London is a vibrant, modern city with loads of history and tradition around every busy corner. It’s no wonder, then, that we chose to spend almost an entire week in the city that Emily chose to visit for her 32nd birthday week. Our visit to the city was divided into two parts, separated by a trip to Harlaxton Manor in Grantham, England. Here’s a recap on all of the tours, activities, restaurants, and more that we enjoyed in London.
Arrival in London and the Tube
Our transatlantic flight arrived into Heathrow just before noon on a Saturday, and, thanks to a recent loosening of COVID-19 documentation and testing by the United Kingdom, we quickly cleared Customs and Border Protection. Still, there’s one thing that anyone who’s ever flown into Heathrow Airport knows to be ready to do: walk. The airport is huge and vastly spread out, so don’t plan on getting from your plane to transportation quickly. Because we had all of our luggage with us, we decided to pay a little more for return tickets on the Heathrow Express, the train that connects Heathrow Airport and London Paddington Station in just 15 minutes. From London Paddington, we used the Underground to get to our hotel.
The London Underground, or Tube, as it’s often referred to as, was the world’s first underground railway. Since its origins, it has expanded into a massive network of hundreds of stops on many lines to service Greater London and some surrounding counties. No trip to London is complete without using it, and, because it is so well-developed, the Tube is the easiest way to travel around this huge city. But, in an unlucky bout of irony (the same thing happened to us in Paris in December 2019), the Underground and its workers were striking during our visit to London. Even though there were only a few official strike days during our trip, the planning, preparation, and uncertainty made our visit much more expensive and each stop more time-consuming.
The First Hotel: The Montague on the Gardens
Choosing a hotel in London is a bit overwhelming, as there are many distinct neighborhoods to pick from, each of them offering something a little different. We ultimately chose to stay in Bloomsbury, near the popular Covent Garden neighborhood, the Montague on the Gardens. The Montague was a short 5 minute walk through Russell Square from the Russell Square station, giving us very easy access to the Underground. The Bloomsbury neighborhood is also a bit cheaper than other popular areas such as Mayfair or Soho but is just as accessible.
We had a great experience in our Deluxe Room at the Montague. Nestled in the midst of a row of Georgian townhomes, from the time we approached the Montague, we were gripped by its old-world charm and elegance. Like much of London in general, the Montague impressed us with friendly, personalized service and an excitement to help us enjoy our stay. The rooms was not large, which is standard for the city, but what it lacked in size it more than made up for in sophistication, with upholstered walls, layers of heavy window draperies, and beautiful antique furniture. The hotel concierge doormen were very helpful during our stay, and we were even given a welcome gift of homemade biscuits.
Nearly starving and running on fumes, we quickly freshened up at our hotel and set out on foot. We stopped at Store St Espresso for some caffeine and a quick bite to eat.
Westminster Abbey
With a lot to see and do during our week in the city, we wanted to visit at least one site before sundown on our first day in London. We rode the Tube to the Westminster station and hurried our way to Westminster Abbey, sliding into the queue (how British of me!) just before closing time. There were not many people in the Abbey, allowing us to freely wonder the ancient place of worship.
Westminster Abbey looks and feels much like any other Gothic Church in Europe, with its arches, vaulted ceilings, and flying buttresses. What makes it unique, however, is the enormous amount of tombs that decorate the floors and walls within the Abbey. Thousands of people are buried at Westminster Abbey, including many former monarchs, poets, artists, inventors, politicians, and war heroes of the former British Empire and current United Kingdom. Everywhere you look, there is another famous name on a tomb to be discovered. The Henry VII Lady Chapel at the rear of the Abbey is the most beautiful part of Westminster in my opinion, with its spectacularly detailed ceiling and banners hanging overhead.
As we walked through the Abbey and the attached cloister, a throng of choir boys came running through as if late to practice. We later learned that this Choir of Westminster Abbey is world-renowned for its performances.
With some sun still remaining on an oddly sunny February day in London, we walked through Parliament Square and across Westminster Bridge to catch a glimpse of the Palace of Westminster, informally known as the Houses of Parliament. The Queen Elizabeth II Tower, or Big Ben, was only recently uncovered from most of its scaffolding, but some remained on the Parliament building. Are you even in London if you don’t see antique buildings covered in scaffolding, though?
