Firstly, let me say that yes, I know that I got married between this post and my last. I am FULLY planning to post about the incredible events of that weekend, but have not had time to pay it the attention that it deserves and want to wait until we have the pictures from the photographer to post. More to come. But in the meantime...
(My computer is not allowing me to add photos for some reason, but will edit this post later to include pictures!)
My friend and coworker, Liz, and I finally arrived in London last Friday- November 2nd- around 11:00 AM after a long, not so pleasant flight. I think the combination of the time difference and the overnight flight where we didn't sleep much really did a number on us, and we were THRILLED to touch down in England.
We were greeted by William and Kate at Heathrow for tea. Juuuuust kidding- but doesn't everyone sort of secretly hope that might happen? Like they will say, "Oh, we didn't know YOU guys would be here! Come on, we have some extra tickets to a sweet royal ball tonight and you should totally come!"
No? Just me? I digress.
We made our way to The Tube and headed up to the High Street Kensington stop where our hotel was. It was about a 30 minute ride on a beautiful day and I was struck at how the neighborhoods we rode through actually look like the ones from Harry Potter and/ or Billy Elliott.
We jumped off at High Street Kensington and grabbed a meat pie for some sustenance right away. These things are delicious and while a pie of meat never sounded good to me before, it was love at first bite! Delicious food stop #1- check.
We made the 5 minute walk to our hotel thanks to Liz's master navigational skills. Thankfully she likes to be the planner/ navigator and I like to be the la-di-da, that street looks cute let's go there person. We made a good match with her leading and me following behind pointing out funny birds.
The hotel was so stinking cute- just what you'd imagine a little British hotel to be. It was an old townhouse nestled in a row of others- mostly private residences I believe. We had a cute room with a bathroom (which I learned while hotel searching is not standard in England) and two twin beds.
We proceeded to take much needed, glorious naps before making our way out to explore Kensington. The only way I can describe it is charming. Every bakery, every restaurant, every park- we wanted to visit all of them during our short three day stint in GB.
We went down Kensington Road which- like the rest of London- was an intriguing mix of old and new. Exquisite, old buildings that had been around for hundreds of years sat next to Top Shop and H&M with their modern lines and bright lights. It made for such a delicious juxtaposition of the city's formal, regal history and its hip, future forward culture.
We stumbled upon Kensington Palace and Kensington Gardens which were both so beautiful. We walked to the nearby Prince of Wales pub to split fish and chips and treat ourselves to a couple of pints. Then we found the Cafe Rouge- a cozy French spot- and had a glass of wine with some fabulous cheeses and homemade bread.
At this point we were excited for our first night in a new country but were borderline exhausted. We wavered between going big or going home. It gets dark SO early- like 4:30- in London so we felt like it was midnight but it was most definitely not even close. Deciding to push through in an effort to stay up to a normal hour and adjust to the time difference, we headed to a pub we had passed called Goat Tavern. This, as it turned out, was a good choice.
We went downstairs just before rockaoke started which is where you sing karaoke with a live band. There were pints, there were old British guys in fedoras singing, and there was even perhaps the tiniest bit of absinthe, which by the way had the effect of approximately 27 red bulls on us and lead to us both signing up to sing. ("I waaaaant you to waaant me" and so forth.) Needless to say, we danced and sang until it was most assuredly an appropriate hour for bed and we headed back... after stopping at McDonalds. Slept like babies.
After breakfast at the hotel the next morning, we walked to Kensington Palace and toured the exhibits. It was stunning and was a great opportunity to get some insight into the history there. I was most intrigued by the love story of Victoria and Albert. I had, of course, heard of them loads of times but hadn't taken a deep dive. We got to read the tender love letters they wrote one another before their wedding, her thoughts about how wonderful but how exhausting being a mother was, and how they'd much rather keep the company of their kids at home than attend royal functions. It was so apparent how in love they were and how much they cherished their life together in the midst of the royal craziness. This made his fairly early death so incredibly sad, and made my heart hurt for her loss. She mourned him for the rest of her life, building him a huge, ornate memorial in Kensington Gardens and London Bridge too if I remember correctly. It is amazing how their love forever changed the landscape of London.
We went on for an scrumptious lunch at a French spot called Maggie Jones' a couple blocks from our hotel, then went back for a nap.
We walked up to Notting Hill and went down Portobello Road- stopping to buy some gifts for the husbands back home whom we were both already missing very much. Liz spotted a vendor selling mulled wine which we sipped to warm our bellies while we saw the hipster crowd of London walking up and down the street. I felt about 70 years old in my conservative khaki jacket and jeans and half wished I could switch it for one of their baggy sweaters so I wouldn't be such an obvious tourist! We had a beer at a pub (see how we did that a lot?) then walked back toward the tube and ate dinner at a pub just across from Kensington Park.
