October 7th: London, Day 2

Breakfast

I woke up early and made my way out to Parlour Kensal Green in the North Kensington area of London. After some research into the best full English breakfast in London, this place had come up a few times so I knew that I had to try it. I made a reservation online for 10am a couple days before and took the Bakerloo line from my hotel to Kensal Green station. I was expecting mostly underground tracks but it actually went through some pretty, almost countryside areas. I was early for my reservation and the restaurant wasn't even open yet so I did some wandering around for a few minutes. I saw a woman throw open her window and bask in the morning sunlight and it made me so happy to see someone enjoying life the way she was.

Full English Breakfast from Parlour

I walked in at 10 and was asked if I wanted to sit in the garden or inside. It was beautiful outside so I chose to sit in the garden. That was definitely the best choice I could have made. It was cool with a light breeze and I was sat in a corner booth, able to see the full patio area. I got a carafe of water and the full English breakfast. It came with 2 large sausages, baked beans, bacon, scrambled eggs, a whole roasted tomato, a roasted portabella mushroom, 2 hashbrown triangles, and 2 slices of toast with raspberry jam and butter.

It was delicious and very filling; filling to the point where I didn't eat until dinner late that night. However, totally worth it, I'd absolutely go back.

Tower of London and Tower Bridge

This was actually my first time taking the bus anywhere and I was so thankful that I had someone to observe at the station. It was super easy to get on and off, to pay, and to figure out where I was going. Google Maps was a savior the entire trip. I took the 18 towards Euston and got off at Royal Oak station. From Royal Oak, I took the Circle Line to Tower Hill. After a 5 minute walk, I made it to the Tower of London.

The Tower of London

Tower Bridge

Fun fact: the Tower of London is not a tower. I did not realize that until I was actively standing in front of it and looking for a tower of some kind. While walking around, I found some plaques reading off facts about the structure and it finally clicked that this was the building I was here for. I didn't end up going on a tour, I just walked around outside and made my way to get a better view of the Tower Bridge. A lot of people tend to mistake Tower Bridge for the London Bridge but the London Bridge is actually next to the Tower Bridge to the east. Kind of ironic for me to say that since I didn't even know the Tower of London wasn't actually a tower.

The Garden at 120

The Garden at 120 is a small, free, rooftop garden not far from the Tower of London. It was around a 10 minute walk to get there according to Maps but it was more of a leisurely 13 for me. Once I got there, there was actually a decent line that was already formed. I had nothing else to do so I waited. I was genuinely surprised to have the line move as quickly as it did; I was only in line for about 15 minutes until I was up at the front. You do have to go through security before taking the elevator up to the rooftop but it wasn't super crazy. People looked at me weird when I said there was only 1 person in my group, probably because they assumed I was with the family that was standing behind me. Once I got up to the top, I saw that there was a bar/restaurant on the floor below and that bathrooms were free to use which is always a win in the city. The view from the rooftop was beautiful and you could see everything on all sides. I walked around and took a few pictures of the florals and the view. It was an open-top roof unlike the Skygarden but it was nice enough outside that I didn't mind.

The reason why I chose the Garden at 120 was because I heard that the Skygarden tended to be really crowded and the line was always long, even with booking tickets for a specific time. The Garden at 120 was free to enter and the line was relatively short without having to book tickets. I enjoyed being able to just show up whenever and wait instead of having to come at a certain to only have my ticket be essentially useless. Personally, I really enjoyed the Garden and would definitely go again. I might try the Skygarden next time I go just to compare them but for what it was worth, 120 was really nice.

Grease

Again, BIG Theater Girlie so I obviously went to go see more shows. I went to see Grease not because I like the show but because I love the guy who played Kenickie, Solomon Davy. I saw some of his videos on TikTok and knew that I was going to have to see the show. I took the Central Line from Bank Station to Tottenham Court Road and it put me directly in front of the theatre. The show was great, Solomon was amazing, the only thing I didn't like about the show was the people in front of me. They were beligerently drunk the entire show and were so loud shouting over each over. Other than people being awful, the show was really good and I really enjoyed it.

Hotel

I took the Northern Line from Tottenham Court Road to Leicester Square and walked back to my hotel. On the way there, I stopped by a Gong Cha for a boba tea then Tesco Express to get myself a little bottle of Asti before heading to my hotel to chill out before my next show. I had my Asti, watched some TV, and then headed to the Victoria Palace Theatre.

Hamilton

The Victoria Palace Theatre

The view from my seat

The final bow

I have always wanted to see Hamilton but never got to go when we were in New York because it was so expensive to see. It was a lot cheaper to go see it on the West End so I was absolutely going to go. I took the District Line from Embankment to Victoria Station to get to the theatre and climbed an intense amount of stairs to get to my seat. I usually get the end seat just in case I have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the show but I accidentally got the second seat in. Facepalm. I have broad shoulders so it was kind of awkward sitting in between people since the seats were so small but we made it work.

I definitely sat there the entire show and was mouthing along to all of the songs and just straight vibing. The only thing was that for Hamilton, you have to be able to sing and rap. Some of the actors could only do one or the other so it was a little disappointing. However, the Lafayette and John Laurens were amazing and I would see the show again just to see them perform.

Dinner and Hotel

For dinner, I found an app called Too Good to Go where I was able to get a mystery bag of food for less than $5. It is used to minimize food waste by selling excess products for a super low price. I just chose the restaurant I wanted, chose the time slot, and then picked it up from the restaurant. I chose the Pasty Shop in Victoria Station and all I had to do was show up at the selected time, tell them I had a Too Good to Go order, showed them the code, and they packed a bag for me. I ended up with a chicken and mushroom pasty, a cheese and onion pasty, and a pain au chocolate. I then took the District Line back to the hotel to eat. The pastys were huge and delicious, definitely worth the money and the risk I took on the Too Good to Go app.