Our final day in London

Today was our last full day in London. This morning we went to Buckingham Palace to see the State Rooms. I didn’t realize that Queen Victoria was responsible for the iconic appearance of the Palace. So I learned something new today!

Once we finished touring the State Rooms, we decided to go over to Baker Street to get a photo of 221B Baker Street (the fictional address of Sherlock Holmes). Then we took a stroll through Regent’s Park before heading back to the hotel to start packing.

In a little while, we’re heading out for dinner, then back to the hotel. In the morning, we leave to fly back to the States. As much as I’ve enjoyed our stay in London, I’m ready to get home.

 

The Tower of London and other stuff (Day 5)

Today we visited the Tower of London. We arrived shortly before the first Yeoman Warder tour and went to see the Crown Jewels first before the lines got too long. After we finished the Crown Jewels, we went to hear the raven talk. Then we did the Yeoman Warder tour. Our guide was hilarious.

After the tour concluded, we went over to Tower Bridge and climbed to the top. The walkways have a glass inset in the floor, allowing you to look down at the bridge and the river below. You could feel the bridge moving slightly with the traffic and the wind. We climbed down the many flights of stairs back to the base of the bridge, then went back to the Underground to ride over to the Wellington Arch in Knightsbridge.

From the Wellington Arch, we walked over to the famed department store Harrod’s and strolled through the inside of the store. The ground level is a who’s who of luxury brands.

After walking out of Harrod’s, we caught the Underground back to our hotel to rest for a little while before dinner. After a couple of hours, we went out to Da Mario for dinner. Tomorrow we go to Buckingham Palace in the morning, then we’ll putter around for a little bit that afternoon.

Our 4th day in London

Today was our long tour day. We got up early this morning so that we could be at Victoria Coach Station before 7:30 AM. We ended up being ready to leave earlier than anticipated, so we stopped at Pret to get some breakfast since we left before the hotel breakfast was open.

Once we boarded our coach, it was about an hour’s drive to Windsor Castle. We were lucky to be the second tour group in line, so we got in before it got super crowded. Darren and I were feeling ambitious, so we managed to visit both St. George’s Chapel (where Harry and Meghan married) and the State Rooms in Windsor Castle before we had to be back on the coach to continue on to our next stop, Bath.

When we arrived in Bath, the line to visit the Roman Baths Museum was long, and our time was limited, so we chose to wander around for a bit instead. Then it was back on the coach to go on to our late lunch in Lacock.

Lacock is very popular with film crews looking for a period look because all the buildings are built from the same stone in the same style. There aren’t any visible satellite dishes or television antennas, which is why film crews like it. Downton Abbey has filmed there, the second Fantastic Beasts movie also filmed some bits there, and the Harry Potter films used a couple of the houses in town for exterior shots – one as the residence of Harry’s parents, and another as Professor Slughorn’s home. So that was pretty neat.

From Lacock, it was on to Stonehenge, our last stop of the day. Honestly, I wasn’t all that impressed. I would have liked to visit the exhibit in the visitors’ center, but we ran out of time. Then it was back on the coach for the two-hour drive back to London.

We opted to be dropped off at Gloucester Road Underground station instead of going back to Victoria Coach Station. Tomorrow we have tickets to the Tower of London, which I’m looking forward to visiting.