About 3 weeks ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to London with my dad. He called me about a week beforehand – he was going for a work meeting and asked if I wanted to tag along and turn it into a Father Daughter trip. Of course I did!!
We flew overnight and arrived at Heathrow at 9am. After heading straight to Nottinghamshire for a meeting (where I scoped out the local scene, tried to see a castle but it was closed [who closes a castle?], saw a beautiful old church, and grabbed a drink at a local pub), Dad & I headed back to London. Though we were tired, we had to take advantage of our first night in London! We took the tube (which I, of course, loved and caused all kinds of nostalgia for New York) into Piccadilly Circus. After roaming the area, we decided on dinner at The White Horse where we split a traditional steak ‘n ale pie and a chicken & ham pie. A great introduction to London.
On our second day in London, we opted for a traditional English breakfast at The Sherlock Holmes – a pub recommended by the concierge at our hotel (Amba Hotel Charing Cross – which we LOVED, by the way). For a lover of mystery fiction, I was giddy about this pub. It was a low-key place with wood accents and just two guys working; I could imagine Sherlock here. To my delight, they had a nod to Arthur Conan Doyle (as an aspiring author, I’m glad the author was acknowledged). There was even a wall full of pieces of evidence from Sherlock’s solved mysteries. Needless to say, I’ll be back here on my next trip to London. To top it all off, the food was delicious.
After this, Dad & I crossed over to the south bank where we saw the London Eye and Big Ben for the first time, framing the River Thames. We caught a hop-on hop-off bus to the London Bridge. Yes, the London Bridge. Which is NOT the Tower Bridge. The London Bridge is a completely nondescript bridge but getting off at the London Bridge stop allowed us to see the Tower Bridge from a distance as we walked the remaining distance toward it. The Tower Bridge really is beautiful. I love the blue detailing. The area around the south bank side of the bridge is really unique with a brewery and narrow, cobblestone streets. After roaming around that area for a bit, we crossed the Tower Bridge over to the London Tower. From here, we walked west to St. Paul’s Cathedral. I wish pictures were allowed inside of St. Paul’s because it was different from so many cathedrals that I’ve seen in that it was so bright – white stones and gleaming gold chandeliers. It was very pretty.
From St. Paul’s, we caught a bus to Buckingham Palace. I was surprised to see only three guards in front of the palace! I’ve always thought of palaces and castles to be something from a Disney story (or at least like some of the ones I’ve seen pictures of in Germany), but Buckingham Palace is essentially just a huge rectangle. If I had a palace, I would have some towers and turrets :) It was neat to see, though, and the gate was impressively grand. I loved Victoria Memorial – now that is an entrance.
Leaving Buckingham Palace, we walked through St. James Park. It was beautiful in March, so I can only imagine what it would be like in spring and summer. It started to rain (it had been gloomy all day with spotty sprinkling but now it really started to pour), so we ducked into Westminster Arms – Shepherd Neame pub. Come to find out, it was included in the TimeOut London pubs & bars guide, and when I looked it up later I found out that the pub is favored by politicians and journos. Makes sense sine it’s near Houses of Parliament.
After waiting out the rain, we headed toward Houses of Parliament, making a detour through the Westminster Abbey cloisters. Once we saw Big Ben, Elizabeth Tower, and Parliament up close we hopped on a bus back to Trafalgar Square. Only now did we realize how close our hotel truly was to everything. We could have walked from Big Ben to our hotel in less than 10 minutes. It was the perfect location, right near Trafalgar Square, with Covent Garden to the north, the palace to the east, and the Thames to the south!
On Trafalgar Square, we ducked into a pub called The Admiralty that quickly became our spot in our short time in London. We each got a pint and chatted with a friendly, native London couple. When we returned to our room, we found a bottle of merlot, chocolate truffles, and a handwritten note from the woman who had checked us in – like I said, we loved our hotel. After a jam-packed day, Dad & I decided on dinner at Lupita, a low-key Mexican restaurant around the corner from our hotel. With freshly made guacamole, a pitcher of mezcal margaritas, and a delicious burrito, how can you go wrong? It was a really nice night spent talking and relaxing with my dad.
