London Looks

 

We spent 10 days in London this August, attempting to escape the Sicilian heat. Good thing we brought shorts, because it was hot there too, LOL! But, it wasn't as hot as Sicily, and I sagaciously reserved a hotel that was certain to have functioning air conditioning, just in case. Cousin Gerlyn joined us for this portion of our vacation (we three Vanchellas were previously on a British Isles cruise, which was pleasantly cool, but more on that in another post, hopefully!).

We seemed to be the only guests staying at Holiday Inn Stratford who were not attending ABBA Voyage. I never realized ABBA was so popular as to sustain a dedicated arena highlighting avatars of the singers, accompanied by a 10-piece orchestra. It was fun to see the various ways people dressed to attend the show. A reason to return? They say it's a show like no other! Are you an ABBA fan? What's your favourite song?

There were footsteps, in the community next to our hotel, that led to the Underground (Tube) station. They also led other directions, probably to ABBA Voyage! The neighborhood had some cute murals and a very nice community garden, and I watched this sunflower blossom during our time passing through.

It was great to have the Travel Trio reunited, + 1 (Emily, our resident London expert) to explore my favourite big city in the world. Here are the things we did (our +1 did a lot more than we did - the energy of Youth!), as well as two mini-photo essays: "Iconic London" and "Old and New."

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Our hotel was located near the park, which is a sports complex (repurposed from London's hosting of the 2012 Summer Olymics), nature area, home to the aforementioned ABBA experience, and much more. After dropping our bags, and while awaiting Gerlyn's arrival, we grabbed our first of many Pret-A-Manger takeaway meals and went on an explore.

Our picnic site. There was a cool mirrored labyrinth nearby, but it was, sadly, locked.

There are a variety of habitats and trails spread throughout the park. This area is near where Emily lived earlier this year. She said it looked a lot different than in the winter.

The Blossom Garden was my favorite.

Emily's Walk Along the River Thames

We weren't quite up for the full walk, but we covered a nice portion and saw many of the famous sites in this area. Great photo opps!

We started at the Tower of London.

Further down, views of Tower Bridge.

Southwark Bridge (very pretty), and the underside of London Bridge. 

Cousin Lane! Onward to Southwark and Bankside...

Remains of 12th century ruins of The Great Hall of the Winchester Palace.

We came across a cool sculpture / poem about the freezing of The Thames. Gerlyn trying out the Ferryman's Seat.

Southwark Cathedral. We've visited before. There's a nice Shakespeare memorial inside. If you want a deeper explore of this area, head to Emily's guest blog (walk 3).

After a nice lunch at Tate Modern's cafe (London landmark cafe food is superb!), we returned to Bank Station (memorial plaque from there) to head back to the hotel. Emily continued on to do other things, the most intriguing of which (to me) was a visit to the original Twinings shop for a tea tasting.

Regent's Canal Boat Tour and Victoria & Albert Museum

John wanted a day of rest, so we three headed over to a part of London called "Little Venice," to take a boat tour along Regent's Canal. After ending at Camden Market for a little shopping, we transferred to South Kensington to visit Victoria & Albert Museum. It turned out to be quite a transportation adventure!

Our ride. I've always wanted to take a multi-day canal trip on a narrow boat in England. We had one planned last year but had to cancel it. I don't see that kind of trip happening in the future, so I'll have to settle for just taking a ride.

Little Venice, which I had never heard of, was quite charming. Flowers were in abundance, and there were some lovely weeping willow trees. No one knows for sure how it got its name, but there was a placard with a couple of theories. 

Off we go! It was fun being at river level - reminded me of mine and GG's cousin birthday cruise. 

We passed under several bridges, including one under the Underground! It was here that we learned about the meaning of the term "toerag" in relation to people who moved boats down the canal in spots where horses could not pull the boats.

We saw many mansions (most rarely occupied) and expensive canal boats. This canal boat recently sold for 600,000 GBP! 

We passed by what's said to be Paul McCartney's favorite Chinese restaurant. Maybe next time? Of course, where there are walls, there will be graffiti. "be kind 2 your mind (& each other)!!" - good advice.

The canal passes through the London Zoo, as well as some former hunting grounds of Henry VIII. This was a unique and interesting way to experience London. Recommend!

Camden Market was a fun place for a quick shop and snack. There were "bubbles" in which one could eat food carried away from the stands. I imagine great in the winter.

Artsy. do you see the smiley-face?