We hopped onto the tube to Trafalgar Square (which I still can't say right) via the Piccadilly Circus exit. We saw the craziness of the theater district and then walked to see the monument at Trafalgar surrounded by these enormous lions at the bottom keeping guard. It seems that monuments are everywhere you look in London. We passed another one honoring the Battle of Britain later than night, and I was shocked to learn how long the battle had lasted. It is so hard to comprehend that all of that was just a generation ago. That our grandparents and their friends were kids fighting that war- battling such insane evil- still blows my mind. Which brings me to another tradition we got to witness: the poppies.
November 11th is sort of like their Memorial Day, and the British honor those who served by wearing paper poppies throughout the month of November until the 11th. They do this because a large number of poppies bloomed in Normandy where so many of their soldiers were killed. I found it heartwarming to see so many pinned to the jackets of people all around- especially amongst the older gentlemen in their trench coats and hats (who were so British and charming and "ello!" I just wanted to hug every one of them) but also amongst the young people. There were poppies everywhere and it struck me as a beautiful way to remember those they'd lost by wearing something to symbolize the beauty that sprang forth from the ground where such misery and death had been.
We also got to see the London Eye that night as well as Big Ben and Westminster Abbey (from the outside.) It was crazy how close they all were. You could stand in one spot and turn around to see the abbey, the eye, the Thames River, and London Bridge all in one revolution. We walked down the river a ways then hopped back onto the tube.
Neither of us were up for another crazy night and we were both freezing cold, so we popped into a store for a bottle of wine, some sparkling waters, and some snacks and went back to our cozy little beds. We enjoyed the rest of the night in our pajamas watching hysterical British late night shows. For the record, I about wet my pants 5 times laughing at this show and I think our late night TV should mirror their way of doing it! Truly hysterical.
Sunday we enjoyed breakfast "pancakes" at My Old Dutch Pancake House. Their pancakes are really more of gigantic but very thin crepes which they cook with various things in them. Mine came with chicken, bacon (the British kind, so rather, it came with ham), corn, bell peppers, and a little cheese. Neither of us could finish ours but they were absolutely divine. I'll never look at pancakes the same way again.
We popped into Top Shop upon the urging of my friend Sally, and I got a very British, very sassy pair of paints with (wait for it...) leather trim down the side. Very excited for that purchase! We headed down the street and passed the aforementioned memorial monument to Albert, commissioned by Victoria. We could have stayed for an hour determining what each scene and figure meant.
Next we went to Harrods, which is the type of place one only imagines exists in movies. It was an insanely nice department store with every designer name you could imagine and restaurants and food markets that made you want to bottle their aroma and put it into a candle to burn in your own home.
We picked up a few small gifts and since that place is not so much in our budget (dammit) we moved on to Westmister Abbey. It was closed unless you went for services, so we thought what the heck and went in. Then Liz saw that the Tower of London closed at 4:30 and that we would have to sneak out in order to make it- which we barely did! So I didn't see as much as I'd loved to have of the abbey, but I am so thankful to have been inside such a beautiful place where so many important figures from the past are at rest.
We got to the Tower of London with under an hour to spend so we missed a lot of what there was to see, but we did see the crowned jewels. Holy. Cow. I have never seen so much sparkle and brilliance in all of my life. The sizes of the diamonds- let alone the other jewels- on these crowns was unfathomable. Truly breathtaking.
We saw the spot where Anne Boleyn was murdered which sent chills down my spine after having read about what a completely twisted, sick situation all of that was (not that she was an angel but hey- that was pretty harsh.) We grabbed dinner at Liberty Bounds and hopped onto the tube back to our sweet Kensington neighborhood. We decided that we both really loved this area and we were so glad to have stayed there. Not that I saw all of London by any means, but I loved how unlike other parts it wasn't all business or all neighborhood, but rather was a lovely combination of both.
We went back to Prince of Wales for a final pint of cider and then got some more wine and snacks to top off the night in the room packing up and watching more British TV. (PS, if anyone knows how I can get Coronation Street in America I would be much obliged. Best bad British TV show ever- I am hooked!)
Overall it was a fantastic few days. I think we accomplished the delicate balance between seeing as much as possible in a short amount of time but also not planning ourselves to death so that we couldn't soak anything in. We didn't make it to some of the things on the list but were both content feeling that we really got a sense for the city over these few days.
It made me really regret not having done a foreign study in college. I cannot stress enough- on the off chance that someone reading this is in college or has a kid in college- how much I wish I had made that happen during my four years at Furman. I am so thankful to have had the chance to go now, though, and would love to go back with Bryan one day.
Writing this, I'm four hours into the 8 hour plane trip to India for what I'm sure will be another great adventure. Looking forward to this experience and also to seeing my Bryan in less than two weeks. Missing that husband a whoooole lot.
