London!

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August 18



Off to London! We couldn’t believe it was time for the last city of our trip, and that we were on the home stretch. We arrived to a hot city, which seemed to be quite out of the norm and affecting the locals greatly! After a few trains we found ourselves in Crystal Palace, home to our generous host, Corin. She welcomed us with cold bevies and was ready to whip up a picnic and BBQ in her back garden. We were so thankful for the hospitality and tried not to wither away in the heat. Later Corin took us for a walk around the neighbourhood, including Crystal Palace Park which houses Darwin’s animal statues, and was the location of the Crystal Palace. She rewarded our efforts with some cold bevies at one of her local haunts, the Westow House. Afterwards we refreshed ourselves and headed out for the night in Brixton, where her friends were performing at a pub.



August 19

After a very respectful sleep in, Corin the Tour Guide joined us to take in Hampton Court Palace. After exploring the impressive kitchens, courtyards, and every type of room you could imagine, we reenergized with lunch outside surrounded by impressive pruning. After a mandatory ice cream treat we found our way around the maze and tackled the massive expanse of gardens… here we also viewed the oldest grape vine, The Great Vine.

Before leaving the area, we stopped at a lovely spot on the river Thames and were introduced to a British cocktail, Pimm’s. Hence, it was Pimm’s o’clock! Before returning home we enjoyed dinner at another one of Corin’s local haunts.

<a>August 20</a>

Today we got up early and headed into Central London to find our bus for our tour to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath. After a short bus ride we arrived at Windsor Castle where the Queen Mum spends a few weeks every summer. We were really pressed for time at this busy tourist junction. Luckily we had seen so many castles by this point that we knew the purpose and function of most of the rooms. Next we hustled outside to catch the changing of the guard.



After a quick lunch, we were back on the bus and on to Stonehenge. This was the only part of this tour that did not seem rushed as we only needed the allotted time to listen to the audio tour and walk the ancient grounds. Finally we headed to the ancient city of Bath. This city was founded by the Romans because of the natural hot springs. Here the Romans built an elaborate Roman Bath, most of which still exists today. This audio tour, unfortunately, was very rushed as we needed to find somewhere to eat before the long drive back to London. We found a little pizzeria where we quickly ate some pizza and headed to the bus. If we were to go again or if someone asked us travel advice on England, we would recommend an overnight (at least) trip to Bath. The Roman Bath was very interesting and deserved so much more of our time. The city of Bath was very cool; so many restaurants and bars each with some kind of performance nightly.



August 21

Today was a day of walking around London. First we started with Big Ben, the parliament buildings, and Westminster Abbey. Next we walked along the Southbank of the Thames. This is a very cool area with many eateries, pubs, and hip outdoor spaces. Next we walked to the Monument which is a tower in Central London. It is over 300 steps up a narrow, claustrophobia-inducing spiral staircase. The view is very good but much of the view is now impeded by the growth of skyscrapers built around this site. This is where the ancient meets modern, which we do not see in most parts of Canada.

After the Monument we set our sights on the Tower of London. We took a tour guided by a Beefeater. Beefeaters are not just tour guides; in fact, they are the Queen’s Guard and permanent residents of the Tower of London. To be appointed to this position they must hold a specific rank with in the Royal Armed Forces, 22 years of service, and must have been awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct medal. This tour was fantastic! The tour guide Beefeater was loud, yelled at people, and was ridiculously funny while he weaved the history of the Tower of London together with contemporary life.

After the tour we wandered through the Tower and saw the Crown Jewels. Pretty spectacular! After this we found a pub called the Cheshire Cheese where we ate dinner which was situated a short walk from the starting point from our Jack the Ripper walking tour. Our secondary tour guide, Corin, joined us for this tour. The tour was very good and required a “great success” after-beverage. Corin took us to a restaurant for some food then to one of her favorite night spots in the area for a drink. Bryan drank some micro-brew bitter. Bitter is a type of beer popular in England and oft-served room temperature. Actually… pretty tasty stuff!

August 22

Our final day abroad! Today was a relaxed day of wondering the streets of London. We briefly visited the Museum of Natural History where parts of the movie Night at the Museum were filmed. Many London museums and galleries are free of charge! The museum was cool but very busy and to be honest we much preferred the Museum of Natural History in New York. Near the end of the day we found ourselves back at Corin’s favorite local pub where we enjoyed a snack and some bevies. Next we met Corin at her home and we headed out for diner. We went to a fabulous Nepalese restaurant in the Crystal Palace area. It was absolutely delicious! On our way home we stopped at one last pub in an attempt to drink one last pitcher of Pimm’s; great success!




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