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January 28, 2016

Our London Vacation Recap

It’s been just over a week since we returned from our vacation in London, so it’s about time I recap our trip!

Our London Vacation: Westminster Abbey

When Ryan and I first started dating five years ago, I had just returned from a semester abroad in Europe. During our first few dates, I babbled on and on about the countries and cities I visited; as our relationship grew, we talked a lot about visiting many of those cities together. 

Finally, we found ourselves in a time in life where international travel is feasible, so when the desire to travel abroad called, we answered. We booked our trip to London on a whim one Sunday afternoon through Expedia, while watching the Roosevelts documentary and learning about Eleanor’s education in England and Teddy’s European travels. 

London was a natural choice: there’s no language barrier and Ryan and I both have heavily English/Scottish heritages. London was one of my favorite cities from studying abroad (along with Cologne, Germany, and Rome). What really confirmed our choice? There happened to be direct flights from Seattle to London, which is virtually unheard of for European travel. 

We arrived in London after a 10 hour overnight flight on the afternoon of Friday, January 15. Neither of us slept well on the flight, so we were both tired and ready to relax by the time we got through customs and spent over an hour on the Tube to travel from Heathrow to our hotel. 

After a long night’s sleep on Friday, we spent Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday exploring the city. We only took the Tube to travel to and from the airport and to go to St. Pancreas for our excursion into Canterbury; otherwise, we walked the entire time, which is our preferred way. You see so much more of the city when you explore on foot! 

London is a markedly different city than Seattle: the temperature is colder, the air is drier, and the attire is more formal. It was fun to leave behind West Coast casual for a few days and wear our nice coats and clothes. 

Our London Vacation: Canterbury

Cathedrals and museums are our favorite places to visit when we’re in a new city, so a significant portion of our travels were focused on those. I will unapologetically warn you that this post contains a lot of me geeking out over art, architecture, and history. 

Saturday:

Westminster Abbey

Beyond the spectacular architecture, we both enjoyed Westminster Abbey for its rich history. Everyone from Mary I and Elizabeth I to Sir Issac Newton to Aphra Behn is buried in this soaring Gothic cathedral. We took our time enjoying the audio self-guided tour of Westminster Abbey and marveled at the grand attention to the smallest of details in the building.

Big Ben and Parliament

Big Ben and Parliament are only a block from Westminister, so we joined the hoards of tourists. Admittedly, Big Ben is really beautiful in person, as the gold details glimmer in the sun. 

Our London Vacation: Big Ben and Parliament

Sunday:

The National Gallery and Trafalgar Square

Or, trying not to punch people as they take selfies in front of priceless works of art. I’m serious. That’s a very quick way to anger my normally laid back personality. 

The National Gallery of London houses some of my favorite pieces of art, including Caravaggio’s Supper at Emmaus, da Vinci’s Virgin of the Rocks, and Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. The National Gallery unfolds for room upon room of some of the world’s best art; in my opinion, although it’s significantly smaller, it’s almost as good as the Louvre in Paris. 

I had toured the National Gallery on my own trip to London years ago, but the art there never ceases to inspire and it was amazing to get to view the art with Ryan. We spent a couple hours there and viewed nearly every room, even the Impressionist art (Monet = beautiful. Manet = did he need glasses?). 

Monday: 

So, we initially planned to tour both the British Museum and Buckingham Palace and maybe squeeze in a visit to St. Paul’s, until we arrived at the British Museum and realize how huge and amazing their collection is. We barely even had lunch this day because of how long we were at the museum; we just grabbed scones and tea at the museum to hold us over and then had a delicious Indian dinner later. 

The British Museum

We spent five hours in the British Museum and still did not see everything. Ryan and I both share a fondness (geekiness) for historical artifacts. We saw the Rosetta Stone and the Egyptian artifacts, the Parthenon collection, the Greco-Roman sculptures, medieval religious artifacts, and numerous other things. I was as giddy as a child on Christmas morning with many of the artifacts, especially the Rosetta Stone. I studied a couple ancient languages in college and find the history of language utterly fascinating.