More from Hyderabad soon!
(My computer is not allowing me to add photos for some reason, but will edit this post later to include pictures!)
My friend and coworker, Liz, and I finally arrived in London last Friday- November 2nd- around 11:00 AM after a long, not so pleasant flight. I think the combination of the time difference and the overnight flight where we didn't sleep much really did a number on us, and we were THRILLED to touch down in England.
We were greeted by William and Kate at Heathrow for tea. Juuuuust kidding- but doesn't everyone sort of secretly hope that might happen? Like they will say, "Oh, we didn't know YOU guys would be here! Come on, we have some extra tickets to a sweet royal ball tonight and you should totally come!"
No? Just me? I digress.
We made our way to The Tube and headed up to the High Street Kensington stop where our hotel was. It was about a 30 minute ride on a beautiful day and I was struck at how the neighborhoods we rode through actually look like the ones from Harry Potter and/ or Billy Elliott.
We jumped off at High Street Kensington and grabbed a meat pie for some sustenance right away. These things are delicious and while a pie of meat never sounded good to me before, it was love at first bite! Delicious food stop #1- check.
We made the 5 minute walk to our hotel thanks to Liz's master navigational skills. Thankfully she likes to be the planner/ navigator and I like to be the la-di-da, that street looks cute let's go there person. We made a good match with her leading and me following behind pointing out funny birds.
The hotel was so stinking cute- just what you'd imagine a little British hotel to be. It was an old townhouse nestled in a row of others- mostly private residences I believe. We had a cute room with a bathroom (which I learned while hotel searching is not standard in England) and two twin beds.
We proceeded to take much needed, glorious naps before making our way out to explore Kensington. The only way I can describe it is charming. Every bakery, every restaurant, every park- we wanted to visit all of them during our short three day stint in GB.
We went down Kensington Road which- like the rest of London- was an intriguing mix of old and new. Exquisite, old buildings that had been around for hundreds of years sat next to Top Shop and H&M with their modern lines and bright lights. It made for such a delicious juxtaposition of the city's formal, regal history and its hip, future forward culture.
We stumbled upon Kensington Palace and Kensington Gardens which were both so beautiful. We walked to the nearby Prince of Wales pub to split fish and chips and treat ourselves to a couple of pints. Then we found the Cafe Rouge- a cozy French spot- and had a glass of wine with some fabulous cheeses and homemade bread.
At this point we were excited for our first night in a new country but were borderline exhausted. We wavered between going big or going home. It gets dark SO early- like 4:30- in London so we felt like it was midnight but it was most definitely not even close. Deciding to push through in an effort to stay up to a normal hour and adjust to the time difference, we headed to a pub we had passed called Goat Tavern. This, as it turned out, was a good choice.
We went downstairs just before rockaoke started which is where you sing karaoke with a live band. There were pints, there were old British guys in fedoras singing, and there was even perhaps the tiniest bit of absinthe, which by the way had the effect of approximately 27 red bulls on us and lead to us both signing up to sing. ("I waaaaant you to waaant me" and so forth.) Needless to say, we danced and sang until it was most assuredly an appropriate hour for bed and we headed back... after stopping at McDonalds. Slept like babies.
After breakfast at the hotel the next morning, we walked to Kensington Palace and toured the exhibits. It was stunning and was a great opportunity to get some insight into the history there. I was most intrigued by the love story of Victoria and Albert. I had, of course, heard of them loads of times but hadn't taken a deep dive. We got to read the tender love letters they wrote one another before their wedding, her thoughts about how wonderful but how exhausting being a mother was, and how they'd much rather keep the company of their kids at home than attend royal functions. It was so apparent how in love they were and how much they cherished their life together in the midst of the royal craziness. This made his fairly early death so incredibly sad, and made my heart hurt for her loss. She mourned him for the rest of her life, building him a huge, ornate memorial in Kensington Gardens and London Bridge too if I remember correctly. It is amazing how their love forever changed the landscape of London.
We went on for an scrumptious lunch at a French spot called Maggie Jones' a couple blocks from our hotel, then went back for a nap.
We walked up to Notting Hill and went down Portobello Road- stopping to buy some gifts for the husbands back home whom we were both already missing very much. Liz spotted a vendor selling mulled wine which we sipped to warm our bellies while we saw the hipster crowd of London walking up and down the street. I felt about 70 years old in my conservative khaki jacket and jeans and half wished I could switch it for one of their baggy sweaters so I wouldn't be such an obvious tourist! We had a beer at a pub (see how we did that a lot?) then walked back toward the tube and ate dinner at a pub just across from Kensington Park.
