiful sights all around the City. We saw Big Ben, Westminster Cathedral, the London Eye, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and the Houses of Parliament. Just to name a few! The Big Red Bus also took us to many different areas in London that you just would not have time, on your own, to see in only two days. We visited: Soho, Mayfair, Westminster, Camden, Greenwich, St. James’s, Covent Garden, and a whole lot more! It really was a wonderful way to “take it all in” without trying to drive on the wrong side of the road in a super crowded city! TOURS

Very Important Note: London is extremely crowded, and just getting around the City can be very frustrating and time-consuming. Traffic jams are everywhere, and parking is a nightmare! I cannot imagine trying to drive a rental car in and around the City of London! So, plan to use “The Tube” (underground subway system) or ride on a bus! Just make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get from one place to another. Our 2-3 hour Big Bus Tour took almost 6 hours to complete the entire tour route! So, keep that in mind if you ever visit this City!

Big Ben, Westminster Cathedral, the London Eye, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and the Houses of Parliament.

THE FUNNY & THE INTERESTING

Also, a very funny and interesting fact: They (I do not know exactly who??) have signs posted all around London letting you know that you are being watched! Yep, you are being recorded - videotaped (or whatever??) by many, many, many cameras all around the City…So “SMILE” and “BEHAVE YOURSELF” wherever you go in London because…”THEY ARE ALWAYS WATCHING WHAT YOU DO!! LOL!

THE LONDON EYE, RIVER THAMES, BULLET TRAIN & CHUNNEL

We rode “The London Eye” while we were on our Big Red Bus Tour. We just hopped off at the designated stop, bought our express tickets for a few pounds more (because the line was very long and we did not want to wait forever), and then rode the 30-minute ride up to the top! It really is a very good way to see the sights from high above the City. We also took some great pictures of the surrounding areas from The London Eye…Especially Big Ben and the River Thames!

Another FYI: Our family had previously visited London (and Paris) 28 years ago, when we toured both cities with our younger daughter’s soccer team. I even spent my 41st birthday at the Tower of London. (Another birthday I will never forget!) During that trip, we toured the Tower of London, Hampton Court, Windsor Castle, Kensington Palace, and even visited William Shakespeare’s hometown, Stratford-Upon-Avon. We also walked to Trafalgar Square from our hotel and even rode the “Bullet Train” under the English Channel, using the “Chunnel”, to stay in Paris for a few nights. However, this time we really had a lot more (free) time to really get to see (and wander around) just London. It really is a fabulous city! So, remember, if you plan to visit London, do a lot of research before you go! There really are so many interesting things to see and do in London (it is all up to you and what you want to see and do)!

Bullet Train

Hampton Court

Stratford-Upon-Avon

After our three days eating at wonderful restaurants/pubs (i.e. Goodman’s Field Restaurant near our hotel…they had an incredible Peach Spritz), walking every day to the River Thames to gaze upon the Tower of London and walk across the Tower Bridge, we had to leave for Southampton, England to board the “Regal” Princess Cruise Ship for our 12 day trip to the British Isles. We were really excited and looking forward to visiting Ireland and Scotland for the first time in our lives and re-visiting Paris, France, one more time!

*NOTE: Part 2 of this article will be all about the wonderful Ports of Call and the great Excursions we took while we were on the “Regal” Princess cruising around the British Isles for 12 days!! So, make sure you read Part 2 of this trip next month!!

**Now, I will continue this article with the two extra days we had in London after we disembarked from our 12-day cruise in the British Isles…**

We stayed two nights in the Covent Garden area of London at the Radisson Blu Hotel, London, Euston Square, (130 Tottenham Court Road, London, England). We booked this hotel because we wanted to stay in a different part of London after our 12-day cruise. It was an area we had never seen before, and we wanted to check out what that section of the City had to offer. (You can visit the Covent Garden area by just hopping off the Big Red Bus Tour for a few hours at their designated stop.)

The Radisson Blu Hotel was not as “plush” (or as large as) our other hotel, the “Leonardo” near the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. It was, however, located in a busy part of London near a lot of restaurants and shopping. This hotel did have a very nice restaurant, where we ate a free breakfast every morning before venturing out. If you want to stay in a more historic area while you are in London, stay at the other hotel (The “Leonardo”). It is located much closer to the River Thames, Tower Bridge, and Tower of London.

