Ever since I first visited London in highschool I knew I wanted to go back. I don’t know if you could say I’m known for being very spontaneous… but when my sister Jessica presented me with the idea to meet her in London last month I couldn’t say no. With less than two weeks until my departure date I booked a flight and we figured out the other details as we went. When Jessica and I visited Ireland in 2012, we had planned and saved for that trip for almost two years. So booking that flight to London felt so surreal because the trip would be so soon!… and once the decision was made I felt rather giddy!
I’m beyond grateful our work schedules aligned and the flights worked out so we could take this trip. We made a lot of memories in the limited time we had and I wouldn’t trade those for anything! Thanks for going on this crazy adventure with me Jessica!
I think I can genuinely say that Big Ben is one of my very favorite landmarks in the whole world!
The Tower of London had a special display while we were there. Each of the 888,246 red poppies represents a British solider who died in World War I. It was amazing to see.
We had so much fun riding Boris Bikes around the city!
I already miss Pimm’s!
Dinner at a Pub makes for a very happy Shannon.
St Dunstan-in-the-East church was one of my favorite things we saw in London. Right in the middle of the city there is an abandoned church covered in ivy (well not completely abandoned, it is kept up quite nicely as a city park now). It was beautiful and so peaceful.
We really lucked out on the weather – most days were blue skies and sunny! Maybe just a quick rain shower or two.
And of course we spent a day doing very girly things, such as High Tea at Fortnum and Mason’s. What trip to London would be complete without afternoon tea?? (the correct answer is absolutely NO trip would be!)
We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner at the OXO Tower.
Apparently we tilt our heads the exact same way…
Good night London!
Well, I could go on, but I better wrap up the London part of our trip. I have one more trip post to share which will be photos of the time we spent in the countryside. The English countryside is my happy place….
I miss you London! Hopefully I will see you again sooner than later!
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Wow I felt like I went with you to London -which is the next best thing to actually going 😉 You guys definitely lived it up while you were there! what a fun trip!
Love it!!!! That church is amazing!!!! Can’t wait to see the country side!
LOVE your photos and posts.
Where did you stay in London?
How did you plan your trip to the Cotswolds (sp?)
Tell me about the bike ride. Where did you get the bikes
And last….. might you give me a sense of how much you spent each day?
Thanks
Tell me more about the bike ride. Where did you get the bikes?
Why thank you Ann!
We stayed at the Park Inn by Radisson which is located very close to Heathrow. We stayed there because we knew we wanted to rent a car, but only for a portion of the trip. That location had us very close to the rental car lot, and then I wouldn’t have to worry about driving through busy London (which I heard can be stressful). If you weren’t planning on renting a car though, I highly recommend staying somewhere more central to London as it is about a 45 minute ride on the tube to get to the heart of London from the Park Inn.
The day we went to the Cotswolds we picked up the rental car and I had brought my GPS from home (loaded up with United Kingdom maps). Before leaving home I saved all the GPS cordinances for the places I knew I wanted to visit and that made it relatively easy to find our way around. Having a GPS is key!
The bikes are located all over the city. You go up to the kiosk and swipe your payment card. You are then able to rent a bike and you are charged by however long you have it out. And you don’t have to return it to the kiosk you rented it from, you just have to find one with an open spot to leave the bike at. I can’t recall specific charges but if you google Boris Bikes London it should be pretty easy to find additional information.
As far as expenses, just looking at the total spent (car rental, food, a few souvenirs, transportation, entry fees) it looks like we spent $150 a day per person (not including our hotel cost though). And to give you an idea on the car rental, for 2 days it was $360 which includes the fuel and extra insurance (plus it was automatic). The car rental was pricey, but we loved the freedom to explore areas that a tour wouldn’t have taken us and it was at our own pace.
Your pictures are amazing!! Can you tell me the name of that pub with that great looking food and pitcher of PIMMs?
Thank you! It was at the Andover Arms pub! Delicious!