Goodbye Ireland, Hello UK
Thursday, October 12
Spent today at sea, packing our luggage for tomorrow’s departure. Although, I did have a wine and chocolate tasting scheduled for us at 1pm! I was very much so in need of a nap afterwards…
Friday, October 13
8am - All aboard the Southampton train to….London! Where we’re spending our last two days. Our ship docked in Southampton early this morning and we were off of it by 7:30. We accidentally slept until 6:45, ignoring countless alarms but we still obviously made it off the ship by the required 8:30. Tickets from Southampton to London Waterloo station: £104.00 for two people, one way. Much better than a $260 taxi.
We couldn’t check in to our hotel until 3, but dropped off our luggage at least and headed out to explore the city. I have been to London almost 9 years ago, so we were able to skip some of the more touristy things, although I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of see Big Ben. We got our Underground tickets, headed to Bond Street and Regent Street for some shopping / sightseeing. I showed Austin the gorgeous Liberty department store then we had some delicious udon for lunch.
Next up, the Warren Mews.
After check in, we settled into a room before heading out again to tick off a couple photography spots on my list. My most anticipated: the tunnel view shot directly across from Big Ben. It might have smelled like New Orleans, but the shot I got is frame-worthy. Then I took Austin on a lengthy walk to Buckingham Palace.
For dinner, we ate at a pub near our hotel! Their shepherds pie was delicious.
Saturday, October 14
7:45am - Our last day… Got lots to do today! Tea at the Shangri-La, the Shard @ 12:30 and dinners reservations at Bob Bob Richard at 8PM. But for now, lots of walking to find photos spots and to find some great food!
First stop, Hampstead Heath. Then on to Nottinghill, Sherlock Holmes museum, and St. Paul’s cathedral to see the black phone booth, all before our tea at 12:30. Our afternoon tea was unforgettable. Austin was worried he wouldn’t be full from it, so I had a backup plan to visit the nearby Borough Market, but surprise!! The views were phenomenal, as well as the weather and the food.
Afterwards, we visited a couple photo spots near Tower Bridge. Which is already super close to the Shard. Fun fact: Tower Bridge is actually the name of the bridge that everyone mistakes as London Bridge (which in fact is one bridge over). Then we headed back to the hotel to relax and get ready before dinner.
The food and atmosphere at Bob Bob Ricard was fabulous. My kind of dining lol.
Sunday, October 15
Booooooo. Heading back home today. We left our hotel at 6:30am, got to the airport and through security around 8am. Flight leaves at 11:15.
I’ve never been more uncomfortable on a flight than I was on the second flight home, from JFK to MSY. I could not get comfortable, my back was killing me and even though I’m short, there was absolutely not enough leg room. Luckily that was a shorter flight.
Overall, it was good trip. My favorite days were our day in Dublin and our two days in London. We already know we will back to Ireland someday, but this time we plan on road tripping around the country. No more cruises for us, at least not for some time. But more of that in my next blog….
So where to next?
