The Journey Day 16: London, England

September 18th, 2016; London, England

On the fifth day, of our visit we took a day trip. We decided on Warrick Castle, Stratford upon Avon, and Oxford. The tour guide was quite good and knowledgeable about the sites and London. She explained a lot about the locations before arriving so there was little need to read the information at the sites. That meant we could enjoy the sites as they stood. 

Warrick Castle

Warrick Castle is quite old, but was updated in the Victorian era and maintained. Inside the castle, it is a cute park for families and kids. It is a little like a renaissance festival. The castle has lance fighting, haunted tunnels and shows. We climbed the walls to walk around those. From the walls there was a great view of the country and the castle!

Then, we went to the peacock garden for a refresher and a small bite. The garden was so pretty! On our way back to the bus we also got some ice cream. 

Shakespeare's birthplace, with a performance!

From the castle, we went to the birthplace and hometown of Shakespeare! It was quite a poppin' town. We toured the birth home, which thanks to Charles Dickens and his contemporaries was preserved. Shakespeare was pretty wealthy for his time with schooling and a nice home. He was wealthy enough that he owned at least two beds! It was much nicer than old homes in the wild west. As an adult, he bought a bigger home still nearby. That house was not on the tour. 

The town, as I said, was busy. It was filled with shops and cafe's. I guess a lot of people visit the birthplace. We walked around and grabbed pastries and some chocolates. 

Oxford!

Once we were on our way, I read and Kelsi tried to nap! We drove through the Cotswolds, but after Ireland and Scotland the land was a bit redundant! We didn't stop in this area driving straight thru to Oxford. We did the walking tour at the school which was very informative. It also happened that a show was being filmed, so we were able to see a bit of the filming. 

It was so cool to see the Oxford reading room which is iconic. The school also boosts some famous students and loads of stories. So there were lots of knickknacks from them, like Alice in Wonderland, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. So I bought souvenirs from the school and some Harry Potter themed items. It was much cheaper than buying merchandise from US universities! 

Hospital Wing

After shopping we stopped at a cafe as we were leaving Kelsi got fudge and I got a milkshake. Then, we were back on the bus towards London.

We spent the end of the night near Trafalgar Square. We ate Italian food, I had rigatoni and Kelsi had pesto. We also had desserts. Then we walked over the Jubliee bridge and down to Blackfriars and back to our room.

The next day, was the day we do not speak of (travelling home day) so that day will not have a blog post.


 

The Journey Day 15: London, England

September 17th, 2016; London, England

The plan for the day was to visit museums: Victoria and Albert, Natural History and Science. We started the day by going to Pret for lattes and pastries. I ate a ham and cheese breakfast sandwich and Kelsi had an almond croissant. 

Then we took the underground to the museums. We went to V&A first, it was big and the layout was frustrating so I gave up trying to see everything. There was plenty to see anyway. The extra exhibit was for fashion week, so there was fashion thru the ages which was very interesting. At every exhibit window I asked Kelsi which of the outfits she liked best out of all of the ones in that exhibit. Most of the exhibits had an obvious favorite, but not all of them. The sculptures and beautiful doors were amazing. I also loved the paintings. We stayed for several hours, but we left before we finished it all.

We decided we needed some refreshers and snacks. We went to Kensington Creperie. I had mint tea and Kelsi had a latte. I hardly ever eat crepes so I am not sure I know what my favorite flavors would be, but I had the apple & cinnamon which was very good. Kelsi really loved hers!

After our refreshers we went the the natural history museum. The dinosaurs were awesome. I really liked the exhibit about Earth's plates and the timeline from the beginning to Earth as we know it today. The human exhibit was also really great. We were there for hours, and when we were done we decided to cut the science museum. I do love science museums, but I'm glad we went to the other two first, I know much more about science and seeing exhibits I know less about was better. 

We had a few recommendations from people on restaurants to visit in London, one was Wagamama's. We knew that there was one near the Eye, which we still had a pass for. So we decided to go there and wait for dusk. We wanted to see the lights turn on from the Eye. We had pad thai and a bottle of rose, for Cait! It was delicious! We still talk about wanting to go to Wagamama's if only there was one nearby. 

When we finished it still wasn't dark enough to go on the Eye so we stopped at a beer stand for a beer. We sat in beach chairs nearby to drink the beers and look out at the river as dusk settled. When it was getting to be evening we went to over to the Eye. We thought the line would take longer than it did. We were still able to see the lights turn on, but another 10 minutes and it would have been better still. The view from the Eye was really awesome.