Next, we had to transfer to the V&A. From where we were, and based on the time, the bus seemed the obvious choice. Smiling, so proud of our navigating. Didn't last for long, LOL! We made a stop to pick up someone in a wheelchair. Unfortunately, the ramp would not go back into the bus. The driver got out multiple times trying to resolve the issue, as we baked and baked inside. We finally did get going and get to our transfer spot, only to have missed our connection. The only thing to do was go in the (thank goodness) air-conditioned McDonald's for a cold drink. Dejected, but ready to walk to a Tube station, we exited McDonald's and saw the bus number we wanted pulling up. It was like the Heavens had opened and shone a light on us. Onward to the V&A.

Approaching the V&A, we passed the impressive Brompton Oratory, a Catholic Church with a world-renowned choir. I learned later on our trip that its pillars were a popular dead drop spot during the Cold War. Interesting! The Victoria & Albert Museum is also an impressive building, and it's full of all kinds of stuff. In fact, there is so much stuff, that there are other locations, as well. At the Warehouse, they are preparing to open a permanent exhibit on David Bowie - we just missed it! We were headed to the museum in order to eat at "London's most beautiful museum cafe," but we also selected a little bit of stuff to see - I imagine it would take days to explore the entire place!

The grand entrance had a lovely Chihuly.

In the courtyard, many families were taking advantage of the chance to cool off. Did I mention, like many of London's museums, this is free? Imagine!

We made a pass through the Asian Art. Tara, goddess of compassion, 1600-1700. Yogini, attendant to goddess Durga, 800-900.

Commissioned by the Catholic church in the 1500s, the Raphael Cartoons are a series of seven designs for tapestries for the Sistine Chapel, painted by Raphael. Needless to say, they are considered a treasure. Also in this room was an impressive altarpiece (it was huge!) depicting events from the life of St. George. It was made in Valencia, about 1420. Our last bunch of "stuff" to explore was in the section, Britain 1500-1760. 

Embroidery panel by Mary Queen of Scots. The Great Bed of Ware, a very large bed said to accommodate up to 4 couples. Hmmm? It's famously mentioned in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

Claviorgan, 1579. Beautiful designs.

Apollo and the Muses, circa 1580, where the Muses are playing instruments typical of the Elizabethan period.

Last, but not least, London's most beautiful museum cafe. There was a lot going on! Difficult to take it all in, but I'd agree. The food was delicious too!

Hampton Court Palace

Emily and I have had this spot on our bucket list for quite some time, so we made sure to make it a priority on this trip. As it turned out, our trip ended up having a bit of a "Henry VIII and his wives" theme, so it was a perfect inclusion.

The Palace is a bit outside of London, requiring a train ride, so we were up early to get to Waterloo Station.

We've arrived, big smiles!

The Palace Gates were quite impressive.

Emily standing under the unicorn, Royal symbol of Scotland.

It's hard to get a complete shot of the Palace, especially with the renovations that were going on. However, I typically find the more close-up / detail pictures more interesting, so I hope you do as well.

The original part of the Palace is from the Tudor period, but there is an additional section from the Stewart period. Most of my photos are from the Tudor section.

These last three are of the Stewart portion.

This was cool. The ceiling of one of the gates has this beautiful design featuring the Tudor rose. If you look closely, one of the surrounding flowers says HA - that's Henry and Anne. Everything to do with Anne Bolyen was ordered stripped from the Palace. But, this was one of those missed, so remembrance of Anne remains!

Into the kitchen. I wouldn't have wanted to be assigned oven duty!

Next up was The Great Hall, where Henry and whichever wife entertained guests. It is quite impressive, and there is much to look at. 

The original stained glass was lost, although some fragments remain. These panels were installed in the 1800s.

The Abraham tapestries were woven in Belgium in the mid 1500s, using gold, silver, wool, and silk threads. You can read more about their conservation here. 

Construction on the timber roof began in 1533.

There were a lot of antlers around! This spot is where Henry and Kateryn Parr married in 1543.

The Chapel Royal was very beautiful. The ceiling is the original from the 1530s, while the interior was redesigned by Christopher Wren in the early 1700s. 

This is an active chapel, and you can attend a religious service here without paying admission to Hampton Court! I think a musical service would be wonderful to experience.

These are the Queen's Stairs, which are part of the Stewart portion of the Palace. It was at this point, I was palaced-out and ready to explore the extensive gardens of Hampton Court. 

There are many different types of gardens at the palace. They have a cadre of volunteers to help with the maintenance. This is the grand garden, well really a park, behind the Palace, so I'll start there.

John was impressed that they offered free scooters for people with mobility issues. With the size of the property, there's no way he would have been able to explore much. However, with the scooter, he got to see everything he wanted to.

What a beautiful place to have one's daily walk.

