One Year Ago: 3 and a half Days in London with Mom

One year ago, early 2020, things were going pretty well. (2020 and "going well" in the same sentence!?!) I had just wrapped up a job and had been talking with my mom about going on a trip to London before my next show. I told her that she should come with me since I am semi-hesitant to travel alone abroad. Mom and I have done mini-vacations before- We did a weekend trip to Maine at the end of summer 2019 and the last visits she took out to LA we drove to vacation spots like Palm Springs, Laguna Beach, and Big Bear. But one year ago I wanted to Travel Travel and then mom said the magic words.. "Well, If you plan it.." so of course I jumped on the opportunity! This blog post covers the first part of our trip in London and I'll write another post to cover Oxford.

The last time I had been to London (for four days on my honeymoon) I focused mainly on seeing the castles (Tower of London and Windsor Castle). This time, I wanted to go to Museums, have high-tea, and spend a couple days in Oxford. I picked Oxford because of the historical colleges and libraries I knew were used in the Harry Potter movies as well as references to Oxford in a few book series I've read. While I was starting to plan hotels, trains, and tickets for tours, I was also becoming aware about news of Coronavirus spreading to the US. I went ahead and decided to buy trip insurance in case anything was cancelled. At this point there were zero discussions about wearing masks or social distancing but I was going to be careful about keeping my hands clean and I joked about how hard it would be to avoid touching my face.

Red Eye flights to Boston - love sunrise views of the city

LONDON DAY 1

I spent a couple days in Boston catching up with friends and the happy pup Izzy and on a Tuesday night, Mom and I took a red-eye flight to London. The flight wasn't crowded at all and I was able to sit in the row ahead of Mom so we could both lay down and sleep. Knowing red eye flights can be tough, the first day in London we had no set plans. I also reached out to the hotel to request an early check in which thankfully worked out. We arrived at Gatwick airport Wednesday morning and made it through customs easily. I had used the trains to get into the city on the last trip so we used the Gatwick Express train and picked up Oyster cards for the underground when we got into London. Even though we just had one rolling bag each, arriving during a morning commute made it difficult for us to navigate between train platforms. I had planned as few train transfers as possible but it was so busy that it was very stressful for my mom which then really stressed me out. I didn't want her to be afraid of the underground so I promised we would get a Black Cab next time we would be traveling with our bags to Oxford.

I chose the Holborn neighborhood of London because it was within walking distance to the neighborhoods that were great to explore; Covent Garden, Soho and Bloomsbury had great food and the British Museum. I also chose to stay near the Holborn Underground Station because it had the Blue and Red lines that would give us the easiest time to travel around. We stayed at the Thistle Holborn, in a renovated 200 year old Edwardian building called the Kingsley, a five minute walk from the station. When we arrived we were able to get a couple hours of sleep and decompress. Coronavirus precautions in London at this point were just a couple hand sanitizer pumps at the front desk. (In the US at this time the CDC reported 158 cases of coronavirus)

Once she felt up to it, mom and I walked out towards Covent Gardens. We stopped for coffee at a cute cafe nearby called Drury 188-189. We got coffee surrounded by books - the kind of place I would love working out of if I lived in London. We then walked towards Seven Dials - a shopping area a friend in LA recommended I check out. We popped into an alley to see a little hidden gem called Neals Yard full of colorful shops - a place hard to find unless you knew where to look! The weather wasn't great but pretty much the same that Boston was offering. We had rain boots, jackets, and I brought lots of knitted scarves so we were prepared. We continued to walk around the area and see the famous Theaters. I made a mistake of not having Indian food on my last visit to London, so we had dinner at a highly rated place called Punjab Restaurant, the oldest in London. After a great dinner we called it an early night.

LONDON DAY 2

The Second day in London was even more rainy than the first. I purchased tickets for a tour of Westminster Abbey before arriving in London so we didn't need to rush over there. We took the underground to the Westminster station (much easier without bags) and although Big Ben is under construction, Mom got to see the London Eye and the Thames. We took some very "London" pictures before heading into the Abbey. We chose to use the handheld audio guides and due to Coronavirus they made sure everything was disinfected before we took them. It was busy but not very crowded because it was a Thursday. I LOVE the gothic architecture and the fact that the church has over a thousand years of history. Although I'm not religious, I really enjoy visiting cathedrals no matter where I go. Last time I was in London I climbed all the steps to the top of St. Pauls Cathedral. I snuck a few pictures of the main parts of the church. I learned there are over 3,000 people buried here including some of the greatest names in history - Chaucer, Dickens, Newton, Darwin, and recently the ashes of Steven Hawkins. Also the tomb of the Unknown Soldier and 17 British Monarchs including Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots. We also walked around the cloisters which protected us from the rain. We decided to get lunch at a nearby traditional pub where we had a very British lunch of Bangers & Mash before taking the tube over to the Victoria and Albert Museum. We spent a couple hours wandering around before it closed. Unfortunately we didn't have time to see the Natural History Museum across the street before it also closed for the day. For dinner that night we went back towards our hotel to continue our British food day and had some delicious Fish & Chips at one of the oldest "Chippies" in town - Rock and Sole Plaice. We enjoyed it very much even though we were sitting inside the cramped dining area. They normally have a large patio space but it was raining. The news that evening was the first time CNN reported that everyone should be keeping 6 feet away from others which made us a bit worried after dining indoors close to other people. Mom and I were still careful about washing our hands and using sanitizing wipes so we figured we'd be fine.