Once we back on the bank we went to Founder's Arm another place that was recommended to us. It is located right on the river near the Black Friars Bridge. We had beers there, even though it was quite cool out we sat outside because the view of the river was great. I chatted a bit with someone at the table nearby. Mostly about my accent! 

Then, we went down to the Cut and sat upstairs at Young Vic and had a drink there. It was quite a relaxing night. It was fun to get different views of the city. After that Kelsi went across the street for a late night chip run!

The Journey Day 14: London, England

September 16th, 2016 London, England

On the third day I was still a sick in the morning. It was also raining. The plan for the day was to watch the Changing of the Guard. We want to arrive by 10 am to secure a spot so we had to get up early. We went to Nero for breakfast. I had an apircot pastry and Kelsi had a chocolate croissant. We both had lattes. We also bought pastries that we could eat while we waited for the changing of the guard. Kelsi's was the apricot pastry and mine was a muffin. The cashier was a bit surprised when we ordered so much. Kelsi ended up eating both her pastries at Nero's!

We took the underground to Westminster and we managed to get a little turned around on our way to Buckingham. We were so distracted by Westminster Abby, the Parliament house and Big Ben that we weren't paying attention. We didn't take a route that was incorrect, but it wasn't the fastest route. 

By the time we got to Buckingham I had to use the bathroom. So I set Kelsi at the gate and then went to look for a bathroom. I had to go back pretty far, but I eventually went into Royal Cafe. I bought more lattes to bring back to the gate.

When I returned to the gate there was already a crowd forming. I had to worm my way back to where Kelsi was standing. It was raining steadily by that time and kept up as we waited. More and more people arrived. It was a good thing that we arrived early.

Then it happened! A guard on the other side of the gate said there wouldn't be a changing because of the rain! Pooh!

We made a beeline to the tour line for the palace. The tour is mainly to display the royal wardrobe and the gardens, but do see some of the palace as well. The queen's dresses were all on display and they were very cute. There were also beautiful paintings and sculptures. 

After Buckingham the plan was to see the Abby and Parilment houses then we would visit the Eye if we had time. So we went to the Abby. The tour book said that we could get into the Abbey from the west gate without charge, but we had trouble finding it. We went into St. Margret's Church which was nice. At the front entrance we saw a sign stating the time for the Evensong and decided to go back for that.

So we went to the Parliament House across the street. It was a bit of a hassle getting the tickets, but it worked out nicely anyway. The Parliament house was amazing inside as well as outside. I enjoyed learning about the houses of parliament and how it has changed over the years.

By the time we were finished the rain stopped and I suddenly felt much better. It was after I was feeling better that I realized that my head had been pretty fuzzy because of my cold. Once it was gone it was a dramatic difference. 

We went to the Lion Pub for dinner which was around the corner. I had the daily special wthich was steak and leaks pie with chips. Kelsi had a sweet potato pie with chips. We also ordered beers. We tried to eat quickly in order to get back to the Abby. It seem that we are not very good at getting the bill in England. 

We were able to make to Westminster in time, for the evensong. I liked the service at Westminster better than at St. Paul's. The Abby is very beautiful, though I like St. Paul's style better. 

Next, we crossed the jubilee bridge to the London Eye. The bridge is really cute and fits well with the Eye. The line for the Eye was long so we went to the cruise dock and bought tickets for a cruise and the London Eye. We decided to do the cruise that evening and save the London Eye for the next day. We had time so we got yogurt at a stand. We ate it on the dock before our cruise. The cruise goes up and down the Thames and is a great way to see the city. The guide was pretty good, however whenever we went under a bridge the mic cut out. He told us all about the buildings and bridges that we saw.The cruise was made even better because it started getting dark so it was fun to see all the lights turn on. Kelsi decided that Big Ben looked good in green.

After the cruise we walked down the river. We felt peckish and needed refreshers so we stopped in The Warf and ordered bread and oil. As well as a pot of Primm's and lemonade. It wasn't far from there to get to Black Friars Bridge and from there to our room! 

The Journey Day 13: London, England

September 15th, 2016 London, England

After our later night we rested for a bit in the morning. The plan for the day was to take the tube to Tower Hill, see the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and St. Paul's Cathedral. My cold was lingering. It wasn't really effecting my head, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I managed the cold by stuffing my pockets with tissues, I only needed to reload my pockets every few hours and holding my breath so I wouldn't sneeze on the Crown Jewels. 

We started the day at Pret Manger in Waterloo for breakfast. Kelsi had an almond crossiant. I had a chocolate one. Then, we went to Southwark Station. I planned originally to get an oyster card straight away, however, there were so many options that we ended up buying the day pass. Inside the station some nice attendant helped us with our route. I think we were both pretty wide-eyed at the amount of escalators at the Westminster's stop! 

