This Friday we head to the UK for our 5th visit and second extended stay in London. The first time we were there we fit in tons of sightseeing, but hey, this is London we’re talking about… there’s still lots more to see & do. On our hit list this time:
- Tower of London
- Thorpe park
- Museum of London/Museum of London Docklands
- Westminster Abbey
- Warwick Castle
- Buckingham Palace tour (last time we were they they weren’t giving tours)
- London Aquarium
- Parliament
- St. Paul’s Cathedral
- Showing of ‘Wicked’ at the Apollo Victoria Theatre
- Duck tour (at Sydney’s request)
- Big Ben (seen only from afar on our last visit)
- Westfield Shopping Centre
- London Eye
- Beaulieu Estates/Abbey/National Motor Museum/’World of Top Gear’ Exhibit
Add to this what we saw the the first time:
- Stonehenge
- Changing of the Guard @ Buckingham Palace
- British Museum
- Dali Universe
- Kensington Palace
- Somerset House
- Tate Modern
- Science Museum
- Hampton Court
- Leeds Castle
- Victoria & Albert Museum
- Natural History Museum
Put it all together and I think we’ll have covered most of what this amazing city has to offer. That said, if anyone has a last minute tip on something we should not miss, I’m all ears. I’ve got a lot on our agenda but there’s always room for more. The way I see it there are two schools of thought when it comes to vacationing:
(1) See a few things with plenty of relaxation in between and make sure to save some sightseeing for your next visit. Sleep in, eat well in nice restaurants, and end the evening with a relaxing glass of wine while watching the sunset from a famous landmark. The whole: ‘a vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in’ school of thought.
(2) You may never be here again, so cram in as much as you possibly can. Take lots of pictures. Grab take away meals on the run when & where you find them. You can sleep when you’re back home; if you don’t come away from vacation exhausted, you did something wrong. Screw the booze - you need to be sharp and hit the ground running when the alarm goes off at 6:00 a.m.
Personally, I’m all about number two. (<– hey look! a poop joke!)
This trip will be a little different because Jim and Robbie won’t be there most of the time. Robbie is going to Spain with a group of friends and Jim will fly back to Dresden to work next mon-thu. (joining us on weekends only). That, and we’re not leasing a car this time… only using public transit. Did I mention I’m terrible with directions? Following them…. asking for them…. remembering to write them down in the first place…. I pretty much suck at it all. So I’m filled with horrible visions of me lost in London with Sydney and no one to call for help. Should be fun.
So here’s to carpeing the diem, opening myself up to all that London has to offer, and improving my map-reading skills!
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