We made it to London!
After a few airport delays, I arrived in London around 10 am on March 20. Natalie’s flight was already there, so as soon as I landed, we grabbed a ride and set out for our rental apartment.
After nearly an hour, we finally arrived at our destination, an apartment overlooking the Thames. We stowed our bags then headed out to explore the neighborhood and find lunch and a grocery store.
After lunch and stowing our provisions, we made our way to Westminster to catch a hop on hop off bus so we could see a lot of different areas and decide which neighborhoods we wanted to spend more time in.
By the time we got back to the apartment, we were too tired to go out for dinner, so we ordered a pizza, opened a bottle of wine and sat on the balcony enjoying the fabulous view.
Sightseeing
The next morning, we caught a water taxi to Westminster Pier so we could do a boat tour. After that, we headed to the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. The sun was shining when we set out, but by the time we got to the Tower, the temperature had dropped and it was raining, which was the impetus for our first souvenir purchases of the trip – hoodies from the Tower gift shop.
The Tower complex was very interesting, and it felt a bit surreal to be standing on the spot where so many people died. The Crown jewels are also displayed in the complex. They were cool to see, but no photos were allowed. I think the most interesting display in that area was Queen Elizabeth’s wedding attire. The jewels on her scepter were amazing.
After the Tower tour, we walked across the Tower bridge to Southwark, stopped for a drink at The Anchor, which is a really old, quirky pub, then made our way along the Thames to the Globe Theatre, which was on my “must see” list. I have seen pictures of it for years but was still surprised that it really does look just like the pictures, complete with thatched roof. Of course, the theatre standing today is not the original – that one burned down in the 1600s. Nevertheless, it was still thrilling for a theatre buff like me to walk around where Shakespeare spent so much of his time.
On Friday morning, we made our way to the Theatre district and Piccadilly Square, then decided to try mudlarking, which was on Natalie’s “must do” list.
River Fun
We headed down to the river at low tide and poked around in the mud to see what treasures we could find. I picked up a beautiful piece of driftwood and some sea glass. Natalie found a ceramic pipe bowl from the 1600s as well as a handful of pipe stems. When it got too dark to see, we headed back to the apartment in our muddy shoes, ordered takeout, cleaned up, and prepared to relax. Then things got weird.
Strange Night
We were watching a movie and discussing our plans when suddenly there was a commotion at the door. Someone was trying to use the keypad and open the door, but we had the safety latch engaged, so the door wouldn’t open. I got up and looked through the peephole, and there was a woman with two children and suitcases standing there. Come to find out, the place was a shared unit, although it was not listed as such in any of the descriptions or reviews. We called the landlord and booking.com, but they would not let us out of our contract, so we were stuck sharing a kitchen and 1 and a half baths with strangers. We decided to alter our plans, and first thing the next morning, we packed a small bag, locked our bedroom doors, and hopped a train Belgium.
The adventures continue next week. Thanks for reading!