This summer, I went on a 2 week cruise in Italy, Turkey, Croatia, and Greece! It was amazing, so stay tuned for some blogging on that. This was my first time there and I loved London so much I can’t wait to go back!
I typically skip talking about travel days when I blog if it isn’t any time spent doing local things. I flew into Stanstead in the evening. The views from the plane coming into the city were amazing, by the way. Highly recommend coming in during the day and having a window seat, but I may have just been lucky to have a clear day. Anyways, we went to our Air BnB before going to the local cinema that night. If you don’t want to use Air BnB, here are some great hotels in the same area we stayed!
Day 1
Iconic London
The first full day in London was definitely my favorite. We walked all over the place exploring downtown London. We took the train from our place in Putney straight to Waterloo station. As a side note, the train was extremely smooth, quick, and clean. Waterloo station is basically right by the London Eye and Big Ben, so we walked down to see both. We grabbed a coffee and croissant at a little cafe and walked across the Westminster Bridge and up to Trafalgar Square.
Trafalgar Square
If you google Trafalgar Square, it is basically the center of London The National Gallery, Nelson’s column- a statue honoring the Royal Navy admiral, fountains and lion statues are a few of the things you can see in this spot. There are also public restrooms there- I believe it cost 50 pence. We didn’t go into the gallery, but it was a nice place to rest and cool off. You can also see Buckingham Palace down the street from the square. Unfortunately, that ended up being as close as we got to it-you’ll see why later in the post.
Covent Garden
From the square, we decided to continue walking down to Covent Garden. This was one of the most iconic walks we took (in my opinion). There were tons of UK flags, the familiar red telephone booths, a few pubs, and tons of theaters with broadway shows. Covent Garden is like a huge farmers market. With local venders all around selling different goods, it gave me the opportunity to shop for nicer things, but also the typical touristy trinkets.
From there, we went on the hunt for a Sunday roast. Most pubs have them on Sundays, but we walked around a bit before we chose The Lamb and Flag. Have you had Sunday roast? It was honestly one of the best things I’ve ever eaten-I dream about it! Generally it comes with roast sirloin beef, Yorkshire pudding (heads up: this is not the pudding you’re thinking of if you’re American), potatoes and veggies of some kind, and gravy. This particular pub spouts being a place where men like Charles Dickens and the poet, John Dryden frequented back in the day.
London Dungeon
I didn’t mention it yet, but we were in London on Wimbledon weekend. We didn’t go to any matches, but we did find a pub after lunch and shopping so we could watch on TV. We just had a beer and relaxed out of the heat. I know London isn’t known for the hot weather, but it was hitting record highs the weekend we were there!
After that, we walked back towards the eye and went to the London Dungeon. This was a really cool experience that I would highly recommend. It walks you through the history of the city; from Guy Fawkes, to the fire of London, to Jack the Ripper. It was a fun way to learn more about the city and all it’s been through. Coming from America, it is hard to believe how much history has occurred in England in comparison. I will say, it might be too scary for children.
The London Dungeon is right by the eye on the Thames. It was almost sundown when we finished the tour so we decided we better get some fish and chips. John is always going on about how our fish and chips aren’t the same in America. To be fair, it was pretty delicious. Plus, the area was all outdoors with food truck-type vendors and a lot of green space. There was even a skate park. We hung out there for a little while before going back to our apartment for the night.
Day 2
Thorpe Park
Some of you may not be interested in going to theme parks on vacation, and if that’s the case, feel free to skip ahead to the end of the day. Personally, I love amusement parks, so we decided to spend a day at Thorpe Park. It is a smaller park compared to ones we’ve been to in America, but it was still a really good time! I would recommend if you go during the summer to get the fast pass so you can skip lines. It would’ve been worth it for sure! Note: Thorpe Park is about an hour outside of the city, so you probably need a car to get there.
As I said earlier, it was a really hot weekend. Luckily, there are a few water rides at Thorpe Park. One of which has a splash zone. You can stand in the area and wait for the raft from “Tidal Wave” to go down the slide to get wet from the massive splash. I was hot, but I do not enjoy walking around soaking wet! It looked like a fun ride if you want to get completely soaked, but the line was ridiculously long, so we skipped it.
Another ride worth a mention is “Stealth”. It basically shoots you straight up and right back down, so its quick, but super thrilling! And as a bonus, it might help you dry off after you ride “Tidal Wave”. My third mention, and possibly my favorite ride of the day, is the “Saw” roller coaster. Another thriller- I don’t want to spoil it, but it’s a must-ride.
Back in Putney
After the park, we drove back to Putney, showered, and found a pub called Revolution for dinner. It seemed like it would be a hoppin’ place on a Friday or Saturday night, but since it was Sunday, we were basically the only people there. After dinner we decided to walk down to the river, which was close by and a nice way to end the day.
Day 3
The London Eye
Day 3 started with a reservation to ride the London Eye, which I know is touristy, but it was awesome. 10/10 recommend. The link attached is where I got our tickets. If you have a reservation (honestly, you need one!), there is still a line to wait in, but I personally don’t think the line was bad enough to spend 20 bucks extra for fast track. That’s just me. If you are afraid of heights, obviously you might want to skip this one. The “eyes” are really nice; air conditioned in the summer, spacious, and there is even a bench you can sit on. You get 365 degree views of the city, and it offers a photo op that you can buy when you get off.
Tower of London and Tower Bridge
After the eye, we drove down toward Tower bridge where we found a pub right under the south side of the bridge. We were able to sit out on a patio on the river and relax a bit before crossing the bridge. You can walk or drive across this bridge, which provided some cool views.
Tickets for the Tower of London are 30 pounds. Inside you can see the live ravens that have remained on the grounds for centuries as its guardians, the Crown Jewels (protected by guards of course), some instruments of torture that were used on prisoners in the tower, and the White Tower.
I’m writing this about 2 weeks after Queen Elizabeth II has passed. This is particularly important to note because the next time I am in London, the Crown Jewels will be replaced with the new King’s. It is so cool that we were able to see the Queen’s jewels before they are removed. And now, if we go to the tower again, we can see something new. It was extremely impressive, and besides the jewels, there was a lot of history about England’s royal family and traditions.
The Globe Theater
After the Tower of London, we decided to take the semi-long jaunt down the Thames to the Globe Theater. If I’m being completely honest, it was a bit underwhelming. If you are extremely into theater, you might feel differently. There are also tours you can take of the inside, or of course, see a show.
Walking the Thames
On our walk to the theater, we stayed right along the river for the most part. We passed a lot of pubs teaming with people getting off work and having a happy hour drink. We decided to stop in one on our way back toward the car. Another traditional meal I had to try was a meat pie. We got a wild boar meat pie to share because I wasn’t too hungry, but it was really good!
One other thing to note on this walk was the art. Specifically, there were about 10 ape statues along the walk. It was cool to see them and some of the other art along the walk. We also walked past a sort-of amphitheater that was playing “Dirty Dancing”. It was so random I had to stop and watch for a little bit.
As we found our car, we decided to do a drive-by of Buckingham Palace since we didn’t get to see it on the first day. To our dismay, there was a fire at one of the pubs in Trafalgar Square that evening, and all the roads were closed off to the palace. We circled around to try to find another entrance, but no luck. We did get to see Westminister Abby though! We decided to just go back to the apartment and I will be sure to see it next time!
Traveling home
So, I left from Gatwick which was kind of annoying because it charges just to drop off (not even park!). There are pros and cons to all 3 main airports in London, so just figure out what works best for you.
If you’re interested in more London content, read more HERE!