The next day, Dad had to head up to Northampton for a meeting so I was on my own for the morning to early afternoon. I started my day by blasting ‘London Calling’ and dancing around the hotel room. I believe everyone visiting London should start at least one day this way. After that, I walked back over to the south bank and grabbed a hot chocolate from a local vendor right under the bridge and strolled through Jubilee Garden admiring views of the London Eye and Big Ben. I then wandered over to the south bank book market and showed remarkable self-restraint by not buying a pile of books. After that impressive feat, I walked back over the Thames and headed towards Big Ben to get some close up pictures. Once satisfied with my shots, I walked up to Trafalgar Square and on to Charing Cross Station to pick up a £5 day bus ticket and then hopped on a bus to Abbey Road!
Seeing as I ended up at Abbey Road alone, I had to ask a total stranger to take a completely cliche (but totally necessary) picture of myself recreating the Beatles album cover on a crosswalk that is still very much in use (and busy!). Luckily, I encountered a very enthusiastic group who seemed to have no issue stopping traffic multiple times in order to get their perfect picture, so I asked one of them.
After catching a bus back to Trafalgar Square, I walked toward Covent Garden. I stopped by Patisserie Valerie to get a scone with butter and jam (which was delicious). I really enjoyed Covent Garden, and I’m so glad I stumbled upon Covent Garden Market! I grabbed some Ben’s Cookies to take back for my mom, little brother, and husband (and myself), then headed back to the hotel to meet my dad for the rest of the day.
We walked back to Covent Garden Market and strolled around there for a while. For dinner, we opted for a traditional fish and chips (supposedly the original fish and chips) place – The Rock & Sole Plaice. It was a tiny little place but the atmosphere was exactly what we were hoping for, just a very local place. I’ve never had fish and chips, so I would guess there’s no better place to try them than London! Having now tried them, I’m definitely a fan.
After dinner, we walked around aimlessly, just enjoying our last evening in London. We stopped into a Hotel Chocolat, a British chocolatier. The sample caramel-filled chocolate bunny they gave us was so good that I bought some to take home. After ending up back in Piccadilly Circus, we headed back toward Trafalgar Square and The Admiralty for one last pint in an English pub. When we left The Admiralty, we weren’t quite ready to end the trip just yet so we walked down The Strand (the street our hotel was on) and ended up at Garfunkel’s restaurant for a late night snack and chocolate milkshakes. Evenually, we had to get back to our hotel because our flight home was early the next morning. It was a perfect last night in London with my dad.
I am so lucky and immensely grateful that I was able to explore more of Europe, and it is so special to me that I got to do this with my dad. I couldn’t have asked for a better trip! Cheerio London!
Dad & I on the flight to London!
While dad was in Nottinghamshire for a quick meeting, I was able to stop by St. Mary’s Church (c. 1109).
Our first venture into London – Piccadilly Circus!
To me, this picture is quintessential London town — great architecture, red double decker bus, and a traditional black taxi cab.
our hotel! right next to Charing Cross Station – we LOVED it
The Sherlock Holmes – pub where we ate our first breakfast (a traditional English breakfast recommended by the concierge at our hotel)
London Eye with Big Ben & Parliament in the distance
The Tower of London & the Tower Bridge
I rather liked the black telephone booths.
I want this for the entrance of my house.
Big Ben/Elizabeth Tower with the London Eye in the distance
view from our hotel out to The Strand
neat little skate park under a bridge on the south bank
Piccadilly Circus in the daytime
channeling my inner beatle
scones from Patisserie Valerie – cute little place!
so many neat antiques – I don’t think I was supposed to take pictures, but I saw the sign after I did, oops!
traditional fish and chips
beautiful sunset on our last night
London About 3 weeks ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to London with my dad. He called me about a week beforehand - he was going for a work meeting and asked if I wanted to tag along and turn it into a Father Daughter trip.
