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Each day we immersed ourselves in the grand history of England and soaked up the welcoming British culture. Join us while we remember our 7 day holiday journey in the "IT" city of 2012! |
Well, I had to get my Royal fix along with all the other Anglophiles this June. As expected, despite the rain coming down in sheets at the end, the pageantry of the grand flotilla on the Thames was majestic, Kate looked beautiful and the Queen looked happy with the extravaganza. I missed the concert, but I did catch the Royals parading back to Buckingham Palace in their landaus and the images of the British people by the thousands cheering their queen when she stepped out on the balcony would make even a Yank tear up.
Between Queen Elizabeth’s jubilee and the Olympics this summer, London is the IT city this year. Jim and I spent a week in London in December last year and everywhere you looked, they were sprucing up for the two big events. I have never seen so much scaffolding in one town in my life. Fortunately the scaffolding overhead didn’t diminish our visit at all.
I am going to reveal a secret that I almost hate to share since we had such a great time. We arranged to be in London from November 29th through December 6th. Now here is the secret! London decorates for Christmas on November 28th since they don’t have our holiday Thanksgiving to arrange first! When we arrived on the 29th, the pubs had decorated with their Christmas trees and twinkle lights, the store fronts were bedecked with garlands and people were already in the Christmas spirit. ALL WITHOUT THE CROWDS OF TOURISTS WHO COME DURING CHRISTMAS!
Now everything is relative, so when I say no tourists, I mean in comparison to the hordes that descend literally a few days before Christmas for a “Dickens Christmas” or in the summer. There were still lots of people on the street. What was really fun was that many of them were from other parts of England and were in the city to Christmas shop or attend holiday parties, so the city seemed extra British if that’s possible.
Between Queen Elizabeth’s jubilee and the Olympics this summer, London is the IT city this year. Jim and I spent a week in London in December last year and everywhere you looked, they were sprucing up for the two big events. I have never seen so much scaffolding in one town in my life. Fortunately the scaffolding overhead didn’t diminish our visit at all.
I am going to reveal a secret that I almost hate to share since we had such a great time. We arranged to be in London from November 29th through December 6th. Now here is the secret! London decorates for Christmas on November 28th since they don’t have our holiday Thanksgiving to arrange first! When we arrived on the 29th, the pubs had decorated with their Christmas trees and twinkle lights, the store fronts were bedecked with garlands and people were already in the Christmas spirit. ALL WITHOUT THE CROWDS OF TOURISTS WHO COME DURING CHRISTMAS!
Now everything is relative, so when I say no tourists, I mean in comparison to the hordes that descend literally a few days before Christmas for a “Dickens Christmas” or in the summer. There were still lots of people on the street. What was really fun was that many of them were from other parts of England and were in the city to Christmas shop or attend holiday parties, so the city seemed extra British if that’s possible.
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You must approach London with a plan even in the winter. This world class city has so many great sites to see, history to explore and museums full of amazing art and artifacts that you could spend weeks going to all of them, so we decided to approach it strategically (well, actually, the strategic part was Jim’s suggestion). I did create the spreadsheet though!
Here was our plan........ READ MORE
(click here for U-Tube video version on your mobile device)
Here was our plan........ READ MORE
(click here for U-Tube video version on your mobile device)
Day 2 - All the Icons and Covent Garden Too!
We woke up ready to tackle two of the must-sees of London, the Changing of the Guard and Westminster Abbey.
Yes, I know the Changing of the Guard is looked down upon as another cliché tourist event, but you really shouldn’t miss it.
Since I had been to London before, I already knew that you MUST get to the gates of Buckingham Palace at least 45 minutes early if want to be close enough to the gate to see the actual exchange of guards. The Changing of the Guard is held only every other day in London, so you should be sure to check the schedule online or ask at your hotel desk before you go. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes because you will be standing for a long, long, longggggggggg time! Older people or those with back problems should bring one of those fold-up canvas stools. No kidding........ READ MORE
(click here for U-Tube video version on your mobile device)
Yes, I know the Changing of the Guard is looked down upon as another cliché tourist event, but you really shouldn’t miss it.
