Happy Sunday/Easter/April Fool’s Day, all!
We are FINALLY settled in our apartment in Southern Arizona. I have a lot to share on the move and our new home, but I’m going to take a little more time to find my bearings. Today’s post is all about the trip to London we took two weeks ago.
Three months before our move to Arizona, I came across an amazing deal for a direct flight from Seattle to London. We’d been planning to use a few days of PTO to extend the road trip down the coast to check out the Redwoods, San Francisco, and maybe even San Diego. But once I saw this deal, I could not get the idea of us exploring London out of my head. Most of our previous travels have included a beach, but we’d always talked about visiting Europe and both had London on each of our perspective must see cities. I pitched it to The Mr. and there was some brief hesitation on adding a trip abroad the same week we drove across the country to our new home, but in the end we bit the bullet. Less than $1000 later for both tickets (told you it was amazing!!) and the two of us were booked for 4 full days of adventure in London, England.
Flight
We flew Norwegian Airlines from SeaTac to Gatwick airport outside London. It was a 9.5 hour red eye flight. The plane was the largest I’ve ever flown on. Each row had 3 sets of 3 seats, and there were at least 30 rows. It was a newer plane with outlets for charging, a free entertainment system on the back of every seat, and the option to buy snacks and drinks from your entertainment console. The attendants don’t offer any free beverages or snacks like on American based airlines. But we were aware of that and brought giant water bottles and our own snacks.
I don’t mind red eyes. When we lived in Alaska, that’s all we flew to get back to the Midwest or the South. We both managed to get 3-4 hours of sleep and after exploring the entire morning (the flight arrived at 7am), we took one short nap to get us through the rest of the day.
I’d definitely recommend Norwegian! Just be aware you pay for all extras- whether it be specific seats, food, water, bags, etc. I’ve been told that’s pretty typical of European airlines. The ability to get from the west coast to Europe in one overnight flight was completely worth it to us.
Hotel
We stayed at the The Belgrave in the Victoria neighborhood of London. From the Gatwick Express (a direct train from the airport to Victoria station), it’s a very short walk down the gorgeous residential and hotel lined Belgrave street to get to our hotel. They held our bags as we arrived so early in the morning and encouraged us to freshen up in their lobby bathroom. The hotel was a perfect home base for our visit. The rooms are small but modern. Beautiful windows overlook Belgrave street. We spent hardly any time beyond sleeping in our room, so for a clean, modern, private, comfy room at $140/night – it was perfect.
The location worked well for us too. There are so many things to see spread out all over the city, it’s hard for me to say what the best neighborhood to get a hotel would be. Victoria had so many restaurant, cafe, and pub options just a short walk from our hotel, and we were less than a quarter of a mile from Pimlico underground station connecting us to the entire city.
Transportation
On the first day, we walked. And walked. And walked. 25,000 steps later and my husband pleaded for us to figure out the London Underground (I feel like you have to be far cooler and far more British than me to call it The Tube). I had done some preliminary research and had been confused on how tourists can get Oyster cards and how far we can travel with them. Well my husband’s desperation to not walk so far ended up with him just walking up to the visitor’s centre and putting twenty pounds each on two Oyster cards for both of us.
It was completely worth it. We ended up using them multiple times a day the following 3 days, and BONUS, we were able to cash out any unused money after our last ride. I absolutely recommend doing this. Don’t force yourself to walk miles upon miles, or waste stupid amounts of money on ubers or taxis. The cards also work for buses! And you know we had to try a double decker bus a couple of times as well.
Things To Do & See
I’ve dreamt of visiting London since I was young. With nearly 2,000 years of history, the city bristles with stories and references on every street. From historical books in social studies classes to television and movies. From the graves of Geoffrey Chaucer and Isaac Newton in Westminster Abbey, to the ancient Egyptian relics in the British Museum, to bridges and buildings featured in some of my favorite movies (Harry Potter and Love Actually, anyone?!).
I made a four day itinerary. Yes, yes I am Type-A 🙂 We strayed from “the plan” pretty often unless we had pre-paid tickets, but it helped guide our days so we’re able to see much as we could.
All four days were COLD. It literally snowed 3 of the 4 days. And since the movers showed up to take the bulk of our stuff a week before we left for London – we were caught by surprise and packed too light. I ending up buying a hat, mittens, and a scarf before our trip was over.
Despite the cold, we made the most of it and had such an amazing time. I’ll let the pictures do most of the story telling:
Buckingham Palace
Westminster Abbey
London Eye
Walking the South Bank & Millennium Bridge
Harry Potter Studios Tour
Platform 9 ¾ at King’s Cross
British Library
Camden Market
British Museum
Breakfast in Westminster & The Churchill War Rooms
National Gallery
The Comedy about a Bank Robbery
St. Paddy’s Day in Trafalgar Square
London Streets
My favorite part of London, despite the cold, was simply walking the streets together. Hand in hand, repeating “wow” and “that’s beautiful” over and over. We were memorized by the gorgeous architecture and colorful flats. Listening to the charming British accents all around us and spotting the pubs on nearly every corner. After everything we saw, it sounds ludicrous, but walks in London Town were the best.
Two weeks later and I’m so happy we put in the effort and finances to make this trip happen. We had A LOT going on before and after this trip. Things we hadn’t even anticipated were sprung on us, and yet this trip was the perfect break from all of it.
Looking forward to many more adventures in cities across the world with my love.
“Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”
― Samuel Johnsonxo,
