London Travel Guide during the Holiday Season
My husband and I began to walk through an abandoned underground tunnel never seen before by our eyes, as we proceed, our mouths drop at the beautiful sight. The walls and ceiling were covered in legal graffiti art. Everywhere we looked art was on full display with everything from Pac-man to Tupac and was created from spray cans. This one particular moment created the spark to write about the beauty London offers – not only in its history, but also in the unique way of creating modern day art.
The first day in London was a blur, arriving via plane then catching the railway into the city. The first thing my husband mentioned was a reference to the Harry Potter series, which I have never seen! The train was full of people from all parts of the world, we ended up crammed next to two couples from South Africa and Ireland. As we traveled through the cities along the way to London, you could see fields and cottages for miles. The sheer beauty of looking at life frozen in generations of land and homes was enough to take your breath away.
We got off the train and made our way to the front doors of the city, just as you can imagine, the sight was full of buildings new and old dating back hundreds of years, even before the 10th century. The amount of detail put into the smallest parts of the buildings was enough to make you question the plainness of your home back in the states. We found a famous black cab to take us to our hotel, I say famous only because they are known for their unique taxi cars that are all over the city.
The hotel’s facade was covered in historic architecture and on the inside was a modern/historic twist. The floors were marble with beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Our hotel room was typical but still had cute features we enjoyed. It was already afternoon once we got settled in our room, so we decided to go out and explore while we still had some light.
The first activity we enjoyed was walking the streets towards an ice skating rink right outside their natural history museum. If you thought America was serious about Christmas, you must see some of London’s decorations. The Ice rink was right beside the museum and a giant Christmas tree was right in the middle of the rink. There was a merry-go-round along with a cute food truck next to the rink. After we were both done falling (more often than actual upright ice skating), we entered the museum. This was also a highlight to our trip. The building itself kept our attention… along with the 80 million items inside. The night ended as we caught up with some friends for drinks at a hip speakeasy called The Blind Pig. followed with dinner at the delicious Berner’s Tavern.
The next day was full of sightseeing, while also creating content for photos. We grabbed another black cab and made our way towards a small market that was just covered in Christmas decorations – along with plenty of shops unique to London. If you follow anyone trendy on Instagram or have been to London I am sure you have seen the car covered in Christmas décor! Covent Garden area is a must see only because you can spend an entire day walking around the old brick roads, along with shopping the small boutique stores. We then returned back to our cab and headed towards the slam packed tourist attraction area near the London Eye. This was the best way to see London from the sky and cost was only $45 per couple. We were lucky enough to get stuck towards the top for about 10 mins, this gave us the chance to look around and take our time enjoying the panorama. You could see the towering new skyscrapers disappearing into the clouds along with the light mist covering the city providing a vista of peacefulness.
Once on the ground, we took a cab back to our hotel so we could get ready for the famous Hamilton play we have been dying to see. If you are able to make time for the theatre, London offers just as much as New York Broadway, but without some of the top plays being sold out. We booked our tickets 2 weeks in advance and were blown away by the performance. Not only is Hamilton our new favorite play, we also fell in love with the extravagant theatre with so much gorgeous architectural detail, you felt you were in the 18th century.
The next day was all for Sean and his love for giant tour buses full of other tourist like ourselves. As we got on I noticed it was not as full as the reviews made it seem, this may have been because of the cold weather, but that did not stop us from sitting on top and taking in the views. We were able to sit and listen to a pre recording of the history and story of each building of importance along with the people who lived there. There are 5 different routes all connecting to each other so you are able to see most of the city. The routes we took gave us a chance to see Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, House of Parliament, Marble Arch, Downing Street and for us – ended at the Tower of London. This was the highlight for Sean, he was able to look around the castle and let his imagination take him back to that era. This area also gave us a great look at Tower Bridge and we were able to take some photos along with helping 20 other families take theirs! The night ended with a beautiful dinner under the stars and lights at the bubble Igloo restaurant called Coppa Club.
The next day we met with a photographer so we could get some photos at some spots only known by someone who lives there and is familiar with all the city has to offer. We found some great areas off the main roads – along with traditional London Landmark sights. We were in front of Tower Bridge across the canal from the other side of the castle and witnessed over five couples taking wedding photos, all the couples were from different ethnic backgrounds which is another reason to make London so special. We then decided to get changed and walk around the area of the London Tower Bridge. This area is also a must see because of the layout of each group of buildings. Each side street had its own character, giving you the ability to walk down each one with the feeling of being somewhere different every time. The Hays Galleria was also located near there with one of the only ways to enter was through a tunnel with Mary Poppins painted on the wall. As we ended our day, we made reservations for high tea at the infamous Sketch restaurant. They offer you five dining rooms to choose from, we were able to get the pink room with a string band playing Christmas music in the corner. The tea had us hooked, we now drink hot tea before bed and sometimes during the day. The food was precious little hors d’oeuvres, along with delicious Champagne if you wanted something extra.
Our final day was bittersweet as we were both ready to return home, yet at the same time wanted to stay forever. We woke up early in order to get ready for the much anticipated “small car ride”. This was truly the best way to end our trip in style. The pick up was at our hotel and our time limit was 2 hours. Lucky for us the weekends are the best days to travel on the roads, we were told the majority of the locals stay home or leave the city. The first stop was traveling to Knotting Hill where you could see beautiful homes and have a seat on a bench that looked over the entire city of London’s skyscrapers. We then traveled back to St Pauls Square and the final stop on our tour was the underground tunnel covered in the graffiti. Before we headed to the airport, we took one last walk through Hyde Park. The land was made into a park in the 16th century used for hunting by royalty members only, this park is now the largest of the 4 royal parks. The varied atmosphere of Hyde Park encompasses families feeding the ducks, couples walking through gardens, individuals reading among the fields, groups enjoying soccer, basketball, tennis and horse riding. Yet with all those perfect park activities being enjoyed, the biggest draw to this park was the Winter Wonderland fair since we were visiting during the Holiday Season. The fair had every ride you could think of and more. We were not able to visit due to our packed schedule, but we saw thousands of people inside. If you do take a trip to London, make sure to make it at Christmas time. The beauty and magic of this city should be enjoyed by everyone at least once in their lifetime.
Below is my personalized google map I made that you can download and save to your iphone with lists of our favorite stops, cafes, photo ops, points of interest, and restaurants.
