LONDON
02/18/23 - 02/24/23
DAY 1
Day 1 - We had a very exciting February! Big Mike lined up a trip to northern Finland organized by Audi Driving Experience, where he raced cars on the ice with a group of 20 Audi enthusiasts, the week before our school vacation week. From Finland, he flew into London a day early to check into the hotel and see some sites. We were staying at St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel. A lovely hotel situated atop the historic St. Pancras / Kings Cross train stations. He checked out the Tower of London, where he climbed through several 12th and 13th century buildings and took a peak at the "Crown Jewels". After lunch, he prepped the room with snacks, drinks, and an extra bed for little Michael, and got in a little relaxing time by the hotel pool. Karen and Michael flew directly from Boston that evening, arriving the next morning.
DAY 2
Day 2 - Yay! With a quick passport check, train, and underground ride, Karen and Michael arrived at the hotel before 9 AM. We all took a direct train called the "Heathrow Express" which gets you from the airport (LHR) to downtown London within 15 minutes. Well worth it! After getting settled at the hotel and a brief nap, we all headed out for a short walk around the canals near our hotel. We grabbed a snack, checked out Coal Drops Yard (a shopping area), and even made a short music video at the Samsung store! Around 2 PM, we headed to our friends, Andrea & Brendan's house (who have been living in London for a few years) and enjoyed a few drinks and some homemade pizza with them. Andrea gave us a nice walking tour of her neighborhood as well before we returned to our hotel.
DAY 3
Day 3 - Our third day in London would kick off an intense 4 days of exploring the city and all that it has to offer. London is an extremely busy and diverse city with tons of different attractions and neighborhoods. We utilized the efficient and clean underground with our "Oyster Card", which gave you access to the full network of trains and buses. One tip, they have a daily fee cap of 7.70 pounds, so you can use as many trains and buses during the day for that maximum fee. Today we spent some time in Kensington Gardens, before heading over to see Kensington Palace, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Natural History Museum. All were worth the trip! We ended our day with a walk-through and dinner at London's most famous store, Harrods.
DAY 4
Day 4 - Our hotel stay included a nice breakfast at the hotel, so each day we would go down to our lounge for a quick bite to eat before exploring the city. We headed directly to Westminster today, a section of the city with the famous Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. We had a 9:30 AM check-in at Westminster Abbey and listened to an audio tour about the history of the Abbey. Most museums in London are free, but do require you to make an advance reservation on the date & time you would like to visit. We found that they were pretty flexible with the time, as long as you had the correct date. Westminster Abbey does charge a fee for the tour. After the tour, we headed over to Buckingham Palace and the London Transport Museum, another favorite of the trip. A quick stop at Lego and the M&M store in Leicester Square completed our busy day!
DAY 5
Day 5 - After breakfast, we headed to London's Postal Museum. This museum reviews the history of mail delivery in London and even allows you to ride an underground historic rail car. Watch your head, the rail car is pretty tiny, but a lot of fun. Your ride runs for about 15 minutes and gives you a detailed account of how mail is distributed throughout this big city! After the museum, it was time for a snack, so why not check out London's only Dunkin' Donuts on Baker Street! They definitely had some unique donuts including one called "Mr. Happy"! Then, it was off to Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square for a few photo ops and of course a stop for a "pint" at one of London's many pubs! We ended our day with a Thames boat ride to Canary Wharf (a financial section of London) for dinner.
DAY 6
Day 6 - Our 4-day extensive tour of London was coming to a close! After breakfast, we made it over to Tower Hill for a quick look at the Tower of London and a climb through the iconic Tower Bridge. High above the streets of London, the bridge has a thrilling glass floor which gives you a unique perspective of just how high up you are! A 20-minute walk along the Thames River took us to the impressive Tate Modern museum, one of London's largest art galleries. After our art lesson, we did a brief walk-through of the Bank of England Museum, which highlighted some of England's financial and banking milestones. We then caught back up with our friend Andrea, for a gorgeous view and delicious lunch at the "Sky Garden". One tip, a meal reservation allows you to bypass the observation line and fee and provided a great late lunch! We ended our day with a quick stop at the beautiful St. Paul's Cathedral.
DAY 4
DAY 7
Day 7 - Our amazing February trip to London has come to an end! After a little organizing in the room and our final breakfast at the hotel, we headed across the street for a brief visit to the British Library. Housing some historic documents from Bibles to Beatles lyrics, the library is another one of London's amazing sites. At check-out time, we ended our stay at the St. Pancras and headed back to London Heathrow airport via the underground and Heathrow Express. Our flight took off around 5:00 PM and was direct to Boston, where we arrived around 7:00 PM local time. The trip was a huge success! From unique museums, historic sites, pubs, and cathedrals, London truly is a world-class city for everyone! We are excited for the next time we hear "Mind the Gap"!
​Day 4 - Coming Soon
WHAT WE THOUGHT OF IT
MICHAEL
KAREN
MICHAEL S
