Part 3 of 3

Upon arriving in London for the last part of our trip, we took a cab to our hotel. I just couldn’t deal with my sick girlie trying to wrestle all her baggage via the underground! I selected a different hotel for this second London leg, just to change it up a bit. We stayed at the Rubens at the Palace, which was just stunning. This was definitely the poshest place we would unpack! The staff was beyond kind and helpful, and it’s always nice to have wine and snacks waiting in your room upon arrival! Negative: the complicated light switches, lol! I had planned to go out, but we decided to simply dine in the lovely New York Bar in the hotel. We were pretty wiped out, so this was a perfect easy end to our long day.

Sunday morning we had a planned tour of Buckingham Palace. Our hotel was right across the street from the palace, so we left a few minutes early to grab a light breakfast of sausage rolls, smoothies, and coffee to nourish ourselves.

We were still a few minutes early, so we walked around to the front of the palace. It was almost the changing of the guard, so it was pretty crowded. I think I will try to witness that on my next London trip.

But on this trip, we were exploring the inside of the palace, not the outside. I wish I could share pictures from the tour, but they aren’t allowed. Suffice it to say, The Crown, Victoria, and other shows do a darn good job recreating the interior shots for their shows. I can’t believe how close we were allowed to get to the thrones, the priceless art, and more! Pro tip: even if you don’t do the palace, visit the gift shop. It was truly great and had a wide variety of souvenirs. Better than any other shop we saw!

Afterward, we wandered through St James Park, where we had to chuckle at all the tourists fascinated with squirrels. Frankie impressed a group of Italians by showing them how to feed them from her hand. We decided it made more sense to let them think she was a squirrel whisperer than let them know how many squirrels steal from our birdfeeders daily in the summer!

Continuing our stroll, we passed Westminster, Big Ben, and the London Eye on the way to our next destination.

Frankie had been jonesing for nachos for quite a while. After an unsuccessful search for them in Cork, we were thrilled to run into a place that had good chips and guacamole, if not true nachos. We were in the Borough Market, a great outdoor/indoor food market.

We had already tried samples of bread, bought berries and cucumbers which we ate on the spot, and I bought a great bottle of hot sauce (who knew?). But having a Bloody Maria, chips, and guac were just what we needed, and El Pastor Stoney was the place to get them! Didn’t hurt that we got to hang with two dogs, George and George (that’s a long story) while we noshed.

Back to the hotel we went to change for the night. On a previous trip to London, the girl had been to a speakeasy and wanted to return, so we tracked it down and headed over there that night. Unfortunately, Cahoots had grown in popularity (and was no longer a secret), so we could not get in without a reservation. The doorman suggested another bar nearby, Disrepute. This lounge is usually open to members only, but they had room for us at the 1960s-inspired bar, so we settled in for a craft cocktail. Then we decided to backtrack to a blues bar we had passed earlier. What a find! We hung out at Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues Bar for the next couple of hours, enjoying the music and the people-watching. This was a great find, and I would totally suggest you check it out. The bartender told us to come back for open mic night the next night, which we considered strongly so Frankie could get herself up on the stage, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Monday was our last day, and I had packed it pretty full. First off was a visit to the Tower of London. I had visited it previously but thought the kids would find it cool so I happily returned (and I will go back again). I booked a tour with Get Your Guide, and the guide showed us around outside and told us info about the Tower, Tower Bridge, and other surrounding areas before handing us off to a Beefeater. Did you know that the Beefeaters and their families live at the Tower? I did not, but I do now. As we wandered around with him, folks kept trying to join our group. He politely but firmly told them that this was a private tour, which I appreciated, as we had paid for his time! Most folks were apologetic about it, although one woman got riled up and complained. She was full of consternation as she asked, “Well how would you ever find a tour?” I muttered under my breath about this new invention called the Internet. A few in our group chuckled at that as she huffed off.

After our tour, we were free to wander on our own around the tower grounds. Another perk for being off-season: there was NO LINE to get in to see the crown jewels. When you look at the Disney World-like metal line stanchions outside the exhibit, indicating that there were usually a lot of people waiting to get in, you realize how nice that was! The crown jewels are truly worth the wait, though. So much sparkly! I did really wish Carter had been with us, and we kept sending him pics of the old weapons and things at the Tower. He would have loved it.

We spent about three hours total there, and I would have spent more but the girl was done, and we had another tour to get to: a pub tour! Booked with Liquid History Tours, our guide shepherded us around London for a few hours, pointing out sights, telling tales, and introducing us to four different pubs. Highlights from the tour included seeing haunted jail cells from the now-defunct Old Bailey courthouse and jail, running into the Blackfriars, a pub that Rich and I had actually visited during our London trip many years before, and sitting in Charles Dickens’ favorite seat at his fave watering hole, the Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. Two thumbs up for the adventure!

That evening, we had tickets to see the show Alan Cumming is Not Acting His Age which I understand will soon be coming to the States. We rushed back to the hotel to tidy up a bit then rushed back out again. The show was at the lovely Theatre Royal Drury Lane and for me, the high point of the evening was something I had booked as an add-on. For an added fee, we were to receive access to a private bar, replete with snacks and cocktails. I booked it frankly because I knew we wouldn’t have time to eat, and I honestly loved the idea of having a bar with a shorter line. Well, it was more than that. We were met by a “red coat,” a lovely young woman who escorted us to the lounge. Or so I thought. It was actually a private room with a fireplace, snacks, and a bottle of champagne, just for us!

Afterward, we realized that returning to the blues bar from the night before would be a very bad idea, as we were leaving for the airport at 5am and still had to pack. So, we headed back and corralled our belongings for one last time. Or, at least, until the next time!

This trip was clearly not perfect, but we managed. It would have been so much better if Carter could have stayed with us, and if Frankie hadn’t gotten sick. But you have to work with what you have. We shall just have to plan another adventure! And is it awful that, as much as I love spending time with my kids, following their schedules made me wistful for my solo travels. I have no other plans right now for any trips, but my brain is working on it!

Additional thoughts for travelers:

— use the underground! Just like the New York subway, it is super easy, especially when you tap your credit card instead of messing with an Oyster card.

— A lot of places don’t take American Express so make sure you bring a Visa

— London bathrooms almost always had lovely, scented hand lotion in them. This was true of all the bars, shops, restaurants and more

— In both Ireland and England you rarely saw paper towels, only hand dryers. Hence, the bathrooms were always clean!