The rooms at the Radisson Blu Hotel were smaller, and the elevator could barely fit both of us in it with our 4 bags of luggage and 2 backpacks! We saw fewer tourists around this hotel and more everyday people going about their everyday business. We did enjoy some great “shepherd's pies” at a couple of older pubs located near our hotel. The Northcumberland Arms, located at 119 Tottenham Ct. Rd. and The Fitzrovia Belle, located at 174 Tottenham Ct. Rd., were really unique places to eat and enjoy a drink.

Radisson Blu Hotel, London, Euston Square

Check out this website I stumbled upon when I searched for 'Shepherd's Pie' (it's incredible!) It's Only Recipes

The day before we had to leave London for home, we left early and walked from our hotel to Buckingham Palace, passing through London’s Chinatown, a part of the Theater District, and Piccadilly Square. We also walked through Green Park to get to Buckingham Palace. We took some great pictures at Buckingham Palace and then started walking, once again, back to our hotel through Green Park. That is where we saw some “bobbies” (a/k/a London Police Officers) on horseback near a fountain, watering their horses. (As you can imagine, that definitely drew a crowd of onlookers! We even stopped for a few minutes to take some pictures too!)

Buckingham Palace

London’s Chinatown

Piccadilly Square

On our way back to our hotel, we did a little more shopping (for those fabulous souvenirs that you cannot leave London without) and stopped for a sweet treat…some ice cream (of course)! We also saw a building being remodeled for all of those “Harry Potter” fans out there. It was a very interesting-looking building, so (you know me), I just had to take a few pictures! We even saw many buses around London advertising the play, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”. Of course, I also had to take a picture of the cool-looking Harry Potter buses, too! SEE ALMA'S PHOTO ALBUM BELOW

THE AIRPORT & THE FLIGHT

After our two days of walking around and visiting the Covent Garden area of London, it was finally time to fly back home. So, we headed to Heathrow Airport to wait for our non-stop flight back to Tampa, Florida. (I will mention this next part only as a little gripe about our trip). I really disliked Heathrow Airport in London! It was like a tax-free super mall with some restaurants/food court in one area of the airport and packed people, waiting to get their gate information, in another area. It was very hard to find two seats together! We were super uncomfortable because we were packed like sardines in an airport that, I think, should try a lot harder to provide more comfort for travelers and visitors who happen to visit London (or have to stop over in London for a connecting flight). You could not get your gate information until your flight was just about to leave. They put the gate information up on a screen only 10 minutes before boarding your flight!! That is C-R-A-Z-Y!! (It made me really appreciate our Tampa International Airport!!) Just saying…!!

We booked our flights through our wonderful Travel Agent, Kathy at Beach Travel. She really did a great job (despite the fiasco at Heathrow Airport when we were trying to leave London) and found us non-stop flights to and from London on Virgin Atlantic! We were surprised and very delighted to find out that we did not have to stop somewhere else for a connecting flight in order to get to and from London. That saved us a bunch of hours just sitting around airports waiting for connecting flights! We did have to pay more for the Virgin Atlantic tickets (our first time ever flying Virgin Atlantic Airlines); however, they were definitely worth the extra money we paid for them.

REMINDER: Do not forget to read next month’s article to find out about our time spent on the “Regal” Princess Cruise Ship and all of the fabulous Excursions we took while visiting the British Isles. We really loved visiting Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland (especially the Shetland Islands) for the first time, and Paris, France, one more time!

FYI: We decided to splurge, so we upgraded our tickets to “preferred seating” on the airplane. It was Richard’s birthday trip (after all), and he needed some extra (leg) room in the airplane. He has very long legs that often hit the seat in front of him! It makes some flights very uncomfortable for him. These seats were better than marvelous (especially after a lifetime of flights in the economy seating section of many airplanes). LOL!! We felt like we were flying in first class, even though we were not! The Virgin Atlantic flight attendants and crew were great. They were constantly asking us if we needed anything, and they kept providing us with meals, snacks, and goodies (including ice cream) during one of our flights. They had a large selection of free entertainment (music, movies, etc.) that you could watch (or listen to) on the large screen in front of your seat while you were “in-flight” to your destination. They also had a pretty good selection of new movie releases available. I watched the new Snow White and Wicked movies and The Americas (a series of shows narrated by Tom Hanks; originally shown on TV). It really was an incredible way to fly, especially for a 9+ hour trip (one-way) to and from Europe! So, if you want to splurge and treat yourself, try flying Virgin Atlantic Airlines! It really was a great airline to fly with, and we highly recommend them!