We only had two days to enjoy London because we were using London as a stopover on our way to Tenerife. The first day was the arrival day, where we mostly dealt with jet lag. On the second day, however, we could really get out and explore London. We had never visited London before, so we wanted to hit a lot of the must-see places in a short amount of time. I always believe that the best way to see a city is on foot and, in London, it was to do the Queen’s Walk.
We woke up early and after a little breakfast we took the train from East London to Westminster. On the train, I decided to look up when they do the Changing of the Guard, which just happened to be when we were about to arrive in Westminster. Even though we hadn’t planned to see it, we couldn’t have timed it any better.
We got off the train and headed toward Buckingham Palace to watch the spectacle. People lined every bit of the road where the guards march from the barracks to the Palace. It seemed a little strange seeing that many people who were there to watch the event. Even though it has been taking place on a regular basis since Queen Victoria started the tradition in 1837, it remains extremely popular, drawing tourists and residents multiple times per week.
In only a few minutes, the band played, and the changing of the guard began. Soldiers in red coats, black pants, and tall furry black hats marched by us and to the Palace. We lost sight of the event when the band and the soldiers approached the palace. Since we weren’t able to watch the entire ceremony, we left halfway through and headed toward Westminster Abbey.
We walked by St. James Park and through a lovely neighborhood. It was a gorgeous area with old brick row houses, where apartments sell for millions of British pounds. We walked along Old Queen Street, a narrow street lined with pristine brick buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries and luxury vehicles.
Just around the corner from Old Queen Street was Parliament Square Garden, a park lined with the 56 flags of the Commonwealth of Nations. The buildings around Parliament Square Garden include Westminster Abbey, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, and Westminster Palace, and are among the most famous buildings in the world, all amazing classic examples of Gothic and/or Neo-Gothic architecture.
The weather was nearly perfect, with cloudless blue skies and pleasant mid-60s (Fahrenheit) temperatures. The area around the square felt a little chaotic with multiple tour guides, each holding little flags and with a crowd of tourists in tow. There were also anti-Brexit protestors using megaphones. With as much history and beauty packed into such a small area, it is unsurprising that the crowd was lively.
We headed across the Westminster Bridge to the south side of the Thames River, to the official start of the Queen’s Walk. With it being such a beautiful day, lots of people were enjoying the day along the Queen’s Walk. Looking across the Thames, we had a perfect view of the full scope of Westminster Palace. When seeing the size of the palace, combined with its incredible detail, I couldn’t help but think about the amount of labor needed to complete such an amazing building.
From Westminster Bridge, we headed Northeast along the Queen’s Walk. The crowds began to grow and become more lively. Joggers dodged the tourists as we passed the Aquarium and the London Eye.
We continued along the Queen’s Walk until we wandered away from the banks of the Thames to go to a tavern called Fountain and Ink. It’s a lovely traditional British Pub where we had a pint and chatted with the bartender who was very friendly and helpful. We were on our way to Burough Market and he encouraged us to go back to the Queen’s Walk rather than take a more direct route.
I’m glad he told us that, because shortly after returning to the Queen’s Walk, we passed the Globe Theatre. This is not the original location of the theater, but rather a replica of the building built in the late 1990s just a couple blocks from the original location which burned down in 1613. A second Globe Theater was built in the same location but was demolished in 1644.
We also walked past the Anchor Pub which has been in its location for 800 years. It would have been fun to stop in, but we had just stopped for a pint at Fountain and Ink, and as much fun as it might be, I didn’t want this to turn into a pub crawl.
After the anchor, we walked past the Clink Prison Museum, the original site of the notorious prison dating back to 1144. If we had more time in London, this would have been a fascinating stop. A prison dating back that long must have some interesting stories to tell.
Shortly after the Clink Prison Museum, we arrived at Borough Market. Which, for 2PM on a Wednesday afternoon, was lively. There were all kinds of vendors there, but we were specifically looking for street food. Burough Market is filled with vendors selling fruits, vegetables, meats, and cheeses as well as bread and pastries. What really makes Burough Market incredible, though, is the incredible variety of prepared street food. In a small area, you can get Thai, Indian, Argentinian, and Spanish food. There is a Malaysian restaurant there, as well as a Japanese Barbecue (I didn’t even know Japanese Barbecue was a thing).
We told our kids to think of something that would be difficult to get at home, and we’d try to find it. Alex wanted Indian food, and Emma wanted Bao buns. Neither one turned out to be much of a challenge to find. I ended up getting some croquettes, and Jenn got fish and chips. Four different orders, and we covered India, China, Spain, and England. That is what is amazing about visiting a great market: everyone can have a completely different experience, and you can share that with each other.
Following our stop at the market, we began our walk back to the hotel, but decided to stop at an unusual German bar under London Bridge called Bermondsey Bierkeller. This wasn’t really part of the plan, but when you are in a tunnel and there is a door to a German pub, you go inside. It was unusual to say the least, and I couldn’t tell whether I felt like I was in a lagering cellar or a fallout shelter, but we stopped and got ourselves some crisp German beer before finishing up our walk back to the hotel.
There are many ways to enjoy London on a short visit. We could have chosen to take a tour of Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey, or to visit the British Museum. Those sorts of activities would have provided a great experience, but it would have been fairly narrow. However, if we have a short amount of time, we prefer to get out and walk around the town. It gives us a sense of what makes that city great. It also allows us to determine how badly we want to come back.
We love visiting Europe, and when you do, there are a handful of cities that become the entry point to the journey. These are the main hubs that you fly into before you get on a smaller plane to go to your ultimate destination. For people flying from the US, those cities are Dublin, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Madrid. You can certainly fly into other cities directly, but these cities always seem to have a lot of flights coming in from the US. We always like to stop in these cities for a day or two to add a little variety to our trips. This was the first time we had experienced London, and I have to say, I would love to go back. It’s an absolutely enormous city and we only got the opportunity to experience a small portion of it. I look forward to going back someday.
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