Farewell Scotland, Hello England

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One last look at the Castle and we were off. We hopped on the tram to the airport and an hour later, we were in London. From Heathrow, we hopped on the tube to South Kensington station. Coming from Edinburgh where the crowd was manageable and people were friendly, it was a shock to hop off the tub at South Kensington to the hustle and bustle of London. There were lots of people, everyone who was in a hurry and no one who was friendly enough to care that we had 5 pieces of luggage, 3 kids and a stroller. Definitely a different vibe from Edinburgh.

The Ampersand Hotel is a small luxury hotel located in the South Kensington area and literally less than a mile from the tube station. We came up from the Underground and walked a little bit and there it was. Primo location. Cute boutique hotel. We checked in with ease and thankfully the rooms were ready. The boys were in one and the girls were in the other. Not that our flat in Edinburgh was bad, but the hotel in London was fabulous. The bathrooms were spacious, showers modern, beds soft and plenty of TV stations to choose from. A nice way to start the last leg of our trip before heading home.

First things first… lunch. We had lunch at Tombo, right in the Kensington area. It was Korean fast food/sit down? Had rice and chicken and greens. Who would’ve thunk that I would miss greens, but I did. After lunch, we hopped back on the tube to Westminster Station because the Rices had 6:00 tickets to the London Eye. I recommend for anyone going to the Eye, to hop on the tube and get off on the Westminster Station because as soon as you walk out of the station… BAM… a magnificent view of Big Ben. Big Ben in all its grandeur. Amazing.





Since I’ve done the eye, I decided to sit this one out. I hung around the area while the Rices went around. They ended up with the special capsule. The one capsule that was sponsored someone (I wanna say the Bransons, but I think I might be wrong). It was the only one that was orange. They said it was great and awesome to see all of London below them. After the eye, we walked back across Westminster Bridge towards Parliament, but not before having a cone with a flake. So good… We walked around Parliament and then got tired, so we got back on the tube and headed home. We had dinner around the area… chinese food takeaway. Not bad for what it was. All in all a good first day in London.

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Photos

Tombo
Lunch special