Big Ben has seen better days

Gold Kneeling Angels Sculptures from the 1500s

Armor with detailing from the 1500s

The great Bed of Ware from the 1500s - So famous that Shakespeare wrote about it

LONDON DAY 3

Mom and I were really lucky on day three. I knew before leaving for London that Friday would be the only day to see the changing of the guard in front of Buckingham Palace and the weather turned out Gorgeous! No need for heavy jackets or rain boots! We took the tube and walked through Green Park up to the palace about 45minutes before the ceremony was to begin. The crowd had already gathered about five people deep against the Palace fencing and the Victoria Memorial was covered with people! Mom and I found a spot near the gates to watch the changing of the guards. It was really cool to see but unfortunately one poor guard fainted and had to be carried away by others. We moved away from the crowd (remembering that 6 foot rule) and over towards the Mall after the band started marching. Luckily we got to see them walk right past us before the police opened up the Mall to pedestrians. We walked through the gardens over to St. James' park lake then we continued walking through the Admiralty Arch over to Trafalgar square. We had a casual lunch at a Pret A Manger since we planned to have High Tea at The National Cafe in the Portrait Gallery at 3 in the afternoon. We walked down to the Thames and crossed the Golden Jubilee Bridge before hanging out for a bit in the Jubilee Garden in the shade of the London Eye. We walked back to check out the art at the National Gallery before heading over to the Portrait Gallery next door. When it was tea time, we went to the top floor and got a table against the window with a rooftop view of London. (another great recommendation) The weather was so clear we could see so much of London! In one direction we could see Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square and the Palace of Westminster in the background. The other direction we could see the London Eye and even the famous Shard. I'm not really a tea drinker but I had a pot of English Breakfast tea with probably 3 cubes of sugar and some cream. It was sweet and I'd drink it again but the way I drank it is probably sacrilegious according to anyone British (apologies)!

I'm cringing looking back at the crowd knowing what I know now about COVID

Poor guy!

Looked up to see this was once where Ben Franklin Lived

Gustav Klimpt is my favorite Artist

Elizabeth I at her Coronation and the Darnley Portrait of her later in life. Both in the Portrait Gallery

Panoramic view from the National Cafe

After Tea, we had no plans but to walk around Covent Garden and explore the neighborhoods nearby. I had heard of an alley that is part of the Harry Potter London tour - Goodwin Court aka Diagon Alley. It was very cute and one window even had a Hedwig in the window as a nod to the fans. We wandered the streets over towards Covent Garden which was busy with people getting drinks after work. We made our way north back towards the hotel and stopped again inside Neals Yard where people hung out now that it wasn't raining. Mom and I picked up some food from a grocery store and went back to the hotel to eat in our room after such a long day. The news that night was reporting people should isolate themselves for two weeks if they had visited the countries of China, Iran, Italy, Japan and South Korea. In the UK there were 115 cases but there was still no mention of wearing masks.

I love the pubs have flowers all over their walls!

LONDON DAY 4 (Half Day)

We were at the end of the London part of our trip and on Saturday we woke up and packed up to go to Oxford. Our train tickets out of Paddington Station were scheduled for around noon but we had time to check out one last museum before heading off. We packed and left our bags at the hotel and walked around the corner to the British Museum. Since it was early and the museum had just opened, we were able to walk around without crowds and see some of the most famous artifacts like the Rosetta Stone, Egyptian treasures and Marble statues from Greece. We spent about two hours exploring before going back to the hotel. On the way, we stopped in a wool shop to buy a Scottish Cashmere scarf that was on sale. In order to save my mom from the stress of the Underground, we took a Black cab to Paddington Station. I also bought my mom my favorite lunch when we got to the train station - a Cornish Pasty from the Pasty Shop - maybe not the most famous place to eat, but I discovered them on my first visit and loved them so much I had to get another! After eating in the station we caught the GWR train for the hour trip to Oxford! We used sanitizing wipes at the table on the train but it wasn't a crowded ride. I'll write about our two days in Oxford in the next post!