This being Bill's first trip to London, we had lots of ground to cover in a short amount of time. I, of course, had a nonstop itinerary planned. We managed to cover all the basics and fell in love with the city while doing so.
Bill inside our B & B
We loved our little hotel in South Kensington.
First activity for the day was a double-decker bus tour. We lucked out with good weather and no rain. Here are some pictures from the bus:
Loved this little house.
Trafalgar Square
"Hey look kids, there's Big Ben and Parliament."
The London Eye on the Thames River
St. Paul's Cathedral
Tower Bridge
Grabbing lunch at the Borough Market. We could have eaten there for days!
See what I mean?
"Why yes, I would like a meringue the size of my head, thank you."
Making a phone call outside of Westminster Abbey.
Inside the Abbey courtyard.
Hangin' with Winston.
The first night we toasted to 7 wonderful (and busy!) years of marriage with the London Eye champagne experience.
It was a bit overcast, but still a great view of the city.
On the way to dinner we passed by one of London's charming little pubs.
Day 2 started early with a visit to the Portobello Road Market in Notting Hill, a favorite spot for antiquing and people watching.
Our room
Courtyard at our B&B
Bill in the study at the B&B
Next stop was Tower of London...
The hand-made poppies outside the Tower of London were on display in honor of the 100th anniversary of WW1. 888,246 poppies were installed, one for each British and Colonial fatality during the war.
Best tour guide ever. I highly recommend the Beefeater tour, and it's free!
Great view of the bridge from the Tower.
That night, we had a yummy dinner in SoHo before heading to the theater for a performance of "Once." Sadly, all our pictures from the night were on my old phone which is now broken. We of course, loved the Irish music and the pub on stage that they opened up as an actual pub during intermission.
The next morning we started with a nice run in Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park and then went to Kensington Palace to hang out with Will and Kate.
The King in his throne!
I knew my closet was missing something.
High tea at the Orangery
Final stop on the tour was Buckingham Palace. The Queen only opens up select parts of the palace during the months of August and September when she is away at Windsor Castle. We were lucky enough to visit during this time. Pictures are not allowed, but we thought that Buckingham was the most elegant palace we had ever seen, even more so than Versailles.
Oh London, how we love you, can't wait to go back someday! A big thank you goes out to Nana and Grandpa for making this trip possible and taking great care of the kids while we were away.
