urbanretreatist: London, England

LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON LONDON

Like many New Yorkers, i have had the privilege of visiting London more than a few times. I went back recently for a long weekend to see family, and my partner came along. It was his first time in London, so i had to show him the town. Here is London (made easy) in a long weekend!

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Itinerary

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London Eye

Day 1 we were up and running (not at all). There is a Pret A Manger around the corner from the hotel, so with sammys and smoothies in hand we procured two tickets for the Big Bus Tour. For 29 GBP each we're given a map with colored bus routes and head phones. These hop on/hop off tourist buses may seem pedestrian, but they are educational and provide you with transportation all over the city (no one likes the tube). They also never ask to see your tickets so you can use them for days! The first day we swung past Big Ben and headed over Westminster Bridge, to see the London Eye. The lines look daunting but in fact move quickly, before you know it you're in the air. The views of the city are pretty astounding but we were pleased when it was over. If you have the time, the London Aquarium is next door. We opted to grab some cappuccinos and ride the bus back over the bridge, where we jumped off in Westminster. We strolled around Westminster Abbey then took Birdcage Walk down to Buckingham Palace and the Palace Gardens. Followed The Mall back up to Trafalgar Square for a much needed nap. Upon rousing, we walked across the square to the National Portrait Gallery, which we spent several hours in, enjoying everything from portraits of the Tudors to modern day photography of Mick Jagger. By the time we left, it was dark and time for dinner. Thankfully, there is a Wagamama on Irving Street, a few blocks from the Museum. We bar hopped our way back to our hotel and blamed jet lag for landing us in bed by 10 ;)

The Tower

Day 2 Early rise. Grabbed some coffees at Marks and Sparks on The Strand. Lollygagged up to Covent Garden's covered market, where we dined on pasties and sausage rolls. Sniffed around the Royal Opera House a bit, and were back on the bus. Our destination - The Tower. The bus took us by St Pauls Cathedral and The Monument, then over London Bridge past The Shard, and back over Tower Bridge. The Tower can be done several ways - you can opt to do a guided tour, which requires time and patience, or you can fly solo. The tour herds move slow, so we chose to guide ourselves which meant planning out our route. If you play your cards right, you will have time to see the Crown Jewels, a collection of fist size gems belonging to royals as far back as 13th century. Several hours later we emerged just in time to catch the next river cruise to Greenwich (you get a free pass with your Big Bus Tour tickets). This gave us the opportunity to see both side of Thames, as well as The East End. You dock at the Maritime Museum Gardens and are given about an hour to explore Greenwich before heading back. We made our way to Greenwich Market, where we grabbed some beer and a few ploughmans sandwiches. We rode the river cruise back to the pier at Waterloo Bridge, then sauntered back to the hotel along Victoria Embankment. Fatigued, we walked the ten feet to Watatsumi Japanese Restaurant for dinner, where we warmed our bones with some miso soup and hot sake.

Victoria & Albert Museum

Day 3 We awoke with a sense of accomplishment, which quickly turned to entitlement. We wandered towards Leicester Square, found a greasy spoon, and had ourselves a proper English fry up. From there we boarded our beloved bus and headed past Oxford Circus towards Reagants Park, hopping of at Marble Arch. Played photographer for a bit, peaked into Hyde Park for more photos til we were back out on Park Lane. The bus carried us the rest of the way to Harrods, which was a snooze with the exception of the Food Market. Thankfully, Harrods isn't the only store on Brompton Road. We visited Topshop and Uniqlo before making our way on foot to the Victoria and Albert Museum. I love the V and A, it's an art and design museum covering the last 500 years. It's a fun way to see history, and they serve brunch on Sundays in the most elegant of settings. After stuffing ourselves on scones with clotted cream and salad with roast chicken, we marveled at the museum for the next couple of hours. Pooped, we got back on the bus which took us on a ride through one of London's prettiest neighborhoods - Kensington. We swung around Hyde Park, towards Grosvenor Square and Green Park. We walked the rest of the way - through St James Park, til reaching our hotel, where we collapsed. Dinner was some hours later at Bocca di Lupo- this charming, almost affordable, Italian restaurant, 3 blocks from the Piccadilly tube.

Paddington

Day 4 Grabbed some fresh squeezed OJ and croissants from Pret A Manger, which we ate while sitting on the steps of the National Gallery Museum, overlooking Trafalgar Square. We did a quick run through the museum (about an hour), before checking out of the hotel. For our last night in London we rented a flat in Paddington (using airbnb.com). It was a great deal cheaper than the hotel and would make getting to Heathrow super easy. Once in Paddington, the pavement pounding stopped. We did meander over to The Serpentine, just inside Hyde Park, and to Portabello Road, in Notting Hill, where we gathered the ingredients to make a much needed salad. But more than anything, we relaxed and enjoyed the pace of a charming neighborhood like Paddington. For dinner, my family met us at a local Indian Restaurant called Spice of India, where we dined upstairs til late. The next morning we walked the 5 blocks to Paddington station, where there are direct trains to Heathrow every 30 minutes. Inside the station is a Boots and a Sainsbury's, so we stocked up on last minute goodies to take to the states. The end.

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Glossary

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