Dinner with a View: City Social
In a cosmopolitan metropolis such as London, one of the best ways to see the city is from above. City Social is located on the 24th floor of Tower 42 in the City of London, the modern, skyscraper-filled district of London. In addition to the city views, we were excited to eat at City Social because it was our first time eating at a Michelin Star restaurant. After ordering gorgeous cocktails, we split a Devon crab toast followed by sea bass for Emily and Cumbrian suckling pig for myself, along with Mac and cheese and green bean salad sides. Dessert was an apple tart with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. Overall, the views from the restaurant were great but not spectacular, and the food was delicious but not phenomenal. I think we both left a little disappointed.
The Tower of London
We began our first full day in London with a visit to the Tower of London. After a quick coffee and pastry at a nearby coffee shop, we queued up right as the Tower opened in order to avoid crowds as much as we could. We entered and explored the grounds a bit on our own, first heading to the Jewel House in the Waterloo Block to see the Crown Jewels. Remember, Emily’s birthday wish this year was to wear the Crown Jewels. Despite my best efforts, though, I left the birthday wish unfulfilled, and she had to settle with a walk-by and admiration. From there we met with a large group for the Yeoman Warders tour of the Tower of London. Known as Beefeaters in popular culture, these are the ceremonial guards of the Tower of London and have been for hundreds of years. The tour that they offer is entertaining and comical yet still informative. It was definitely worth our time to hear some of the haunting stories of the Tower of London told by one of the Tower’s current residents.
We walked through the iconic White Tower which is currently a museum of arms and armor and then through other exhibits in the outer tower walls before leaving. We spent about two hours at the Tower of London but could have easily stayed longer. There was a lunch reservation waiting for us, though!
Lunch at St. JOHN Smithfield
A lot of people have been to London, so it wasn’t difficult to gather recommendations for places to eat and drink. While still wanting to explore some on our own and discover new places, one co-worker was absolutely insistent that we eat at St. JOHN Restaurant. He told me that if we like to eat unique dishes and try new things, there was no place better than this. Boy, was he right!
St. JOHN is a Michelin Star restaurant known for its old-school simplicity. As our great waiter told us, the restaurant aims to use every part of an animal once harvested, especially those not commonly used, and it hopes to dispel the myth that certain meat and poultry cannot be deliciously prepared. St. JOHN is so revered that Anthony Bourdain once called it “the restaurant of my dreams”.
The restaurant is incredibly austere in its design on both the interior and exterior, putting all of the focus on the food. Even the presentation of the dishes is simple, using only a few ingredients for each expertly prepared dish. We started with a lump crab toast and the restaurant’s most popular dish, the bone marrow salad, which, for me, redefined melting in my mouth. We selected a rabbit dish and a pigeon dish to share for our mains. Both were spectacular, but the pigeon reigns as the most interesting splash of savory flavor that I’ve ever eaten. Unlike our meal the night prior, St. JOHN blew us away. You absolutely must eat here if you’re ever traveling through London.
Liquid History Pub Walking Tour
There are two things that London has around every corner: history and pubs. Liquid History Tours has found a great way to combine the two with its historical pub walking tour. Beyond indulging in the pub culture of London, we were particularly interested in this tour because it guides the tourist through the City of London, the oldest part of the city but one that most other tours do not cover. From St. Paul’s Cathedral to London’s original city gates to Fleet Street and the history of the British tabloids, our tour guide gave us a unique history of London distinct from the monarchy and imperial Britain. I particularly enjoyed the piece on how the British Pub, or public house, emerged from the inn, tavern, and ale house. Emily most enjoyed the statue of Hodge, the cat owned by Dr. Johnson (of A Dictionary of the English Language fame), inscribed “a very fine cat indeed”.
We met a couple from Germany on the pub tour and decided to have dinner together at the upstairs restaurant in the final pub, The Ship Tavern. The food was solidly average, what you’d expect from a pub in London. But the company was great, and we will continue to enjoy a friendship with Manfred and Jenny.
GŎNG Bar at The Shard
We made our way back to the hotel after dinner before heading across the Thames to see the view from London’s tallest skyscraper, The Shard. There are multiple levels from which to take in the view, including a viewing platform on the 68th floor. But rather than paying for the just view, we made reservations at the fancy cocktail bar, GŎNG, on the 52nd floor. Might as well enjoy a cocktail for the ridiculous cost to take in the view!