White Tower

The room we were staying in had a Rick Steve's London book, which told us to buy tickets to the Tower of London online to save money and avoid the queue. We had to print our tickets, but they let us do so there. The book also recommended going straight to the Crown Jewels to avoid the lines. So that is exactly what we did, which was fine advice. We got in without trouble, but when we exited the line was already long, and when we walked by it later in the morning the lines were longer and longer still. Inside there were many and more jewels, from decorative weapons, crowns and necklace. It was really impressive!

After the jewels, we went back to the entrance of the Tower to get a tour with the Yeoman. The Yeoman tour is about an hour in length. It was quite funny and informative. There was a lot of information about the beheadings and the Princes in the Tower. I already knew a little bit about the Princes because prior to the trip I started listening to The History of England Podcast. I started from the beginning, but my podcast app also downloaded new episodes! I really like the podcast, the host has a good voice and even though I have already come back, I still listen to new episodes, though I haven't picked up where I left off from the beginning episodes! The newer episodes kept talking about the princes and said that he/we would get back to the princes and find out what happened to them. He had not gotten back to them by the time I left, but at the Tower I was able to learn the outcome. Anyway, I really recommend the Yoeman tour even if it is September and it's nearly 90°, and you have a horrible cold. I really loved the Abby it was so cute, but then I learned that is was a mass grave...!

After the tour we went to the White Tower. The tower showcases the line of Kings told by the armor that they wore. So there were lots of armor, swords, maces and etc to see. Very impressive. I liked reading the histories of the King's the best. The next stop was the bloody tower. It was good, but we almost missed it since we thought we had seen it before. Finally, we walked the wall. I liked the views of the city from the wall and the views of the Tower of London as well. There were armor and jewels in the wall tour as well, but I had already seen so much of both!

There was one other thing at the Tower that we saw. The Ravens. There are seven kept at the Tower. They are big and not afraid of people so they were funny to watch. 

After touring the Tower we went to look for a place to eat. We found a place called Tom's which had sandwiches. I had a meatball one, it wasn't what I was expecting, but it was still good. Kelsi had a veggie wrap. We ate pretty quickly and then went to Tower Bridge.

Tower Bridge

We had to cross the Bridge twice because the exhibit was on the other side! The exhibit was pretty cool. There was a lot of information about bridges and how that bridge was made inside. The best part was the sky platform. It is a glass floor that you can look down to the bridge, and river below. You can see cars pass and when the bridge lifts you can see boats cross under. We were able to watch a boat pass under. 

There is an additional part of the exhibit about the hydraulics, but we didn't do that part, it was hot inside and we decided to get refreshers instead. We had ciders from the Bridge House, a restaurant at the base of the bridge. We were also able to see the bridge life from our table next to the river!

After our refreshers, we went to St. Paul's and only managed to get a little lost! I liked watching all of the people out and about on the warm day, laying in the grass, jogging around, and taking it easy. It was great! 

By the time we reached St. Paul's it was closed for touring! So we waited outside to go in for the Evensong. So I was able to watch more people from a shady spot on the steps. The Church was beautiful! The Evensong was an interesting experience! The singing was not like the Tabernacle Choir, but it was nice all the same. I actually think visiting the Church for the Evensong was better than going for the tour. We were able to see the St. Paul as the Church not the tourist spot!

After the Evensong we went across the street to Go! Sushi. It has sushi on a belt. Kelsi was worried about the freshness of the sushi, because one of our friends was sick at a sushi place with a belt before. So we watch very carefully, and only picked up pieces that were just put down! The sushi in London is different, as expected there were no Las Vegas, Philly or Arizona rolls, and the California roll didn't have cucumbers! Also, some of the pieces were served warm/hot even the raw kind. It was still good sushi, just different. The curry helped clear my nose a bit!

Finally, Kelsi forced me to return home to rest, because of my cold. I guess I looked and sounded pretty poor. I was glad for some rest. We did make a stop to get some cold medicine. It was in blister packs this time, not the kind that is mixed with water. Hopefully that will help!

The Journey Day 12: Wales, Cardiff to London, England

September 14th, 2016 Cardiff Wales

On this day, we traveled from Cardiff to London. I left a note in my journal that I logged the day in my phone. However, I have not been able to locate the log on my phone. I will try to explain some of what we did that day, but I am sure we will miss most things. Maybe I will find the log on my phone another day. 