We did not take a single photo in the British Museum. Even though photography is allowed, Ryan and I wanted to be be fully present, enjoy the experience, and show respect for the incredible testaments to human ability and creativity. If you’re ever in London, do not skip out on the British Museum. 

Buckingham Palace and Saint James’s Park

Since we spent so long at the British Museum, we missed tour of Buckingham Palace. We instead enjoyed an stroll through St. James’s Park at sunset and then walked around the palace. The only part still open was the gift shop, which we visited. My favorite part was the statue of Queen Victoria in front of the palace. 

Our London Vacation: Buckingham Palace

Tuesday: 

Canterbury Cathedral

We both wanted to glimpse the British countryside, so we took part of our last day in London to visit Canterbury. Canterbury is closer to the coast, but not as far of a journey as Stonehenge or Bath. 

Our London Vacation: Canterbury Cathedral

Cathedrals are always remarkable, but there’s something extraordinary about cathedrals such as the Canterbury Cathedral where renowned martyrdoms occurred and pilgrims traveled over the centuries. And then I nerded out about the combination of Romanesque and Gothic architectural styles. 

Saint Paul’s Cathedral

What a holy, beautiful, and emotional place. Saint Paul’s Cathedral literally moved us to tears and we visited this church twice: once on Sunday, during evensong, and again on Tuesday for a tour. Baroque architecture is my favorite (think of the Sacre Coeur in Paris, which is actually neo-Baroque, and Saint Peter’s in Rome) because it is so astounding, transcending, and complex. 

Our London Vacation: St. Paul's Cathedral

During our tour, we climbed the hundreds of winding stairs up to the top of the dome. We were able to walk around outside the dome, reconnect with my fear of heights, and enjoy a breathtaking view of London. 

Our London Vacation: From the Dome of St. Paul's Cathedral

What We Ate

Food and drink serve as an integral part of experiencing the culture of a city, so we indulged in several tasty meals such as curry, fish and chips, meat pie, and traditional English breakfast during our time. 

Curryhouses in England seriously serve the best Indian food I have ever tasted, so a meal at a curryhouse was high on my list of things to do in London. We ate at Indian City near Saint Paul’s and it did not disappoint in the least. We split lamb tikka and butter chicken with naan and I am already dreaming about how flavorful and succulent those dishes were. And then it reignited my desire to cook Indian food at home; one of the first places I went after getting back was the bulk spices section of our local organic market. 

Most nights we ate a pub near our hotel and enjoyed meat pies. We had fish and chips our first night in London, which was good but heavy and not as tasty as pie. I had the steak and ale pie twice and the mushroom and onion vegetarian pie once.  So ridiculously delicious that I need to figure out how to recreate it at home. 

Our London Vacation: British Food

We also enjoyed a proper English breakfast one morning, complete with black pudding (blood sausage), cottage bacon (yummmm! it’s bacon from the back of the pig, so it’s less fatty but just as delicious), mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, eggs, and toast. I know a lot of people think it’s bland, but Ryan and I love English food.  

And don’t forget drinks! It’s no secret that Ryan and I both appreciate a good drink. Per Susie’s recommendation, we tried Crabbie’s ginger beer; we had recently become obsessed with ginger beer just before leaving, and Crabbie’s did not disappoint. We also imbibed sloe gin, which is so, so, so good, British-style nitro beers, and some cabernet that was Spanish but oh-so-amazing.

We didn’t visit the Tower of London because places where hundreds of people died disturb me, and we avoided the Tate Modern because, well, modern art. 

Art, architecture, and London via @thisrunrecipes #travel #london

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What international city do you want to visit? 
What are your favorite things to see when touring a new city?
Would you eat blood sausage? 
It may just be the new superfood.  And it surprisingly tasted good. 

