If you haven’t read parts 1 and 2 yet, they cover how we got on this adventure, Paris and our Narrowboat trip.
After arriving in London, we headed to our hotel, The Clermont. The Clermont is just off of Trafalgar Square, so after getting settled we headed out to find somewhere for dinner. We found a pub called The Admiralty that looked out over Trafalgar square.
Our second day in London just happened to be my birthday! I had requested that we all have breakfast in the hotel restaurant which was fairly good. I love a good hotel breakfast buffet! After breakfast we jumped on the Hop on Hop off bus and rode it for as far as we could, which unfortunately wasn’t as far as we would have liked because it had some sort of issue and had to turn around. We were never really told what the issue was and we were not allowed to get off of the bus. Which wasn’t great for us because we had a reservation for afternoon tea at the hotel at 1pm. We were so delayed that we ended up having to call and see if they could push our reservation back 30 minutes. So, note to self! If you are doing the Hop on Hop off bus, be aware that things like that can happen!
The tea at The Clermont Hotel was a good one! Growing up in Bangkok we went to a lot of high teas at the fancy hotels in the city, so I love nothing more than a wonderful English afternoon tea. There were 4 different tea sandwiches (cucumber, egg, ham, and salmon), 2 scones (one with raisins, one without), clotted cream, 2 kinds of jam and 4 desserts: a chocolate orange tart, Victoria Sponge, Newton Mess, and a macaron. It was all so incredibly good! And the room is stunning! There is tons of beautiful molding on the ceilings and walls. Everywhere you look there is something gorgeous to see.
After tea we went to Notting HIll and Portobello Road. I love old things so I was hoping to find some sort of little antique to bring home, but alas, I did not. I had been to England twice previously and had never been to that area so it was fun to see even if I didn’t find anything! We took the Hop on Hop off bus back to the hotel for dinner at the bar. And then we went back out for a night tour on the Hop on Hop off bus.
The London Evening Tour on the Hop on Hop off bus was great! This tour had a live guide, Steve, who was really funny and would often say words with an American accent or give us the US word for something and then “translate”. He was comical! He also shared tons of fun information. The tid-bit that sticks out the most to me is that the person who designed the lions in Trafalgar Square based their bodies off of dogs and their heads off of cats because they didn’t have any photos to reference! It was a nice long tour and by the time we got back to the hotel it was time for bed!
The next morning we went to the Churchill War Rooms, which was very interesting. It’s literally the basement of a building, HM Treasury, that has been retrofitted to maybe be helpful if there is some sort of attack. Churchill and many others lived in this area for quite some time in the 40’s while the country was under attack. It was never meant to be lived in or inhabited so there weren’t bathrooms or showers. It was quite primitive. Some areas were left just as they were when people left after the war ended. There were special phones with green handles that were attached to briefcases on the ground that had scramblers in them so that the calls couldn’t be intercepted. It was so interesting to see the technology of the time and how they used it.
My parents and I finished the tour first so we went out of the museum and found that there was going to be some sort of parade going down the street in front of us. So we lined up against the barricades to watch! It was the royal band followed by some guys in black suits with hats and canes. The men towards the back of the group didn’t have hats and canes but they were followed by a few people holding a poppy wreath. The wreath was dropped off outside the Household Cavalry Museum and then we got to watch the procession go back the way it came, minus the wreath holders. It was very interesting and made me super curious who the guys in the suits were! We never did figure it out!
Next we hopped in a cab and went to Harrods! We got lunch at the grill and unfortunately it wasn’t that great. Three of us had the Chicken Cesar salad and none of them were right! (Skip ahead to the next paragraph to bypass the details!) My brother had requested no cheese and had it, so it had to be sent back. Then my dad noticed that my brothers had chicken and his didn’t, so he asked the waiter why that might be, so they brought him a new one. I was sitting at the opposite end of the bar from them so I didn’t hear any of this so I ate my chickenless salad thinking maybe I had to specify that I wanted chicken. Turns out all of them should have had chicken from the beginning, so they didn’t charge for mine. (Thank goodness, that would have been a £27 bowl of lettuce!!) They also removed the service charge and would not accept a tip. So while nothing was quite right, their customer service in resolving the issue was excellent!
After lunch we walked around the food halls a bit to get some gifts. And then we went to the Harrod’s gift shop! I have been to Harrods twice before and had no idea they had a gift shop!! I didn’t need much there but it was fun to look around. After that we walked over to John Lewis/Peter Jones, another department store just down the road. I was specifically looking for anything William Morris. We also needed to find a cheap duffel bag. Luckily we found both! They had a great little duffel that folds up super small. It’s now my go to bag to carry with me on trips when I think I might need more space on the way home.
Next we went to the Crown to Couture exhibit at Kensington Palace. I was so looking forward to this as it was a combination of new and old clothes. It was really fun and interesting. There was a dress from the 1700’s that was 3 meters wide and maybe 18 inches thick! So crazy to think about how one would have to move in a dress like that. My favorite things in the exhibit were the wide dress and Blake Lively’s Met Gala dress. Unfortunately we booked the last time of the day and had to hurry through the end and missed the exhibit gift shop. Oh well!
On our final day in London (and the last day of our trip!) we went to the Tower of London! We got there at opening time and had to wait in a verrrry long line to get into the grounds. Once we were in we went straight to the Crown Jewels. They are so beautiful and sparkly!! Some of the crowns are astonishingly large! I think my favorite crown is the one Queen Victoria wore to mourn her husbands death. (I didn’t get a photo of it because I was apparently stunned by it’s beauty!) It’s so beautiful and simple. We did the Yeoman’s tour where he shared a ton of interesting information. I didn’t know the Yeoman and many others live within the walls of the tower. There are quite a few private residences with children’s toys, outdoor furniture and cars outside. We had lunch at the cafe which had surprisingly good food. I had a pepperoni sandwich and my mom and I split a Victoria Sponge for dessert. So good! We toured the grounds a bit more and then headed off to the London Eye.
After the Eye, we headed back to the hotel to start packing. For dinner we went to a pub called Theodore Bullfrog. They didn’t have an extensive menu but the food was good! And then our trip was over! We left the next morning and flew back to Houston. Thanks for following along on my European Adventure! If you have any questions, please ask!
The Huntington Library Museum Store in San Marino has a lovely selection of William Morris scarves. The next time you travel to California try a visit there. William Morris is a special feature.
I loved your descriptions of London. Made me want to go again !