Travel Series | London, England
59 days
24 cities
18 flights
10 U.S. states
8 countries
…and I’m finally home!
It has been an exciting, yet exhausting two months of traveling, and I have never been more excited at the sight of my own bed! Now that life has calmed down just a bit (and I’ve been told to take advantage of this before the baby arrives in a few short months!), I thought I would take a moment to put my journey into words, one city at a time. Read each post as I venture in the order of my trek, or just tune in when a city peaks your interest, whichever suits you! I’ll share a combination of our personal experiences, travel tips, and must-see attractions.
First stop: London, England.
With only one backpack a piece, we ventured to Florida to meet up with Austin’s family, who would join us for the first four cities in Europe. Our eight-hour flight left Miami, Florida around 5 p.m. I spent the time reading my Nook book and getting as much sleep as possible. At one point, I was startled awake because my stomach felt like it couldn’t decide whether to grumble in hunger or flip because of butterflies—turns out these were the first ever discernible teensy tiny baby kicks in my pregnancy! From these very first movements at week 15, I was in for a whirlwind of changes as my pregnancy progressed over the following eight weeks.
We landed around 6 a.m., and although our bodies thought it was midnight, we forced ourselves to stay awake and start the day. We first stopped at King’s Cross Station to take a photo at Platform 9 3/4 and walk through the neighboring gift shop. This was a fun experience, but I didn’t realize that the Warner Bros. Studio Tour (which we would do the following day) also has an identical attraction. If you are doing the WB Tour, I recommend skipping this stop at King’s Cross altogether since it is exactly the same. Also, keep some change handy at all times since use of the public toilets in London (and many other European cities) costs about 30 pence, which is especially necessary if you’re pregnant and find yourself needing to pay this fee hourly!
The rest of the day was a complete blur as we walked around the city, taking the Tube whenever convenient (the day pass is very affordable if you plan on using the subway and public bus frequently). We saw Westminster, which had no tours for the day, and Big Ben, which was not visible because of construction. Then, we all headed to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard, which happened to be cancelled that day. It was an eventful morning, but luck did not seem to be on our side.
After lunch, we walked through Trafalgar Square, saw the London Eye, and walked Kensington High Street in search of our hotel for the night. It was a long day, and we walked over 20,000 steps as I struggled to keep up, suddenly aware of the physical limitations that accompany pregnancy. I took every minute of sleep I could get that night, well aware that we had another full day ahead of us.
The next day began with a long train ride to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour. I highly recommend this attraction to anyone even remotely interested in Harry Potter, but be sure to book your tickets a few months in advance as they sell out quickly! It is a self-guided tour, so you can move through the exhibits at your own pace. As avid HP fanatics, Austin and I were sure to take our sweet time (and by sweet time, I mean five full hours!). There were thousands of props from the movies, backgrounds on those who contributed behind the scenes, information on how certain technology was developed, and actual intact sets (Great Hall and Gringotts and Diagon Alley, oh my!) Not to mention some full-size props, such as the Dursley’s Privet Drive home, the Hogwarts bridge, the Knight Bus and Hagrid’s motor bike. Between Austin and I, we must have taken hundreds of photos. I am excited to sit down and make a keepsake photo album completely dedicated to all the pictures we took on this tour!
After the tour, we all walked around Central London, strolling past the River Thames, Shakespeare’s Globe, the Shard, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, and St. Paul’s cathedral. Unfortunately, many of these attractions were closed because it was past business hours, so Austin and I turned in early while the rest of the family ventured out to see Piccadilly Circus (which, according to them, paled in comparison to Times Square). This was my second time in London, and I still left the following morning feeling as if I had so much yet to accomplish. If I were to do it again, I would definitely book one of the hop-on-hop-off bus tours, which we would soon learn is one of the most efficient and enlightening ways to explore a new city.
Tune in next time for Dublin, Ireland!
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