When I ventured all the way to the back of this area, I came up on this cool gate. It's a current restoration project, the Palace's Ornamental Garden Gates.

The Kitchen Garden was up next. 

There was a tunnel of squash. Do you spot Emily and Gerlyn? Food from this garden is used for the cafe, which is where we had a delicious lunch. 

Near the cafe is a themed garden dedicated to Henry's wives. This is part of the area called the Titlyard, where jousting contests were held.

Which Queen's Garden do you prefer? Gerlyn and I got so interested in the Queens, that we began listening to podcasts about them during the evening!

There was also a spice garden and a hedgerow maze (which we did not try).

There were pretty flower gardens all along the back of the Palace. I don't remember if these gardens had a specific name or not. There was also an area dedicated to gardens along the side of the Palace.

In addition to all of the beautiful gardens, did I mention how beautiful the brickwork is?

The Pond Gardens were once fish ponds for Henry. Later, Queen Mary II converted them to gardens to showcase her rare and exotic plant collections.

Did you know that the largest grapevine in the world is at Hampton Court?! If you're there in September, you can purchase some of the grapes, once reserved only for the Royals. How egalitarian!

Our last stop was the Privy Garden. Here since the time of Henry, it was transformed under William III. The gardens are restored in the manner of William III's time, with original plant varieties. If you arrived to Hampton Palace along the Thames, you would arrive at these gates.

Cheese and a Show

I have always wanted to see Six, so Emily decided to treat me to tickets in London as an early birthday gift. Thank you Emily! Gerlyn also wanted to go, so we had a girls' excursion. Before our matinee show, John joined us for lunch at a very unique restaurant called Pick & Cheese. 

En route from the Tube station to the restaurant, we happened upon this cute community garden and park. It was a nice spot for a pause, and John returned there after lunch to read for a bit before returning to our hotel.

Pick & Cheese is located in the neighborhood called Seven Dials, in a food market of the same name. It's a cheese bar that focuses on UK-sourced cheeses, paired with interesting condiments or sides. There are also a few non-cheese choices (e.g. pickles, salamis). This is fun in and of itself, but the really cool part was ...

... the plates pass by your seat on a conveyor belt! Emily served as our grabber and our keeper-tracker.

 

We ate a lot of cheese! Everyone had their own individual favourites, but the vote for Best Pairing was unanimous: Cornish Gouda (with salted caramel & hazelnut flavours) with Clotted Cream Fudge. For those who get to New York City, I recently learned that a branch of this restaurant is opening there, featuring selections from American cheese artisans.

Cousin Cheese Cheers!

Not that I needed dessert, but I couldn't resist trying the gelato because of its unique flavour combination: goat cheese, honey, and rosemary. Delicious! Bellies full and drunk on cheese, we ladies parted ways with John and headed toward the theatre. En route, we passed through Chinatown and Leicester Square and by St. Martin-in-the-Fields (Trafalgar Square).

Leicester Square has a lot of cute statues scattered about. It's like a little scavenger hunt to find them. I never did find Bugs Bunny, but I did find the well-hidden Laurel and Hardy (look up!).

I had hoped we'd have the opportunity to attend a concert at St.-Martin-in-the-Fields, like we had on a previous trip (Jazz in the Crypt!), or to at least have fish & chips at the cafe (Emily says they are very good there), but the timing just didn't work out. However, it was nice to take a pause there.

Chinatown was very colorful - and busy! I've not been to this part of London before, so it was cool to take a spin through. 

Arrived! Let the show begin!

Six features the 6 wives of Henry VIII telling their side of the story. They "compete" for recognition of who had it worse through a battle of songs. Each character is inspired by pop stars, and the all-female band plays on stage during the performance. The bar was offering wife-themed cocktails, which Gerlyn treated us to. Cheers!

Audience was encouraged to turn on the cameras during the big finale. I love the unusual backstory of the creation of this show. 

Emily, already in theatre mode, extended her evening to go see the "outside" performance of Evita. In this production, Evita comes outside of the theatre to deliver her balcony speech and to sing Don't Cry For Me Argentina. The peasants on the street get to see the performance live, while those inside the theatre see it broadcast on a screen. Needless to say, this was quite a controversial decision; I think it's brilliant, perfectly capturing Evita's vibe. I would have loved to have gone with Emily, but I was just too tired - youth energy, like I said before! However, she kindly recorded this so I could watch later. Unfortunately, it's a bit too large of a file to share, but you can click on the link above if you'd like to see a performance from earlier this year. 