We woke up in the morning and packed up our bags. Then we went across St. Mary to Coffee Heaven for coffees! We had all of our luggage with us and the girl at the cash register was a new so it took a while, but eventually we were off! We took the food to go and walked to the train station. We had to take a detour because there was some construction going on, but we didn't get lost! 

We made it to the train station and I bought our tickets. Before we went through with our tickets a nice gentleman told us that we should take the elevator because we had all of our luggage. Which saved us from having to carry the luggage up the stairs! We had to wait on the platform for the train, but we were able to drink coffees. I believe Kelsi stopped to get something to eat and another coffee.

On the train, I caught up on my log, finished my book, watched the scenery and had a sandwhich. Kelsi read a little, took a nap and had some oatmeal. 

September 14th, 2016 London, England

The train got off at Paddington Station. I was secretly really happy to see Paddington Station, they even have a little bear statue! We made our wait out of the station and then took a cab, at lunch time, which we learned was the slow way to go. I didn't mind the ride, I got to see a lot of sights. We had to walk around to get to the gate of the apartments. Our host was home, so he let us in and gave us a key. 

We settled in before going out. We started walking towards the river, but we missed our street at one point, we had to go back, but luckily it was a quick fix. When we ran into the Tate, I was able to reorient, and get to the Globe Theatre which was where we wanted to be. I thought maybe we would see a show, but we didn't end up doing that. There wasn't a show so early, and we were getting hungry. So we walked around to look for a restaurant.

Guess what! We ran into Alex and John. We had planned to meet them and Kelsi had messaged them, but we were trying to eat before. Ah well! After meeting up we went around to a few restaurants to look at the menus finally we settled on an Italian place. We sat outside which was fine, until the sun started setting. Alex and I were in the sun for a while, but we didn't move the table until the Kelsi and John were in the sun too.

We all ordered food and had some drinks, except for John because he doesn't drink, much. Inside there was live music and drums which were very loud. Nice from outside, but I think it would be hard to talk if we had been inside. 

After dinner we walked across Millennium Bridge and went over to the Blackfriar. Kelsi convinced John to have a beer stating that it was real ale. The Blackfriar was very busy with people just off of work, but we managed to squeeze in and have a drink. I am pretty sure we didn't have real ale at that bar. Which meant John had to have a real ale at the next place. I'm not sure he ever did! After our drink we walked over the Blackfriar bridge and ended up at Prince William Henry's Pub. We spent the rest of the night there drinking and chatting. It was really fun to just have a night out and not have to turn in early because of a tour! 

When we left Prince William Henry's pub we continued down the same street. For all the times we were lost during this trip, I immediately recognized the underground that we had past to get to the river, we turned up the Cut. I was getting hungry again so I made everyone stop at Ristorante Olivelli and I think I ate a pizza. I think Alex also had pizza, but I'm not certain.

After dinner, I convinced Kelsi, Alex and John that I knew the way back to our room. So we said goodbye to the guys. They were going to Italy so we wouldn't see them for the rest of the trip. I got us back to the apartments without any trouble! Once we arrived the trouble began! We didn't realize that the key for the outside door worked on the gate. So we stood at the gate trying to figure out what to do. Kelsi, had to hop the fence and get us in! 

The Journey Day 11: Wales, Cardiff

September 13th, 2016 Cardiff Wales

It rained. 

We attempted to walk to the docks in order to see the Dr. Who Experience. We ended up getting lost. We followed the signs to the docks, but the signs were for cars, not pedestrians. So we ended up taking the longest way to the docks ever. At one point we almost ended up on the highway. Luckily, that didn't seem quite right so we stopped to check the maps on our phones. Even though, we had phone plans to use our phones in Europe our phones did not work like they do in the United States. So we often didn't have access and pretty inconvenient times. Thanks a lot, Verizon. 

Anyway, while we were stopped someone came running out of the Volkswagen Auto dealership we were next to and told us that we shouldn't walk out onto the highway. Which of course, we agreed and thanked him. He was able to give us directions! Super nice.

Police Box, not an the actual Tardis

We arrived at the docks and noticed a lot of Roal Dohl themed souvenirs at the Millennium Center. The coming weekend would be the Roal Dohl festival complete with a giant peach! The setting up looked pretty awesome, so if you are going to go to Cardiff try get to the festival. We went around to the Dr. Who Experience only to find out that it was closed on Wednesday outside of summer! If only the police box on display was the Tardis! At least we were able to return to the Millennium center to buy souvenirs. I bought some Dr. Who coasters, and Kelsi bought gifts for the kids in her family, and possibly a few things for herself.