Unfortunately, our experience at GŎNG was not superb. The cocktails were quite average, and even though we made reservations months in advance, we were seated in a funky side room with an indoor pool rather than the main saloon. We had to practically beg to be served. The view was nice, but even for me, the guy who’s always chasing a view, the entire experience wasn’t quite worth the hassle. GŎNG GŎNG
Always chasing a traditional American breakfast no matter which country we are visiting, Emily chose The Breakfast Club in Soho to begin the next morning. There, she was able to order “The All American”, so we were both quite content with the meal. Add in the great music playlist and quirky vibe of Soho and you’ve got a winning combination for a solid breakfast stop.
Palaces and Parliament Walking Tour
After breakfast, we had plans for an important day for an American tourist (Emily) infatuated with the British Monarchy and the Royal Family. Our arrangements to take join a walking tour with our favorite company, SANDEMAN’s NEW Europe, fell through due to the guide becoming ill, so we found a last minute alternative. The Palaces and Parliament Walking Tour advertised just what we were looking for in a history tour, so we purchased tickets and met our guide just outside the Green Park. As we began the tour walking through the park, our guide pointed out many of the large palaces lining the park and their significance to the more historically significant home of the monarchy, St. James’s Palace. As it was a Monday in London, the changing of the guard was taking place at Buckingham Palace, and our guide knew how to time things just right so that we could catch the guard processing in and out but not get stuck in all of the madness near the gates of Buckingham Palace. We continued on down The Mall and discussed some war history as we approached Whitehall and Trafalgar Square. Then we looped back around to see the Horse Guard before walking on down the Thames to Westminster and learning about Parliament and its place in British history. Overall, an informative tour that we enjoyed.
After hours of walking during the tour, we were ready for a meal and an ale. We stopped at a nearby pub, The Sanctuary House, where Emily had a burger and chips while I ordered a shrimp pie. Once again, solidly mediocre, but what else is most British cuisine?
Because of the changing of the guard, we did not get much of an opportunity to enjoy Buckingham Palace, so while we were still in the vicinity, we walked back to the palace. This time we were able to walk right up to the gates and see the palace. The Union Jack was flying, so the Queen wasn’t in residence at that time. We also looped back to St. James’s Palace to get a better look at it as well. Then, we took the Tube back to our hotel for a little rest before our evening plans.
The Book of Mormon at Prince of Wales Theatre
During a previous trip to London in college, I saw The Phantom of the Opera in The West End by myself. I loved the experience, and, to me, no visit to London is complete without seeing a show on London’s Broadway. In order to convince Emily to join me, though, I had to pick the show wisely. I’d only heard one thing about The Book of Mormon, that it is almost unsettlingly hilarious. I had a winner.
After walking through London’s Chinatown, we arrived at the Prince of Wales Theatre in the West End. We had pre-ordered a few small bottles of champagne to enjoy during the show, which was a great decision seeing how long the lines were in the theatre. We had great seats, although any seats in the theatre would have been great. The show was amazing and hilarious, and that’s all I’ll say about that!
The next morning we woke up to a rainy London day and the first official day of Tube strikes. For this reason, we had to be strategic about not venturing too far from our hotel, as we needing to check out and catch our train to Grantham in the afternoon. Each Tube station that we walked by was barred closed, an odd sight for a city so well-connected by its Underground network.
Exploring Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a popular place to explore in London due to its many shops and boutiques and artsy flair. Emily had booked a session at her favorite Boutique Caudalie, so after dropping her off, I explored the neighborhood on my own, stopping in some shops and markets along the way. It was chilly and rainy, but I imagine the neighborhood would be very nice in the Spring with flowers blooming and shop doors open. Eventually, I made my way to a pub, The Two Brewers, for a cask ale and some fine people watching.
During my walk I discovered a neat place that we late returned to for lunch. The Seven Dials Market is run by a group of London’s best street food vendors located in a large building with food court style seating. The concept is great, and there were so many delicious options to choose from. Emily snagged some awesome street Indian food, and I went with a juicy burger and truffle chips.
Ready for the next leg of our English adventure, we left Covent Garden and walked back the Montague in Bloomsbury. From there, we picked up our bags and lugged them all the way to King’s Cross St. Pancras Station, testing the wheels of our suitcases against plenty of cobblestone. Luckily, the Tube strike wasn’t affecting the rail system, so we were able to easily find and catch our train to Grantham.
Harlaxton Manor in Grantham, Lincolnshire
Our trip to London was divided into two parts by a visit to Harlaxton Manor in Grantham, a place dear to my heart where I studied and resided for four months back in Spring of 2011.
