I went to London!

Two weeks ago I got to tag along on a friend's work trip to London. I haven't been back to London since I spent a semester abroad there in 2004. It was a short but awesome time!

I arrived Friday morning, and made my way to our Kensington apartment. I arrived a few hours before Celia, and after dropping off my bag I headed to the Gloucester Arms for lunch. When I got back I had a shower and then Celia finally arrived (her flight was delayed). After she had a chance to freshen up we headed out to dinner (Nando's for Peri-Peri Chicken), then walked to the Victoria and Albert Museum. They had a neat special exhibit on fashion and nature. After the museum we stopped by a shop for a late-night snack and provisions for breakfast. Back at the apartment we enjoyed cheese and crackers and the free bottle of sparkling wine left for us.

Our adorable street in Kensington

Our apartment!

View from my bedroom.

Spotted at the V and A

Saturday morning after making breakfast we hopped on the Tube and visited Westminster Abbey. We had to stand in a long line in the drizzling rain before we could get in, but it was worth it. We used the audio guide and saw a ton of famous dead people.

Westminster Abbey

From the abbey we took the Tube back to Kensington, and after grabbing a quick lunch we visit Kensington Palace. They had a special exhibit on Princess Diana's dresses. After touring the palace we took a tea and scone break at the gift shop, then visited the sunken garden.

A Catherine Walker day suit owned by Diana

More of Diana's dresses

Break time

So many tulips! And clouds.

After the palace we headed toward the City of London and walked around St. Paul's Cathedral, then across the Millennium Bridge. Happening to see the Globe Theater we stopped in to see about attending a show, but the only tickets available (for the next night) had obstructed views and since it's an open-air theater it would have been pretty freezing. Next time. Then we visited the Tate Modern. By this point we were pretty tired and achy (getting old!) and hungry, so we didn't enjoy the modern art quite as much as we might have otherwise. When we finally found a comfy bench to rest on we were stuck with a view of Duchamp's Fountain.

St. Paul's

A view of the Globe across the Thames

"Art"

We cut our time at the Tate short and walked back over the river to Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese for dinner. It's a really old pub that was frequented by literary guys like Charles Dickens, and was also the site of my end-of-semester party when I'd studied abroad. After dinner on our walk to a Tube station we happened upon a sign for Samuel Johnson's house, and naturally wanted to take a peak. The sign was a bit misleading and turned us down an alley, and more signs kept pointing us farther down the dark (kinda scary) winding alley so that at one point Celia said "this is the nerdiest way to die." But we finally found his house and we didn't die.

Fish and chips! And mashed peas! And a pint!

Sunday we enjoyed our last breakfast in our apartment (finishing off the sparkling wine in mimosas), then packed up our things and walked a few blocks to our new accommodations, a fancy five-star hotel looking directly across at Kensington Palace. (Don't forget, this was a work trip for Celia and we didn't have to pay for either of these awesome places.) After checking in (the butler said we had the "best junior suite") and getting a little tour of the joint we headed out for a tour of the Tower of London.

Our new digs.

View from our only window. If you zoom in, that's Kensington Palace behind the big tree in the forefront.

We spent several hours at the Tower of London, first enjoying a guided tour with a beefeater, then wandering all the other sites inside on our own. The place is so old! And we got to see the crown jewels. It was also really cold.

Tower of London

Neat Tudor buildings inside the Tower of London

Tower selfie. That building is from the 11th century!

View of Tower Bridge

Guarding the Crown Jewels

We finished up at the Tower just as it was closing. From there we headed to Trafalgar Square, then walked to an Indian restaurant (Dishoom) in Covent Garden that our concierge had recommended. We had to wait outside in the freezing cold for about 45 minutes, but they brought us hot drinks which was nice. And the food, once we finally got to sit and eat it, was delicious.

Trafalgar Square

Dinner!

After dinner we headed back to our hotel, where we found scones and Negroni makings. The Negroni makings were compliments of the hotel (they said Meghan Markel likes them), and we later learned the scones were actually thanks to my brother calling up the hotel!

Drink makings and late-night scones.

Monday morning we enjoyed traditional English breakfasts at the hotel, then took a train ride out to Windsor. Celia had an interview scheduled with a shoe company so I looked in touristy shops and got a coffee until she was done. Then we headed into Windsor Castle! We got the audio guides and listened to all the stops. St. George's Chapel is inside, and is where the royal wedding is happening soon. We were there for a few hours, then enjoyed a cream tea break before our train ride back to London.

Breakfast! (Yes, I at least tasted all of it.)

Windsor Castle

 

Windsor Castle selfie!

St. George's Chapel

Cream Tea

 

Back at the hotel we changed into nicer clothes, then went to a dinner appointment with a PR person. The restaurant (Galvin at Windows) was on the 28th floor and had amazing views of the city. The sky also cleared for the first time during our trip so we could actually see the sunset! The food was fancy and French, and really good. Before we left for the night our waitress said she had a special treat for us, and walked us through the kitchen to a small balcony with a view of the full moon and lights of the city below.

Dinner views

fancy appetizer

special treat night view

Tuesday was our last day, and the most hectic. After another nice breakfast in the hotel we went across the street for the Kensington Palace photo op we'd missed the day we'd visited, then hopped on a bus and headed to Celia's interview with a well-known clothing atelier (maker of the red suit above). It was pretty neat to see the workshop and get to sit in on the interview. From there we went to two more interviews with royal warrant holding jewelers, and at the first one we each got to try on a diamond tiara!

Fancy photo-op Kensington Palace gate

We loved riding in the front on the top of the bus!

Gorgeous fancy clothes

 

Festive Piccadilly (and blue skies!)

The interviews ran a little long, and as soon as we finished with the second jeweler we had to rush back to the hotel to change clothes, check out, and head our separate ways to different airports.

It was a short trip, but so much fun. And while I repeated some of the same touristy things I'd done years ago, I also got to experience a much fancier side of the city thanks to Celia's work situation. I'm so grateful she invited me!