Since I had been to London before, I already knew that you MUST get to the gates of Buckingham Palace at least 45 minutes early if want to be close enough to the gate to see the actual exchange of guards. The Changing of the Guard is held only every other day in London, so you should be sure to check the schedule online or ask at your hotel desk before you go. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes because you will be standing for a long, long, longggggggggg time! Older people or those with back problems should bring one of those fold-up canvas stools. No kidding........ READ MORE
(click here for U-Tube video version on your mobile device)
Day 3 - Cruising the Thames to the Tower of London
A bright beautiful morning……..perfect for a cruise on the Thames!
Fortunately our trusty London Pass also included three stops on a Thames River cruise. We didn’t have time for all three, so we maximized our cruising benefit by catching the boat at Westminster and disembarking at the Tower of London. There is no better way to approach Traitors Gate! It is impossible not to think of the sad royals like Anne Boleyn who floated slowly under the stone arches and under the sharp points of the ironwork gate. READ MORE
(click here for U-Tube video version on your mobile device)
Fortunately our trusty London Pass also included three stops on a Thames River cruise. We didn’t have time for all three, so we maximized our cruising benefit by catching the boat at Westminster and disembarking at the Tower of London. There is no better way to approach Traitors Gate! It is impossible not to think of the sad royals like Anne Boleyn who floated slowly under the stone arches and under the sharp points of the ironwork gate. READ MORE
(click here for U-Tube video version on your mobile device)
Day 4 - Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and a Christmas Market in Bath
An Early Morning at Windsor Castle -
While planning our trip, we decided that for at least one day we would leave the work of travel to someone else, so we booked an all day van trip online through International Friends Tours. We loved it. The tour included Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath.
The van picked us up a block away from our hotel early in the morning and we had less than a dozen people in our group. This is what I consider the optimal group size; small enough to feel like you are traveling with friends. We were really lucky because our guide was a friendly older gentleman filled with loads of knowledge and really funny too. Jim and I have had some really amazingly bad (and boring!) guides….fortunately they weren’t in London.
As we pulled into our first stop, Windsor Castle, we found that because we were driving a van, we could pull right up to the front gate passing by the huge mega busloads of tourists stopping at the large parking lot at the other end of the village of Windsor. Yeah! Another reason to avoid the big bus tours! We hopped off at the ticket office and were among the first inside the castle walls when the ticket office opened. READ MORE
Druids Among the Stones at Stonehenge
How often does a tourist stumble upon a Druid Ceremony at Stonehenge? We were amazingly lucky to watch what appeared to be a very serious spiritual ceremony among those huge standing stones. I could imagine that Stonehenge without the trail of tourists following the road around the site would be quite impressive. It’s impressive even with them!
Nobody really knows why the great stones were carried so far and arranged as they are. Was it a giant calendar? A healing center? A place to worship the dead? There are lots of theories, but one thing everyone agrees upon is that ever since its construction 3500 years ago, it has been a deeply spiritual place.
The cluster of stone is ringed by great green fields dotted with white fluffy sheep calmly munching the grass while posing for tourist photos almost as if they knew that they were an equally important component of the Stonehenge experience. The clusters of clouds blowing across the sky shaded and lit the stones alternately adding to the drama of the scene.
Druids in cloaks or long robes, some hooded gathered at the center of the ring of stones heads bowed listening to an invocation we tourists could not hear from our ring road, so it was like watching a silent movie with only the wind whispering by our ears. I couldn’t stop taking pictures as they broke up to commune with the stones, brushing them with their hands, leaning in to listen to them and quietly wandering among the towering monoliths wrapped in their own thoughts.
Fascinating……I felt privileged to have a peek into what was obviously a special moment at Stonehenge. What more can I say?
(click here for U-Tube video version on your mobile device)
While planning our trip, we decided that for at least one day we would leave the work of travel to someone else, so we booked an all day van trip online through International Friends Tours. We loved it. The tour included Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath.
