We immediately went to sleep, or at least tried to, once we got checked into our hotel room. The jet lag didn't make for a great night's sleep, but nevertheless we made it up and out around 10AM the next day to begin exploring London. Side note here: our hotel room (at the Luna Simone) was tiny, but it was nice and they served breakfast (which we were never up early enough to partake in.) And by tiny I mean maybe as big as our master bedroom at home for the whole thing, bathroom and all. And we don't have a huge master bedroom in our little condo in Chicago. But we loved our location for a first time visit. We'd probably change it up on a second trip, though.
The first day there we decided to take the train all the way out to the Tower Hill stop and then just spend the day walking back to our hotel. We wanted to wander and explore and just see the sights and get our bearings. It was really the perfect thing to do on the first day.
Naturally, the Tower Hill stop lets you off pretty close to the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. We didn't go into the Tower of London, but we'll probably do that on our next visit. We did a lot of things, but you can't do them all. You'll notice that theme running through our trip. The great thing is that when we returned from 10 days in Europe we actually felt rested and as though we had been on vacation. I don't think that happens for most people. We didn't push ourselves like crazy. We saw the sights and just enjoyed ourselves.Here's some other things we did that day:
A better view of the Tower Bridge.
Stacie felt sorry for this street performer because he wasn't getting much love from the crowds. In defense of the crowds he wasn't very good at standing still like he's supposed to do. And it turns out that he's from New Jersey.
The London Eye with Parliament and Big Ben in the background.
Ridin' the Eye. That's what they call it there. Actually, I just made that up. Please don't embarrass yourself in London by saying that.
Parliament and Big Ben from the Eye.
Stacie did this a lot during our trip, so I caught her a few times when I thought it looked cool.
Along our walked we passed the Globe Theatre, which we will go to later in our trip. We stopped to sit in a cafe and have a snack and a cold beverage. We grabbed lunch at this crazy market that we just stumbled upon. You can stumble upon it right here: http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/. It was amazing how it just kept going and going and winding through alleys and streets. One of my favorite parts of London and Paris was wandering into something cool like that. We also wandered into this really cool wine store, but those pics are on another computer, so I guess we'll just have to put them on facebook because I'm in the zone here and don't want to move.
After we finished our revolution on the Eye, it was time for us to pick up the pace back to our hotel. We didn't make a lot of plans before heading to London, but one thing we did was buy tickets to The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre. So, we hustled back to the hotel. Our feet were exhausted from walking all day. We changed quickly and headed out the door. We caught the bus right outside of our hotel which took us up to Trafalgar Square. From there, we walked around looking for our theatre and perhaps some food. But what we stumbled upon was the premier of a movie at The Odeon in Trafalgar Square. Apparently it was a pretty big deal in England because there was a nice sized crowd gathered watching the stars of the show go into the movie. I didn't recognize any of them. It was called The Heavy, and if you're interested you can do more research here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473364/.
Some very nice policemen who were on duty for the premier kindly pointed us in the direction of our theatre and wished us luck getting through the crowd. We pushed through and walked about a block, turned left and there she was: Her Majesty's Theatre. At this point, we were both hungry but didn't have time to go anywhere fancy or eat anything substantial so we ducked into this little chain called Pret A Manger. It's French for "a place to eat", I believe, and they have them all over London. It's just a quick stop for soup or a wrap or something along those lines.
But we made it to the show with a few minutes to spare. It was amazing. The music, the cast, the set...it was all incredibly well done. If you haven't seen Phantom, I highly recommend it. If you have, but not in London, I highly recommend you take a trip sometime. It will be well worth it.
After we finished our revolution on the Eye, it was time for us to pick up the pace back to our hotel. We didn't make a lot of plans before heading to London, but one thing we did was buy tickets to The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre. So, we hustled back to the hotel. Our feet were exhausted from walking all day. We changed quickly and headed out the door. We caught the bus right outside of our hotel which took us up to Trafalgar Square. From there, we walked around looking for our theatre and perhaps some food. But what we stumbled upon was the premier of a movie at The Odeon in Trafalgar Square. Apparently it was a pretty big deal in England because there was a nice sized crowd gathered watching the stars of the show go into the movie. I didn't recognize any of them. It was called The Heavy, and if you're interested you can do more research here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473364/.
Some very nice policemen who were on duty for the premier kindly pointed us in the direction of our theatre and wished us luck getting through the crowd. We pushed through and walked about a block, turned left and there she was: Her Majesty's Theatre. At this point, we were both hungry but didn't have time to go anywhere fancy or eat anything substantial so we ducked into this little chain called Pret A Manger. It's French for "a place to eat", I believe, and they have them all over London. It's just a quick stop for soup or a wrap or something along those lines.
But we made it to the show with a few minutes to spare. It was amazing. The music, the cast, the set...it was all incredibly well done. If you haven't seen Phantom, I highly recommend it. If you have, but not in London, I highly recommend you take a trip sometime. It will be well worth it.
Stacie and I outside of Her Majesty's Theatre. I feel like the striped shirt gives me man-boob here, so I apologize, but it's our only picture we have from the evening. :(
After the show, we went to grab fourth meal at one of the restaurants right around Trafalgar Square. I think it was like going to a London version of Bennigan's. It's called Garfunkel's. We got Traditional Beef with Yorkshire Pudding - one of our many attempts at eating local cuisine. I have to say it wasn't bad.
After that, we strolled over to Hagen-Daas and grabbed an ice cream cone. Trafalgar Square was bustling with people. There were dance clubs and restaurants and cafes and movie theatres. We just wanted to hang out there and people watch a bit. Then after getting solicited to go to a dance club by a young man who said he'd take us there and get us in with a 5 Pound discount, we decided it was time to call it a night.
So back on the bus we went. Which then let us off with about a mile left to go because it was the end of the line for that time of night. We don't really know if that was the case, but after a little more walking, we thankfully crawled into bed around midnight. And lay there wide awake for a while because it was only 6PM in the US.
After that, we strolled over to Hagen-Daas and grabbed an ice cream cone. Trafalgar Square was bustling with people. There were dance clubs and restaurants and cafes and movie theatres. We just wanted to hang out there and people watch a bit. Then after getting solicited to go to a dance club by a young man who said he'd take us there and get us in with a 5 Pound discount, we decided it was time to call it a night.
So back on the bus we went. Which then let us off with about a mile left to go because it was the end of the line for that time of night. We don't really know if that was the case, but after a little more walking, we thankfully crawled into bed around midnight. And lay there wide awake for a while because it was only 6PM in the US.
Well, that wraps up day one. Not bad for a first day I'd say. I'll post more photos and the rest of the trip as I get the time to do so.
Oh and P.S. - all of this happened on April 15th, my gorgeous wife's 30th birthday. Happy Birthday, Stacie!! I love you so much and you get more beautiful with every passing moment.
Oh and P.S. - all of this happened on April 15th, my gorgeous wife's 30th birthday. Happy Birthday, Stacie!! I love you so much and you get more beautiful with every passing moment.
