Hello, I'm Caitlin and I'm a travel addict. Traveling is my favorite adventure. I love exploring new cultures, eating my way through each city, and crossing items off of my bucket list that I never even knew were on the list. Each and every city has a magical, unique quality and the fun for myself as a traveler is to discover it.
I have been lucky enough to have a variety of these experiences with my parents through the past 25 years; however, the honeymoon trip that Ryan and I traveled on inspired me to write this series of posts so I will begin this blog series there.
Installment One in "Passports and Pastries - Tales of a Travel Addict" will be London, the first stop on our honeymoon.
When I travel, I don't really believe in "down time" I tend to get anxious and want to be out in the city maximizing our explorations. This is why rather than a short nap once we arrived in the wonderful city of London we immediately hopped in one of the iconic black cabs and had the cabbie take us down to the London Eye, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament and we walked back to the hotel passing Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park and Kensington Palace. Just in time to get ready for our Afternoon Tea reservation at The Ritz.
Afternoon Tea at The Ritz - what could be more British than that? We wanted to experience all angles of London, and this exceeded our expectations! The Ritz was gorgeous with ornate decorations both permanent and holiday-inspired. The staff was friendly, and our fellow patrons were happy to show us the proper way to enjoy afternoon tea. I'm not a huge tea fan, but even I refilled my glass several times, alongside our endless supply of crumpets, tea sandwiches, and assorted pastries. We left feeling like true Londoners!
TRAVEL TIP: If afternoon tea at The Ritz London is something you are considering, I would book a few months in advance to ensure you get a spot as many Brits attend tea here to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, etc. You can also purchase a voucher online. I booked directly through the hotel and they were very prompt and friendly in responding to my emails.
Next up on our sightseeing whirlwind was the Harry Potter Studios - if you are a fan of the books or movies this is an absolute must-see location. Even if you are just a movie fan in general, to see the studios that the series was filmed in was amazing and all of the attention to detail that was in each prop and set was mesmerizing. We could have spent all day in Leavesden! And if you're there you have to try the butter beer!
TRAVEL TIP: We booked our tickets through Viator. We met at their London offices and boarded a double decker bus that took us roundtrip to Leavesden and dropped us back off in London near Oxford Street. It may be cheaper to take the train, but this was hassle free and we enjoyed some rest on the 45 minute ride.
I would highly recommend that you travel to London at least once during the winter months to see the Oxford Christmas Lights and tour Hyde Park's "Winter Wonderland" german-style Christmas market. Both were so much fun to wander around and really added to the atmosphere that London already has. We loved walking through the streets with the lights twinkling down on the red double-decker buses while the black cabs weaved in and out of traffic and pedestrians were everywhere finishing up holiday shopping - magical!
On our final day in London, we walked down the mall past Prince Harry's residence to Trafalgar Square.
On our final day in London, we walked down the mall past Prince Harry's residence to Trafalgar Square.
We went up to the top floor of The Shard, the tallest building in Western Europe, and had fantastic cocktails and mocktails while we viewed London from a new perspective. After, we walked through the cobbled streets until we reached the Tower Bridge crossing The River Thames and continued on to The Tower of London.
TRAVEL TIP: We paid approximately 8 euros per drink to sit at the bar in the top level of The Shard, rather than paying 30 euros to stand at the top in the observation level. We still had the same view of London, but were able to have a drink as well.
The Tower of London, also known as Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, is home to the Crown Jewels. Pictures are not allowed in that section of the castle, but it was quite incredible to actually see.
That night, we had a traditional, English meat-pie dinner in the second story of a local pub overlooking a small plaza area. Food is one of my favorite parts of traveling!
Our final day, we toured the Houses of Parliament walking through the Queen's robing room, through the royal gallery, and finishing in the commons gallery. This was one of the most interesting tours I have ever taken. Pictures were not allowed in the actual building, but I did snag this panoramic in the banquet room we queued up in before beginning the tour.
TRAVEL TIP: I booked these tour tickets through Ticketmaster.com prior to arriving in Europe. We chose a later tour time, and it was not too crowded; however, most of the earlier tours had sold out. I feel during peak season you would definitely need to book in advance. At 25 euros per person it was a bit steep, but after going through the tour I would definitely pay that again. It was my favorite cultural/historical tour in London.
We also did an audio tour of Westminster Abbey seeing the burial sites for high-profile people such as Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Oliver Cromwell and Rudyard Kipling among others. I can only imagine how Duchess Kate felt walking down that red aisle to be married there - quite like a Princess I would imagine ;)
TRAVEL TIP: This location sells out fast and has shorter hours. It is slightly higher priced at 18 euros, but very interesting and it includes an audio guide. However, if you had to choose between this tour and the guided tour of Houses of Parliament I would choose the Houses of Parliament.
Our stay in London would not have been complete without a visit to the West End to view one of the award-winning musicals. We picked Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for it's London setting and because it was one of the few that is not available to see on Broadway in the States. This was great for the whole family and the sets were fantastic! We each ordered a Wonka Bar, sat back and enjoyed!
The next morning we set off for the White Cliffs of Dover! They were pretty incredible.
TRAVEL TIP: This is not something I would go out of your way for, but if you are taking a ferry or happen to be passing near by, I would stop to grab a quick snapshot.
Next up: Paris!
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