Then, we went to Zizzi for lunch. I started with an armatto and sprite Kelsi had as cider. I ate Margarita pizza and she had goat cheese and I think eggplant, but it was called aubergine. I'm not sure. I was a little worn out from walking in the rain. We had a second drink before we left.

We took a boat bus back to the center. It was such a direct route that it was quite upsetting that we spent all that time walking earlier. We went back to our room to change shoes. Kelsi wanted to get crepes so we went to Kapas to do so. I ate a sundae called Knickerbocker Glory which reminded me of a song by Fujiya & Miyagi. I guess the song is about the sundae, but I never realized that. After desert we walked through the arcades which are covered walkways enclosed by arches. So we were able to window shop and stay dry. Most of the shops were already closed or nearly there. It wasn't too late, but I notice that shops close pretty early in the UK and then bars and restaurants begin to open or at least pick up in business. 

After our walking about, we went to for drinks, first we went to Urban which as so cute and everyone was really friendly. Plus, we got to learn about real ale, which is from cask barrels instead of kegs. The beer does come out warm, but I didn't mind that. We had flights to taste a few different ones. They had a lot of specialty beers. I could probably spend a lot of time in the place if it was around here. Everyone was so nice there. Plus, they have fun game nights. 

Then we went to the Goat Major for more brains. 

We finished the night at Chiqutos for Mexican...well kinda. It was maybe more like Mexican food that I have had in Texas, than food I have had in Mexico or in Arizona. Which meants there was more corn and less spice! We had shared a Margarita pitcher...or two! I had chili beef tacos. Kelsi had a chicken burrito.

After dinner we went back to Kaspas for gelato. The quote of the night was: "My tummy says no, but my mouth says yes!"  Luckily I wasn't too stuffed when we finally went to bed.

The Journey Day 10 Cardiff, Wales

September 12th, 2016 Cardiff Wales

Views from Castle

We managed to get to Cardiff after another loud night. It would have been a hoot to join in, but our flight was early. We got to the airport on time, but the airline was delayed a bit. The rules are such that the pilots couldn't fly until they had a certain amount of time off from the night before. I suppose it is reasonable to want pilots that are not sleep deprived. The actual flight was only 40 minutes!

Views from Castle, and of Castle

We took a bus to the City Center, a short trip. The check in at the hotel, Royal Hotel was 3 PM, but we were able to drop off our bags at the lobby. After dropping on bags off we went to lunch at the Yard. It was located in the brewery quarter. I had a welsh style burger with peppers, bacon, ham and onion chutney with chips. It was my favorite burger, very spicy! Kelsi had goat cheese and red pepper on sourdough. Kelsi ordered a beer for me while I was in the bathroom. In Cardiff they had a local beer called Brains. There were Regular Brains, Dark Brains, Bitter Brains, Black Brains, and etc. I really liked all the flavors of Brains and particularly miss it. I think Kelsi ordered us a Regular Brains for our taste. 

Views from Castle, and of the tower

After lunch we walked to Cardiff Castle. We stayed there until 3 PM. I really liked the castle. It was a site that was originally founded by the Romans, with additions from the Normans and the Butes family in the recent past. It also served as a fortress during bombing raiders in World War II. I liked walked around because it was like walking around different centuries. The map for the tour was quite complicated though. It walked you from one end of the castle to the other several times. It also walked out up a tower in the center of the castle. The views from that were really awesome!

When we finished with the Castle we went to the hotel to check in. We also decided to take a nap. Because it was difficult to get to sleep the night before, and our early morning, we were very tired. I meant to set the alarm so that our nap was only 2 hours, but I 'forgot' We slept for almost 4 hours! It was much needed. 

Views of Cardiff

We were feeling very refreshed. We looked on our phones for a good place to eat. We decided on Italian and were recommended Zerodegrees. It was just around the corner from the hotel. I have seafood linguine and a beer. Kelsi had Thai stir fry! She is getting more adventorous every day! I ended up over tipping on the bill a bit. I tipped 20% instead of 10%. I typically tip 20% in the U.S. and kind of forgot. The waiter seemed shocked!  Ah well.

After dinner we went to Goat Major, which my map said is the oldest pub in Cardiff. We had more Brains. I got the award winning Brains, Kelsi had regular Brains, but the top of the tap said Legendary! So perhaps it was Legendary regular Brains.

The we went for gelato at Kaspas. I ate cheesecake and cookie dough.  Kelsi had chocolate peanut butter and cookie dough. They were very good. Kelsi wants to go back tomorrow for crepes. So we will do that for breakfast.