The van picked us up a block away from our hotel early in the morning and we had less than a dozen people in our group. This is what I consider the optimal group size; small enough to feel like you are traveling with friends. We were really lucky because our guide was a friendly older gentleman filled with loads of knowledge and really funny too. Jim and I have had some really amazingly bad (and boring!) guides….fortunately they weren’t in London.
As we pulled into our first stop, Windsor Castle, we found that because we were driving a van, we could pull right up to the front gate passing by the huge mega busloads of tourists stopping at the large parking lot at the other end of the village of Windsor. Yeah! Another reason to avoid the big bus tours! We hopped off at the ticket office and were among the first inside the castle walls when the ticket office opened. READ MORE
Druids Among the Stones at Stonehenge
How often does a tourist stumble upon a Druid Ceremony at Stonehenge? We were amazingly lucky to watch what appeared to be a very serious spiritual ceremony among those huge standing stones. I could imagine that Stonehenge without the trail of tourists following the road around the site would be quite impressive. It’s impressive even with them!
Nobody really knows why the great stones were carried so far and arranged as they are. Was it a giant calendar? A healing center? A place to worship the dead? There are lots of theories, but one thing everyone agrees upon is that ever since its construction 3500 years ago, it has been a deeply spiritual place.
The cluster of stone is ringed by great green fields dotted with white fluffy sheep calmly munching the grass while posing for tourist photos almost as if they knew that they were an equally important component of the Stonehenge experience. The clusters of clouds blowing across the sky shaded and lit the stones alternately adding to the drama of the scene.
Druids in cloaks or long robes, some hooded gathered at the center of the ring of stones heads bowed listening to an invocation we tourists could not hear from our ring road, so it was like watching a silent movie with only the wind whispering by our ears. I couldn’t stop taking pictures as they broke up to commune with the stones, brushing them with their hands, leaning in to listen to them and quietly wandering among the towering monoliths wrapped in their own thoughts.
Fascinating……I felt privileged to have a peek into what was obviously a special moment at Stonehenge. What more can I say?
(click here for U-Tube video version on your mobile device)
Bath…… Historic Roman and Georgian Spa City
……… city where Jane Austen, romantic novelist of the turn of the 19th century, wrote satire about social life in the England of her time.
On the drive into Bath our driver/guide gave us the news that most of the population of England would be in Bath that day. Why? The Christmas Market of course! Be aware that BUSLOADS of British citizens descend upon Bath for the festive holiday market treats. Determined to brave the crowds we drove on. Driving into Bath is a descent from the surrounding hills to crescents of curved Neo-classical Georgian town homes and stately avenues. READ MORE
……… city where Jane Austen, romantic novelist of the turn of the 19th century, wrote satire about social life in the England of her time.
On the drive into Bath our driver/guide gave us the news that most of the population of England would be in Bath that day. Why? The Christmas Market of course! Be aware that BUSLOADS of British citizens descend upon Bath for the festive holiday market treats. Determined to brave the crowds we drove on. Driving into Bath is a descent from the surrounding hills to crescents of curved Neo-classical Georgian town homes and stately avenues. READ MORE
Day 5 - The British Museum
You can’t go to London and not visit the famous repository of those treasures brought back to England by British Archaeologists, Anthropologists, Historians and Explorers, THE BRITISH MUSEUM. The museum has a large collection and since I had been there in 2001, I could play the magnanimous spouse and steer Jim to the area of the museum I knew he would like best, the galleries containing ancient artifacts from Egypt, Greece and Assyria. READ MORE
(click here for U-Tube video version on your mobile device)
(click here for U-Tube video version on your mobile device)
Day 5 continued.....
Trafalgar Square and a Double-Decker Bus Ride
Just a quick note……..
