October 6th: London, Day 1

Yay for travel day! With my whole itinerary planned, I was ready to jet off to London. But a few days before, a wrench was thrown into my plans. I suddenly had to leave from Las Vegas and make it in time to watch the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. Luckily, everything worked out thanks to Mom (shoutout Mom), and I was off to Chicago O'Hare to make my flight to London Heathrow. I made it to O'Hare with minutes to spare before having to board to Heathrow. It was in these few spare minutes that I got myself a famous Chicago popcorn (just cheese for me, not a huge fan of the cheesy-caramel mix), and it was also then where I realized that my portable charger did not work and my phone was on the brink of death. I scrambled for my charger and prayed for enough charge until I could get on the plane and charge it there.

I got settled into my seat on the plane and got ready for the 8 hour flight into London. For the duration of the flight I charged my phone because I knew I still had a full day ahead of me, and I watched the back-of-the-seat movies. Meals provided on the plane were a pasta dish and a snack which were mid at best (I mean it's plane food, but on the scale of plane food, it was mid). I am the kind of person who does not like having to ask people to get up so I can go to the bathroom so I specifically chose an aisle seat. I don't mind people asking me, I just don't like to ask other people. This little detail of an aisle seat made my flight so much more enjoyable for myself.

As soon as I landed, I got in to Terminal 2 in Heathrow and had to head out to the train station. I had bought roundtrip tickets on the Heathrow Express to Paddington station and by god I was going to use them. I changed before getting on the train out and it was relatively easy to use.

Using the Heathrow Express and the Underground

I bought my tickets for the express train online and I was given QR codes for both the outward trip and the inbound trip into my email. As soon as you get in to Heathrow Airport, you head through to customs, which has a passport machine system that they use. You scan your passport, they take your photo, and you're good to go. This is only used if you have nothing to declare and have a U.S. passport. Customs took forever to get to so wear good walking shoes. After customs I followed the signs to the Heathrow Express, scanned my QR code at the gates, and headed to platform 2 for the train. The train ride was about 15 minutes to Paddington station and the Express only runs from there to Heathrow and back throughout the day. That is the only line it takes. From Paddington, I got off the Express and went in to the station. I scanned the same QR code on the way out and found the Bakerloo line towards Elephant and Castle to bring me to Charing Cross station.

When taking the Underground anywhere, you can use an Oyster card preloaded with tickets, or you can just use contactless payment. I found contactless payment to be the easiest and fastest when using public transport so I used it the whole time I was there. For the underground, you scan on in the station, and scan off at the station when you leave so it knows how much to charge you. For buses, you just scan on and hop off; no need to scan again.

For travel, use Google Maps! It had accurate train/bus times and was super easy to use. It tells you the platform you need to go on and the stations you'll pass before getting off. All stations had its name plastered on the walls and overall, the underground was relatively easy to use. The bus has the next stop up on a screen and you can press the stop button right after you leave the stop before the one you need.

Trafalgar Square, a little walk away from my hotel.

Hotel

After getting off the Underground at Charing Cross, I trekked out to the Z Hotel Trafalgar. After quite some time of not being in Europe, I forgot how painful dragging a suitcase is across cobblestone. I got to the hotel around 10am, had issues with the credit card on file and had to call my Mom at 5am EST, got it resolved, dropped my bags off, and walked to Buckingham Palace.

Buckingham Palace before the changing of the Guards

Buckingham Palace

The walk to Buckingham Palace was

an awful idea and I regretted all of it. By the time I had gotten to the Palace, it was time for the changing of the guards. It was PACKED by the time I got there around 10:35am for a start time of 10:45am. I would suggest getting there at 10am to get a good view of what was going on. I had a view that was through the bars of the palace gates and through my iPhone. I am relatively short and it was a sea of tall people.

My general view of the guards.

It lasted for around an hour with horses coming in, a marching band of some kind, and the actual changing of the guards. I honestly didn't expect it to be so long; I thought it was just going to be the guards swapping out and that's it. I actually left before the end of the change and went to a Pret a Manger, a chain cafe, where I got a chicken pesto wrap, a water, and a Diet Coke. Finding Diet Coke on my trip was difficult so I should have savored it while I could (it's all Coke Zero which is not the same). I stayed there and charged my phone for a little before going to Big Ben.

Big Ben from Westminster Station

Big Ben

I took the Victoria line to Westminster station and walked out right in front of Big Ben. I had timed it so that I was there to hear the chime of the clock at 12:45pm and then again at 1pm. It was definitely something to see and hear and the song before the big chime sounded like the doorbell at our old house. It was definitely cool but I don't know if I'd go back, considering how crowded it was around. It was at this point that I realized I needed to go to the bathroom and that public bathrooms do not exist without payment in the UK. I also realized in that moment that I had no cash on me. Facepalm.

Harrod's

From Big Ben, I went to Harrod's on the District/Circle Line. Harrod's is a large luxury department store and it was beautiful, but you could definitely tell I didn't belong in there. Everyone was dressed in designer clothing and I was in an athletic style dress from Old Navy. I was also super early for my reservation at Tiffany's Blue Box Cafe for afternoon tea. I wandered around for a little until my reservation time and luckily I found a bathroom that I didn't have to pay for. It was really nice and clean, definitely recommend it if you're in the area.

Afternoon Tea at Tiffany's Blue Box Cafe

My reservation was at 3pm but I went in at 2:30pm just to see if they could seat me or not. Luckily they had an open table early and were able to get me in. I was grateful to not be wandering around an expensive department store anymore in my uncomfortable shoes. For ~$80, you got an amuse bouche, unlimited scones, sandwiches, and hot drinks, as well as 4 tea desserts. This was my one afternoon tea so I was willing to splurge a little more on it.

It was amazing and I definitely should have saved more room for the unlimited scones, sandwiches, and drinks. I had the strawberry kiwi tea and it was delicious, both tart and sweet that went well with the savory sandwiches and the rich desserts. I have a picture of the menu off to the side and my favorites from the whole tea were the granita, the chicken sandwich, the poached salmon sandwich, and all of the desserts. I was definitely full by the time that I left and I would definitely go back.

The Afternoon Tea Menu

The Raspberry Amuse Bouche

Cucumber/Chicken/Salmon/Egg

Dessert Tower with Scones

Mamma Mia!

After tea, I went back to my hotel and slept until my first show of the trip, Mamma Mia!. I have always wanted to see the stage version of Mamma Mia! since I absolutely love the movies and it did not disappoint. My only issue was with my seat placement. The person in front of me was leaning forward so far I couldn't see half the stage. I also got balcony seats and the theater had the steepest seating you could ever imagine in a theatre. The seats were also incredibly uncomfortable since everything was so steep and the space between the seat and the back of the seat in front was really small. It actually got to the point where my butt had gone numb and I was just waiting for intermission to get up and stretch.

It took so much in me to not sing along the whole time but at the end they had a singalong portion which my heart loved so much.

On the way back to hotel I actually passed one of my family's favorite restaurants, Din Tai Fung. I immediately made a reservation for the day after next and went to sleep. Overall, great day knocking out some of the sights I wanted to see and having a great Afternoon tea.