Tuesday, June 11th: We flew into Dallas TX in the afternoon and was on our connecting flight to London for eight hours. I watched two movies and tried to sleep the rest of the time. When we arrived in London, we were 8 hours ahead and it was already late morning, Wednesday June 12th. Even though I had slept, I felt extremely tired and sleepy. I really realized just how sleepy I was when we went to a play later and I could hardly keep my eyes open.
As usual, we took the subway train and walked to our hotel, the Hyatt Regency Albert Embankment. We checked into our hotel, then quickly took a taxi to get to the West End, the theater district, to see part 1 of "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," a play that just came out last year. We stopped at a donut place and bought a couple of very fancy chocolate donuts to eat in the theater. That was a dumb idea as the donuts were way too messy and too sweet. Our seats were way up in the balcony, and the stairs were so steep! Also, there was no leg room for our poor knees! Even though the play was pretty good, I could not stay awake for the life of me.
After the play, which started at 2pm and ended about two hours later, we stopped and had dinner at Slim Chickens, an American southern fast food place. The food was okay. The second part of the play started at 7pm, and I still could not keep my eyes open. We probably should have waited to see anything the first night.
Thursday, June 13th: Mike got up early and took a train into Reading, where he met with the AWE (Atomic Weapons Establishment) people and his friend Judy Brown who works for Sandia at AWE. She picked him up from the train station and took him to her house in Bramley.
While Mike was gone, I slept in, watched some TV, caught up on my text messages, did some stretches, washed my garments, had a shower, and went to the little nearby store. I bought a bottle of juice, peanuts, and pistachios.
Mike had his meetings all day and returned to the hotel in the evening. He hurried and bought tickets to the "Back to the Future" musical, and we walked to the Delphi Theater just in time to find our seats before the show started. The musical was very entertaining and so fun to watch! Mike and I both loved it. We also had awesome seats, which made the experience much better. When we left the theater, it was too late to find a place to have dinner. We went to the little store next to the hotel and bought tangerines and apples.
Friday, June 14th: We slept in today. Our plan was to eat Thai food somewhere and to see "Michael Jackson" the musical in the evening. Between the two, we planned to tour Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral like we had in the past. Mike also wanted to take a river Uber to Greenwich during our trip.
From my Journal entry on Saturday, June 15th:
We slept in again but ran in the rain and managed to take the subway in time to pick up lunch at a Pret-A-Manger before finding the Phoenix Theater, where we watched “Stranger Things.” The play was strange but well done, and we had decent seats in the lower balcony. But our favorite show this year in London is “Back to the Future.”
This has been the rainiest day we’ve ever experienced in Europe. Everyone was dodging into store fronts in search of shelter from the rain. After the play, we went to a pub called The Plough and ordered dinner. I had fish and chips and some of Mike’s meal—the sweet and tangy chicken bites that tasted like Korean BBQ—yum. That was the heaviest meal we’ve had in London since we arrived.
We did a lot of walking and stopped at a little store for chocolate treats before getting to the Dominion Theater to see “Sister Act.” We have pretty decent seats, and there’s a disco look and feel around the room.
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| Shots of England from the sky |
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| You can see the Seine River in this photo |
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Day 1: On the clean subway train after leaving the airport
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| On our walk to the hotel |
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Not the best location for shopping and theaters, but super fancy inside, The Hyatt Regency Albert Embankment |
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| Our first show was Harry Potter and the Cursed Child--Part 1 |
| These pretty donuts for our evening snack were too sweet and messy! |
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| The West End or Theater District is a fun and busy area |
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| Slim Chickens for dinner before watching Part 2 of the show |
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| Making our way back to the theater |
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| We walked around and took pictures on our way back to the hotel |
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| Day 2: A bit rainy out on our way to see another show, this time "Back to the Future." It was our favorite from this trip--so funny! |
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| There's the old Scotland Yard, and here's the New one |
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| Passing The London Eye ferris wheel |
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| No photographs are allowed until the show is over, so these photos were taken after the actors came out for their final applauses |
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| The two main stars who portrayed Doc and Marty McFly |
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| These two were the best! |
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| Always a music video of sorts at the end before the audience leaves |
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| The London Eye at night with changing colors |
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| Mike with Big Ben behind him |
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| The Covid 19 heart wall is extensive and full of people to remember |
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| Homeless tents under a bridge |
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| Day 3: An Asian lunch feast |
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| Lots of outdoor food vendors and restaurants |
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| We did a lot of walking everyday |
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| Parliament buildings |
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Iconic Big Ben clock tower near Parliament
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Westminster Abbey is beautiful inside
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| Inside Westminster Abbey |
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| Look at these amazing ceilings! |
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| This old cathedral is so ornate and full of history |
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| Beautiful tiled floor near the altar |
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| Lovely stained glass windows |
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| Beautiful religious statues and stories from the Bible |
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| A burial place for many popes, saints, authors, scientists, musicians, and other distinguished people |
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| Leaving Westminster Abbey |
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Back in the Theater district to see "Michael Jackson, the Musical"
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| Bobbies keeping the streets safe |
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| Day 4: At a British pub, The Plough, for fish and chips |
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| Cute little children's store nearby |
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| I always love the hanging flower baskets that brighten up storefronts |
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| These Harry Potter copycat shops are popular in London |
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| Another cute children's store |
Our fourth show to see was "Sister Act," quite entertaining
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| More walking to take a riverboat to Greenwich |
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| Millennial Bridge |
From my Journal entry on Sunday, June 16th:
I didn’t realize it was Father’s Day today; I thought it was next Sunday! I wanted to send our boys an Amazon gift card before today—dang.
We spent our last day in London visiting Greenwich, which was loads of fun. We took a large passenger riverboat to get there and enjoyed the captain’s tour guide humor.
Greenwich was full of shops, restaurants, outdoor markets, and street food vendors. I know our kids would have loved the experience. We didn’t stay long, but we did try a Korean corn dog from two very nice Malaysian ladies at one of the street vendors. The dogs were yummy but messy to eat.
We loaded up on sweet snacks and headed back to the hotel early. We had a nice FaceTime visit with Sam, Kiley, Jared, and Jenny. We sent all our boys a $50 Amazon gift card to their text numbers for Father’s Day. The rest of our time was spent snacking and watching Poldark, plus getting ready for bed. I washed my fourth pair of garments too.
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| On the riverboat to Greenwich, I took pictures of buildings and bridges along the way, including the famous London Bridge |
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| Greenwich was such a cool place. We need to stay longer next time! |
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| Loved the colorful outdoor markets and street vendors |
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| And so many different kinds of foods to choose from |
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| Had to try one of these Korean Corn Dogs |
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This is where time ZERO is located!
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| Selfie time with London skyline in the background |
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Cool looking observatory
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| Salad lunches at a Pret-a-Manger |
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| The sights on our way back to London from the riverboat |
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