Westminster Abbey

Our tickets were for a little later in the day, so we had a sleep-in and leisurely hotel breakfast, followed by some morning time and lunch in Parliament Square Garden. Westminster Abbey is a lot to conquer!

We stayed in this hotel for so long, we got to know the staff. (Funny cultural difference - they were constantly perplexed by my requests for a top sheet!) This morning, the waitress said that I looked cute sitting in the frame, so she wanted to make my picture. Another Pret-a-Manger sandwich; I think we tried them all! 

Parliament Square has a nice collection of statues. Do you recognize these? I took photos of some of my heroes, as well as someone that I learned about, suffragist Millicent Garrett Fawcett. I couldn't figure out why there were so many people of Indian descent gathered around Gandhi, until I Googled and learned it was India's Independence Day!

Across from the garden was the beautiful Supreme Court Building, which had a nice statue of another hero, Abraham Lincoln. Next up, our much-anticipated visit to Westminster Abbey.

A full shot of the Abbey is very difficult. It's huge! We were excited to tour the inside, as we had been here before for a free Sunday organ concert during our 2015 visit.

The concert was lovely, but we were marched in and out of the building, no looking around allowed!

Westminster Abbey is, undoubtedly, ABC! It is the final resting place of so many famous people - Royalty, Artists, Scientists - or there are memorials for them here. Below are some that I saw. I probably walked past many more without realizing who was there. It was a lot to take in, even being there for hours!

Miscellaneous interesting tombs and elements.

Charles Darwin grave and William Shakespeare memorial.

Graves of Dickens, Kipling, and Handel.

Handel sculpture and memorial to The Brontë sisters.

Memorial to Winston Churchill

Memorial to C.S. Lewis

Grave of the Unknown Warrior and Memorial to Royal Medical Corps.

King Edward I (1239-1307)

King Henry III (1207-1272) and King Richard II (1367-1400)

Given their history, I was surprised to see Queen Elizabeth I (daughter of Anne Boleyn) and her half-sister Queen Mary I (daughter of Catherine of Aragon) entombed together. 

Tomb details. The link above explains their history and how Elizabeth and Mary came to be entombed together. Mary is sometimes called "Bloody Mary," and she shouldn't be (and often is) confused with Mary, Queen of Scots, who was nearby.

Mary I of Scotland also had a complicated relationship with her cousin Elizabeth I, primarily because Mary had a lineage claim to the throne of England. She was executed during Elizabeth's reign. In the end, I suppose she had the last laugh, as her son James became King of both Scotland and England, as Elizabeth had no heirs. For me, this was the most special tomb to see.

I've established that Mary, Queen of Scots, is my (and Emily's and Gerlyn's) distant cousin. I'm fascinated with her story, and I've had fun learning about her. I enjoyed reading the novella Rizzio, by one of my favourite authors, Denise Mina, who presents her ideas about the murder of Mary's personal secretary, Rizzio, in Mary's presence. When we visited Holyrood Palace, I was able to see the spot where he was killed in Mary's private bedchambers. Chilling! (I promise one day I'll write about my Scotland adventures - in fact, I'll make it my resolution for 2026!)

Mary's Bedchambers in Holyrood Palace.

All three of these Queens, along with many other famous royals, are entombed in the Lady Chapel. Here are a few additional shots from this beautiful space.

Coronation Chair. Very cool to see and think about its place in history. Every coronation since 1308 has used this oak chair!

Cloisters and Cloister Courtyard

In the oldest part of the Abbey. The Pyx Chamber was built in the years just after the Norman Conquest. For many years it served as a safe storage room for valuables. The Chapter House tile floors are from the medieval period, and these are considered some of the best-preserved of this type. The Chapter House wall paintings date to the 1400s. The paintings show scenes from the Apocalypse and, like the floor tiles, are the most extensive and well-preserved of their type.

Medieval England Day Trip

We called it a day after the Abbey (except Emily, of course) because the following day we had booked a tour of "Medieval England." This tour brought us to Cambridge, as well as to two smaller medieval villages in Essex: Saffron Walden and Thaxted. 

Our first stop was Thaxted, where we visited the church and the windmill, as well as strolling through this village's charming streets. Thaxted's history dates back at least 1,000 years. 

Between the 13th and 16th centuries, Thaxted was a center for the cutlery trade. Do you spot the knives? 

The parish church is called The Church of Saint John the Baptist with Our Lady and Saint Laurence. Phew, that's long! The church's construction extended from 1340-1510. 

Church Interiors. Fun to contemplate all the people who have passed through in such a long history.

I liked this reflection on lighting a candle.

Thaxted also was a center for wool trade at one time. The windmill is from that period. We three of Dutch descent had to have our piccie with the windmill!