A Trip Back to Harlaxton Manor
In the Spring of 2011, I spent my last semester of my undergraduate years studying abroad at Harlaxton College outside of Grantham, England. It was
Our train from Grantham to London brought us back to King’s Cross St. Pancras station in the middle of yet another frustrating Tube strike day. This time, though, our hotel was on the other side of the city in a neighborhood new to us, Kensington. So we hopped in the surprisingly quickly-moving taxi queue and hopped in a charming Hackney carriage, the proper name for a black cab in London. The ride took us almost an hour from one side of the city to the other.
The Second Hotel: The Gore
Knowing that our time in London was to be broken into two parts, we chose to stay in two completely different neighborhoods at boutique hotels with completely different styles. Kensington is a district in London known for its up-scale, Victorian architecture. I’d never been to this part of London, and since it has many ties to both Queen Victoria and Diana, Princess of Wales, Emily was giddy to see the area as well.
The Gore Hotel touts itself as a “quintessentially British hotel since 1892”, exactly what Emily desired for the remainder of our stay. We booked a junior suite for a little extra room, knowing that London’s hotel rooms are notoriously small. Once again, the hotel impressed. The staff were engaging, the building was spotless, and there was enough British charm to transport guests back to the Victorian era upon entering the hotel.
Next we stopped by one of Princess Diana’s favorite places to eat when she lived at Kensington Palace, Da Mario. There are phots of her on the wall inside, dining in the restaurant and posing with its owners. This small, Italian family restaurant serves specialty pizzas and other dishes on a busy street corner in cosmopolitan Kensington. We both ordered small pizzas with a personalized selection of toppings. They were delicious.
Kensington Palace
Following a delicious lunch, we walked to our next stop and the crown jewel of Kensington, Kensington Palace. This palace was purchased and expanded by William and Mary and was the preferred residence of the monarchy for many years until Queen Victoria moved to Buckingham Palace. Thereafter, it has served as the primary residence for many members of the royal family, including Diana, Princess of Wales and, currently, the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Catherine, and their family.
We toured the palace which is quite beautiful and contains tons of history primarily about Queen Victoria and Queen Anne. We especially enjoyed the jewel room, where we used a little photography trick to finally give Emily the chance to wear some Crown Jewels. The grounds of Kensington Gardens are vast and probably quite beautiful in better weather. We stopped to see the swans before leaving the Palace grounds.
There was more to see and do in Kensington during this free afternoon, and, since the Tube was still not running, we had to rearrange a few things in our itinerary in order to make the walks manageable. We walked by the Albert Memorial before going to Harrod’s, the iconic department store in London. After browsing through several floors of merchandise, wondering who in the world can afford the stuff, we left the store happily empty-handed. On our way back to the hotel, we walked by the Royal Albert Hall.
When we returned to our hotel, we decided to stop in the hotel cocktail bar for a drink. Bar 190 is a luxury cocktail bar best known as the site where The Rolling Stones once hosted an album launch party. It is a beautiful space with spectacularly-made cocktails. Definitely worth a stop if you’re into craft cocktails in a moody space.
Our big plans for the first night back in London were also thwarted by the Tube strike. We had booked an evening Thames River Cruise but were unable to attend because getting there in a cab during rush hour in London was both cost and time prohibitive. So instead, as we do, we pivoted to something very different.
We knew prior to coming to London that we loved Indian food, and this city is known for having some of the best out there. After asking around quite a bit and repetitively being told about the same restaurant, we walked to Dishoom in Kensington. Dishoom pays homage to the old cafés of Bombay. With its art deco style and house band playing vibrant jazz music from above on the balcony, the ambiance of the restaurant had us hooked from the beginning. Then we got our food, and we were all in. To be completely honest, I’m not enough of an expert in Indian cuisine to even remember what we ordered, but I’ll maintain that it was all excellent and delicious. We left that restaurant loosening our belt bucks and walking a few speeds slower than we entered.
Private Tour of Hampton Court Palace
The next morning was Friday, Emily’s birthday. We had big plans for the day. Ever since Emily chose London as her birthday trip destination, I knew how we would spend the day. She has long been a follower of the Royal family and British culture, but her real captivation began with one particular royal line: The Tudors.