We hopped onto the tube to Trafalgar Square (which I still can't say right) via the Piccadilly Circus exit. We saw the craziness of the theater district and then walked to see the monument at Trafalgar surrounded by these enormous lions at the bottom keeping guard. It seems that monuments are everywhere you look in London. We passed another one honoring the Battle of Britain later than night, and I was shocked to learn how long the battle had lasted. It is so hard to comprehend that all of that was just a generation ago. That our grandparents and their friends were kids fighting that war- battling such insane evil- still blows my mind. Which brings me to another tradition we got to witness: the poppies.
November 11th is sort of like their Memorial Day, and the British honor those who served by wearing paper poppies throughout the month of November until the 11th. They do this because a large number of poppies bloomed in Normandy where so many of their soldiers were killed. I found it heartwarming to see so many pinned to the jackets of people all around- especially amongst the older gentlemen in their trench coats and hats (who were so British and charming and "ello!" I just wanted to hug every one of them) but also amongst the young people. There were poppies everywhere and it struck me as a beautiful way to remember those they'd lost by wearing something to symbolize the beauty that sprang forth from the ground where such misery and death had been.
We also got to see the London Eye that night as well as Big Ben and Westminster Abbey (from the outside.) It was crazy how close they all were. You could stand in one spot and turn around to see the abbey, the eye, the Thames River, and London Bridge all in one revolution. We walked down the river a ways then hopped back onto the tube.
Neither of us were up for another crazy night and we were both freezing cold, so we popped into a store for a bottle of wine, some sparkling waters, and some snacks and went back to our cozy little beds. We enjoyed the rest of the night in our pajamas watching hysterical British late night shows. For the record, I about wet my pants 5 times laughing at this show and I think our late night TV should mirror their way of doing it! Truly hysterical.
Sunday we enjoyed breakfast "pancakes" at My Old Dutch Pancake House. Their pancakes are really more of gigantic but very thin crepes which they cook with various things in them. Mine came with chicken, bacon (the British kind, so rather, it came with ham), corn, bell peppers, and a little cheese. Neither of us could finish ours but they were absolutely divine. I'll never look at pancakes the same way again.
We popped into Top Shop upon the urging of my friend Sally, and I got a very British, very sassy pair of paints with (wait for it...) leather trim down the side. Very excited for that purchase! We headed down the street and passed the aforementioned memorial monument to Albert, commissioned by Victoria. We could have stayed for an hour determining what each scene and figure meant.
Next we went to Harrods, which is the type of place one only imagines exists in movies. It was an insanely nice department store with every designer name you could imagine and restaurants and food markets that made you want to bottle their aroma and put it into a candle to burn in your own home.
We picked up a few small gifts and since that place is not so much in our budget (dammit) we moved on to Westmister Abbey. It was closed unless you went for services, so we thought what the heck and went in. Then Liz saw that the Tower of London closed at 4:30 and that we would have to sneak out in order to make it- which we barely did! So I didn't see as much as I'd loved to have of the abbey, but I am so thankful to have been inside such a beautiful place where so many important figures from the past are at rest.
We got to the Tower of London with under an hour to spend so we missed a lot of what there was to see, but we did see the crowned jewels. Holy. Cow. I have never seen so much sparkle and brilliance in all of my life. The sizes of the diamonds- let alone the other jewels- on these crowns was unfathomable. Truly breathtaking.
We saw the spot where Anne Boleyn was murdered which sent chills down my spine after having read about what a completely twisted, sick situation all of that was (not that she was an angel but hey- that was pretty harsh.) We grabbed dinner at Liberty Bounds and hopped onto the tube back to our sweet Kensington neighborhood. We decided that we both really loved this area and we were so glad to have stayed there. Not that I saw all of London by any means, but I loved how unlike other parts it wasn't all business or all neighborhood, but rather was a lovely combination of both.
We went back to Prince of Wales for a final pint of cider and then got some more wine and snacks to top off the night in the room packing up and watching more British TV. (PS, if anyone knows how I can get Coronation Street in America I would be much obliged. Best bad British TV show ever- I am hooked!)
Overall it was a fantastic few days. I think we accomplished the delicate balance between seeing as much as possible in a short amount of time but also not planning ourselves to death so that we couldn't soak anything in. We didn't make it to some of the things on the list but were both content feeling that we really got a sense for the city over these few days.
It made me really regret not having done a foreign study in college. I cannot stress enough- on the off chance that someone reading this is in college or has a kid in college- how much I wish I had made that happen during my four years at Furman. I am so thankful to have had the chance to go now, though, and would love to go back with Bryan one day.
Writing this, I'm four hours into the 8 hour plane trip to India for what I'm sure will be another great adventure. Looking forward to this experience and also to seeing my Bryan in less than two weeks. Missing that husband a whoooole lot.
More from Hyderabad soon!
