European Travels: London, England

April 17-20, 2012

April 17, KR and I left Germany and headed for England! We were so excited about this trip, because we were seeing at as the honeymoon we never had. His mom watched the baby, and we were able to run around like crazies to see all the things we wanted to see.

Our flight left at a bitter 6am, which meant getting up at leaving the house around 230am. We got to the airport, and boarded our flights. We took a Ryan Air flight, which is basically a small airport with cheap flights, and strict baggage rules. We both had simply a backpack.

The flight went so smooth, we can't believe we didn't try this sooner! Although, it would've been beyond challenging to do with an infant. We managed to find the bus that brought us into the city (since we flew into London Standsted Airport), and from there we headed to pick up our London Pass.

This was our lifesaver! We bought a 3 day pass with transportation. The London Pass is pricey upfront (about 98 pounds per person), but includes entry into many London attractions - and the transportation gives you unlimited Tube rides within the city of London. And at 4 pounds per person per ride, we figured we'd easily get our moneys worth for that alone.

I don't even know how we managed to see as much as we did. But London is a FANTASTIC city. I fell in love with it! It's such a perfect blend of historical and modern, traditional and chic, I could imagine how awesome it would have been to live in England!

Our hotel.

We stayed at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, a newer hotel (it wasn't even on google maps yet!) with a prime location. It was just over Westminster Bridge, from Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, & Parliament. It was also a block away from the London Eye, Starbucks, and 2 tube stations.

So the first thing we see is of course Big Ben. And we got to work! We toured Westminster Abbey (How awesome it was to be in the same building Prince William & Kate Middleton were married!), walked around the Parliament building, and then headed to the hotel because we were starving!

April 17, 2012. Westminster Abbey

Honestly, from there it was a blur, and so I will simply just add a collection of pictures from our adventures! The only "fail" of ours? We didn't eat anywhere authentic or exciting, but mostly because by the end of the day we just wanted to grab some food and eat in front of the tele!

Parliament & Big Ben. April 17, 2012

London Eye from Westminster Bridge. April 17, 2012

Buckingham Palace. April 17, 2012

View from Tower Bridge over the River Thames. April 17, 2012

Tower Bridge. April 17, 2012

Tower of London. April 17, 2012

Tower of London, HMS Belfast, Tower Bridge. April 17, 2012

This is what London Bridge looks like... April 17, 2012

Millenium walking bridge - this is the bridge the Death Eaters destroy at the beginning of Harry Potter 7.1

We got to tour St. Paul's Cathedral. April 18, 2012

Entrance to St. Paul's Cathedral. April 18, 2012

Yup. We had to go here, too! April 18, 2012

Walked where the Beatles walked! April 18, 2012

Visited King's Cross to see Platform 9 and 3/4! April 18, 2012

Shakespeare's Globe Theater. April 19, 2012

Plaque for the site of the original Globe Theater. April 19, 2012

Kensington Palace. April 19, 2012

We went to the London Zoo to check out the animals! April 19, 2012

So, there you have it! That's not everything of course - many places you could not take pictures inside, but a good taste of just the surface of London!

So thankful we were able to make this trip, however short!