Thaxted is considered important because of its many medieval buildings and the design of the city that is from that time period. I enjoyed walking along its charming streets and paths.

Our next stop was the village of Saffron Walden, which is also known for its well-preserved buildings and street layout from the Medieval period. Like Thaxted, it was a center for wool production, and it is a market town. We were fortunate to visit on a day of the Market, and that's where we spent most of our time.

We passed by many interesting buildings on our walk from the parking area to the Market.

We couldn't resist a peek at ABC on our route. St. Mary the Virgin is the Parish church of Saffron Walden. The church dates back to the 1200s, although a Norman wooden church was on this site in the 1100s. It has been a Grade 1 listed building since 1951. I would have liked to explore a bit more, especially those old graves, but the Market was calling.

Here at the historic Market Square, markets have been held since 1141! 

The pretty library sits on the Square.

This vendor had the most beautiful and interesting mushrooms. He kindly let me make photos, even though I wasn't buying.

Bonus! I found a booth selling the English Sparkling Wine that this region is becoming known for. My friend Kristen had told me about it, but I didn't think I would get a chance to find it. Yay!

There was a Greggs on the Square. I got my sausage roll!

Next we were off to our final destination, Cambridge, home to the famous university that was established in 1209. Upon arrival, John was feeling pretty tired from the morning activities, so we left him at a pub for a beer and some lunch, while we three explored the city. (He didn't mind this at all.) Cambridge was very interesting, full of history and lovely architecture, but I have to admit that I found Oxford much more charming. Still, it was a wonderful afternoon exploring a fascinating place!

Scenery walking in. They were really pushing the punting experience. It would have been fun to try, but we had limited time, so it was either punting or exploring the university, and we really wanted to do that.

Psychology Department! Emily wanted her photo made in front of Cambridge University Press, since she used so many books from that publisher in her dissertation. We three, being book nerds, of course, took some time to explore the shop.

We found some merch from some of our favorite films.

It was nice to wander around, surrounded by all the beautiful architecture and history. I can't remember which buildings were which Colleges. Imagine attending university at a place like this!

That beautiful car we saw walking in passed by us later in the day. A wedding!

Shopping, Hopping, and Sunday Roast

Our trip nearing its end, we had a few bucket list items left. We all wanted to experience a true British tradition, the Sunday Roast. As well, Gerlyn, Emily, and I wanted to go shopping at a couple of famous stores. The Travel Trio was feeling a bit tired near the end of this epic vacation, so one of these days we hopped on the HOHO bus. It was actually interesting to do this at the end of a trip, sort of a nice summary of all of the things we had seen and done!

Our Sunday Roast was at a place called The Cow. It was more contemporary, as opposed to a traditional pub setting. I had chicken, while the others had beef. Everything was very tasty! Food coma!

Enjoying our English Sparkling Wine. Shortly after returning home, I saw a news item about how for the first time ever, a non-Champagne, from England, won a prestigious sparkling wine competition!

Being the book nerds we are, Gerlyn, Emily, and I had to make a trip to Hatchards. It is the oldest bookstore in the UK, as well as being the official bookseller to the royal household. Emily's holding up a tote from another of her favourite London bookstores.

Nearby is the luxury department store Fortnum & Mason. We had to experience it! (Did you spot the whimsical outdoor decoration?)

There was a uniformed doorman at the fancy entry. So many unique teas, biscuits, jams, candies ... and more. And we only strolled the first floor!

Emily treated us to these fancy candies.

One of the treats I brought home. Posh!

Scenes from our shopping stroll.

Ready for lunch, we realized we had never had a proper pub lunch. Sorted! Fish & Chips and Shepherd's Pie.

Ready for our HOHO adventure. Paddington wished us a fun journey.

Scenes from our ride around. We even came across a wedding. 

We had our lunch break where the HOHO bus lines changed, near Hyde Park. Here, near Marble Arch, we discovered the fast food chain Itsu. It was so fresh and delicious, and the restaurant has a commitment to environmental friendliness and fair wages. I wish we had found it sooner; we could have been eating more Itsu and less Pret-a-Manger!

Gerlyn and I passed a family eating a delicious looking dessert made from waffles. We decided to splurge. We did have a healthy lunch, after all.

Conclusion and Photo Essays

"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life." - Samuel Johnson

While I've been to London several times, there is still much more I want to see - Kew Gardens, Windsor Castle, just to list a few - not to mention more of England and Scotland! I hope to return. If you'd like to see a few more photos, below are two small photo essays: Old & New and Iconic London.

Old & New

Iconic London