Don’t take an open air bus ride on a rainy day! Or a freezing cold day! We did both of those and it was really uncomfortable. Also, do NOT use the hop on hop off buses for transportation between sites. The traffic is so bad that it can take HOURS to make the circuit of the tour map. If you want to take an open air bus ride around London, plan it as an attraction to which you want to devote half a day. The sites are spectacular from the top deck of the bus and the tour is definitely worth taking since it offers a really great perspective of the city. A recorded audio provides lots of information about the sites you will see. But remember….. Use the Underground or a Taxi if you really want to get somewhere in a timely manner! Jim and I abandoned the tour at the Strand to sample a few of the dark timbered, hoppy smelling, impressively old pubs that are sprinkled along what used to be the hangout of writers such as Charles Dickens, Ralph Waldo Emerson and William Makepeace Thackeray.
Don’t miss Trafalgar Square. The sculptures and fountains are beautiful and people climb all over the huge bronze lions peacefully curled up on their plinths to pose for pictures. It is the home of the National Gallery which is my favorite art museum in London. The gallery is full of old master paintings. This is a museum where you will want to find out where the famous masterpieces are or even just your favorite art historical period so you can navigate to them first because the galleries go on for what seems like miles full of stunning works. No pictures allowed though so you will have to go there to see them!
Trafalgar Square and a Double-Decker Bus Ride
Just a quick note……..
Don’t take an open air bus ride on a rainy day! Or a freezing cold day! We did both of those and it was really uncomfortable. Also, do NOT use the hop on hop off buses for transportation between sites. The traffic is so bad that it can take HOURS to make the circuit of the tour map. If you want to take an open air bus ride around London, plan it as an attraction to which you want to devote half a day. The sites are spectacular from the top deck of the bus and the tour is definitely worth taking since it offers a really great perspective of the city. A recorded audio provides lots of information about the sites you will see. But remember….. Use the Underground or a Taxi if you really want to get somewhere in a timely manner! Jim and I abandoned the tour at the Strand to sample a few of the dark timbered, hoppy smelling, impressively old pubs that are sprinkled along what used to be the hangout of writers such as Charles Dickens, Ralph Waldo Emerson and William Makepeace Thackeray.
Don’t miss Trafalgar Square. The sculptures and fountains are beautiful and people climb all over the huge bronze lions peacefully curled up on their plinths to pose for pictures. It is the home of the National Gallery which is my favorite art museum in London. The gallery is full of old master paintings. This is a museum where you will want to find out where the famous masterpieces are or even just your favorite art historical period so you can navigate to them first because the galleries go on for what seems like miles full of stunning works. No pictures allowed though so you will have to go there to see them!
Last Day - Visiting Tudor England at Hampton Court
If you have time while in London, make the pilgrimage to Hampton Court to see the grand palace built to house monarchs, their courtiers and an army of servants. The palace is located in zone 6 of the London Travel Pass and can be reached easily by train. Jim and I took the underground to Waterloo Station and caught the train directly to Hampton Court. Super easy!
When we got there, the sprawling palace lay across the river, its opulent red brick facade bedecked with turrets jutting above gatehouses where delicately carved white stone trim highlighted the façade and mythical stone beasts guarded the great wooden doors. A Clock tower with bell peeped up behind the palace walls. We crossed the bridge and were soon greeted by friendly museum staff and provided with audio guides. The guides were really informative, so definitely pick one up before entering the palace rooms. READ MORE
(click here for U-Tube video version on your mobile device)
When we got there, the sprawling palace lay across the river, its opulent red brick facade bedecked with turrets jutting above gatehouses where delicately carved white stone trim highlighted the façade and mythical stone beasts guarded the great wooden doors. A Clock tower with bell peeped up behind the palace walls. We crossed the bridge and were soon greeted by friendly museum staff and provided with audio guides. The guides were really informative, so definitely pick one up before entering the palace rooms. READ MORE
(click here for U-Tube video version on your mobile device)
- All Photo Montage Music provided by Premiumbeat.com
Links Around the World
These are some links to my favorite travel blogs! Hecktic Travels The Grumpy Traveler Go See Write Finding the Universe
Here are some links to interesting and helpful websites! The Travel Guru Inside the Travel Lab Brendan's Adventures
All links are merely my personal areas of interest and are not to be considered an endorsement or an agreement with any content contained within the websites.