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Filed Under: Tidbits, Travel Tagged With: Life lately, London, travel

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. GiGi Eats says

    January 28, 2016 at 5:21 am

    I WAS JUST IN THE UK TOO!! But not London, except for the airport – I was in York & Manchester and then made my way up to Scotland (St Andrews & Edinburgh)! So pretty yet so cold! ha ha ha! I’m not used to it… Being from Los Angeles πŸ˜‰

    Reply
    • Laura Norris says

      January 29, 2016 at 2:10 am

      Oh I love Scotland! I’ve been to Edinburgh before, except that was in the fall so it wasn’t that cold. I’ve heard it gets cold in winter, but what a fun trip! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  2. Lisa @ Running Out Of Wine says

    January 28, 2016 at 10:32 am

    This sounds like an amazing trip! You definitely got to see alot during your time there. I would love to go back to Europe at some point but there are also places in the US I want to see, so Im not sure when that would happen. I got to see so many places when I was abroad but now I feel like that was so long ago.
    I have never heard of blood sausage. I don’t really like any kind of sausage so I’m not sure if this would be any different for me!

    Reply
    • Laura Norris says

      January 29, 2016 at 2:11 am

      Thank you, Lisa – it was! There is so much to see in both the US and Europe that it is so hard to choose when it comes to travel. Work needs to have more vacation time!

      Reply
  3. meredith @ Cookie ChRUNicles says

    January 28, 2016 at 10:37 am

    Aw you guys had such a nice time! I always think of the movie European Vacation with the scene from big ben parliament when they can’t stop circling it lol.

    Reply
    • Laura Norris says

      January 29, 2016 at 2:11 am

      Hahaha I love the Vacation movies! Even the newest one is so funny!

      Reply
  4. Susie @ SuzLyfe says

    January 28, 2016 at 12:35 pm

    We started our honeymoon in London, and I would love to go back. Such a fun city. I would love to spend some time in the area around London as well–especially touring all the cathedrals that I know so much about!

    Reply
    • Laura Norris says

      January 29, 2016 at 2:12 am

      I really could spend a whole trip seeing Canterbury, Stonehenge, Bath, Oxford, and Cambridge! So many historical places and beautiful works of architecture, and a lot of my ancestors lived in those areas.

      Reply
  5. Angie @ Pace with Grace Blog says

    January 28, 2016 at 12:43 pm

    Sounds like you had an incredible trip and I love that you and your husband just booked it on a whim! London looks amazing! I agree that experiencing the local food and drink is a must! I’ve been wanting to check out Greece! Some day πŸ™‚

    Reply
    • Laura Norris says

      January 29, 2016 at 2:13 am

      Thank you! I’ve heard Greece is awesome, and it was so cool to get to see pieces of the Parthenon at the British Museum. Ancient Greek stuff is so fascinating! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  6. Suzy says

    January 28, 2016 at 5:53 pm

    Oh yay! I love all the photos and details! My dream place to visit one day is India. One of my favourite books is Shantaram because of all the detailed descriptions of the scenery and culture. LOVE IT. My grandpa was born and raised in Allahabad India as his dad was stationed there in the British army. His dad ended up dying from tuberculosis when my grandpa was little but they lived there until my grandpa was about 20 years old. Cool hey?

    Reply
    • Laura Norris says

      January 29, 2016 at 2:15 am

      Thank you! That is so cool about your grandfather being born in India. I bet visiting there would be quite the adventure!

      Reply
  7. Jess @hellotofit says

    January 29, 2016 at 1:49 am

    I’ve never been to the UK, but it’s on my list! Loved reading your re-cap, and I really love how you guys booked it semi-spontaneously!!

    Reply
    • Laura Norris says

      January 29, 2016 at 2:27 am

      Thank you~ You really should visit if possible, and if you’re on the East Coast it’s not a long flight at all!

      Reply
  8. kristen says

    February 4, 2016 at 6:56 pm

    love this post! i love london and would love to go back… and i’m with you, i love english food! but, i’m australian lol so it’s very similar to what we eat at home (except for black pudding hahaha).

    Reply
    • Laura Norris says

      February 4, 2016 at 9:06 pm

      English food is so good! I’d probably love Australian food as well then! πŸ™‚

      Reply
  9. Akinosi Babatunde says

    November 16, 2018 at 7:35 am

    Thanks for sharing your london vacation experience. This post is very helpful and useful for all those who is going to first time London.

    Reply

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