Hampton Court Palace was gifted to King Henry VIII by Cardinal Wolsey in order to try to regain his favor. It quickly became one of Henry’s favorite palaces and remained as such throughout the Tudor reign. Years later, William and Mary moved in and ordered a huge renovation and extension of the palace that left it in two distinct phases still visible today: Tudor and Baroque. An impressive amount of the palace is still open to the public.
With the Tube strikes ongoing, getting to Hampton Court was a bit of a worry for us. Luckily, there is a National Rail train that runs directly from London Waterloo to Hampton Court station, only 5 minutes from the palace. Thus, we took a cab to London Waterloo and were on our way!
We booked a Hampton Court Palace Private Tour and met our guide outside the gates of the palace. Siobhan was an expert guide. She’s written books on Tudor history, worked at Hampton Court for many years, and has even provided commentary for historical documentaries and television series. As she ushered us through the antique residence, she pointed out tiny secret details, gave us a glimpse into everyday Tudor life, and patiently answered every nerdy Tudor question we could think of. Siobhan was such a lovely person that made our experience so much more enjoyable.
Afternoon Tea at The Savoy
Emily’s birthday continued with a very fancy and utterly British Afternoon Tea at The Savoy. This was one of those things that Em absolutely wanted to do in London, even though she doesn’t like crumpets, and I don’t like tea. Still, she weighed her options and selected a beautiful place to enjoy a high tea, The Savoy. We opted for champagne to go along with our hot tea, which we chose from a book of teas offering selections from all over the world. After some small finger sandwiches, the staff brought out a beautiful tower of dessert pastries followed by a personal cake for Emily’s birthday. It really was a lovely birthday memory, and I walked away with a liking for tea! Emily, however, still hates crumpets.
Dinner at Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill
An already fun-filled birthday was capped off with two of Emily’s favorite things: oysters and champagne. Bentley’s Oyster Bar and Grill is located near Piccadilly Circus in London’s West End. Knowing that Emily would want oysters and little else, I booked a table in the Oyster Bar which was crowded but lively. The champagne was flowing, and the oysters were fresh. We had a great evening celebrating Emily’s 32nd birthday.
We began our last full day in England with a very nice breakfast at Balans Kensington. Not far from our hotel, Emily chose Balans because they had something on the menu that she knew I would love: a lobster Benedict. It was wonderful, and she enjoyed her breakfast too.
Windsor Castle
Our final stop during a week filled with palaces and Royalty was what some would consider the King of them all, Windsor Castle. Windsor is the longest-occupied royal palace in all of Europe and was the main residence of Queen Elizabeth II for the final ten years of her life.
Thankfully, the Tube strike had all but resolved by the morning of our visit to Windsor, so we were able to Tube from our breakfast location to London Waterloo station where we once again took a direct train to Windsor & Eton Central Station. From there, the Castle is a short walk away.
As we approached Windsor Castle, we discovered that the Changing of the Guard was happening in the streets outside the castle. We watched the Guard parade by with its large Irish Wolfhound before continuing on to Windsor Castle. A great deal of the castle is open to the public, which includes many gifts to the British Empire on display. It is quite fascinating how much wealth belongs to the Royal family, and this was the best display of it that we witnessed. The most impressive piece of Windsor Castle was St. George’s Chapel, an astonishing Gothic castle chapel where a whole slew of royal weddings have taken place, most notably Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
After exploring the Castle grounds, we walked through the town a little bit and stoped at a street-side restaurant for some Fish ‘N Chips. Then we continued on to The Long Walk, the pathway by which coaches historically entered Windsor, for a different view of the Castle.
We weren’t sure if venturing an hour outside of London to Windsor Castle was going to be completely worth our time and energy because of a few things that we’d read, but we really enjoyed this day. Windsor Castle had more rooms to tour and presented a better display of the monarchy than any of the other palaces that we toured in London.
Overall, our trip to London was a great one. The difficulties that we experienced with the Tube strikes made getting around such a big city pretty frustrating at times, that’s for sure. We were unable to see and do a few things that we had on our itinerary too: St. Paul’s Cathedral, The British Museum, Borough Market, and an Evening Thames River Cruise being a few of them. Sounds like we will need to plan another trip to London at some point in the future!
And how can I forget the icing on the top of the cake for this trip? Emily and I both came down with COVID-19 for the first time when we returned from London. After nearly two years evading the virus as a healthcare professional and several trips around the globe during that time, we finally got caught. Thankfully, we both had only mild symptoms, and our trip was not disrupted.
That’s a wrap on London!