We flew out Tuesday night, and were able to get business class. I LOVE business class (although I did NOT love the shrimp appetizer to the meal)...
We spent most of the flight trying to sleep, but DID manage to enjoy the excellent amenities...
I also played with some of the apps on my iPhone...
The hotel was located across the street from Kensington Gardens (surprise!) and Hyde Park. It was a great little neighborhood with lots of middle eastern, Greek, and African restaurants and shops. It was really cool!!!
After showering, changing out of our well worn travel clothes, and "freshening up", we headed to Picadilly Circus to get tickets to a show. There were seats available for a matinee of "Shakespeare in Love", so we bought them, and headed to the theater.
I LOVED the movie, and they did a REALLY good job of transferring it to the stage. I wasn't crazy about the performance of the actress playing Viola, but she grew on me by the end, and the guy playing Shakespeare was AMAZING!! Unfortunately, we saw the show after only having had about two hours of sleep. Duane did the "head bob" through the entire show, and I BLUBBERED like a baby through each and ever sad/emotional scene...EMBARRASSING!!!
After the play, we walked past Trafalgar Square (which we spent a lot of time at on our last trip to London in March), and proceeded to the London Eye. I LOVE the London Eye. We take the trip around the wheel each and every time we visit. The difference this time was that we went after dark.
It was REALLY cool! It would have been cooler if it wasn't foggy/cloudy (especially at the top), but, even so, it was wonderful! There weren't a lot of people getting on the Eye, so there were only eight people in our pod (usually it's about 15-20).
After the London Eye, we headed back to "our" neighborhood, found a pub in which to have dinner (the chicken, chardonnay, prosciutto pie was AWESOME!!)...
...then went back to the hotel to COLLAPSE into bed after a really, really long (but AWESOME) day!!!
Thanksgiving morning, we got up, had breakfast at the hotel (the ONLY country where I eat baked beans before lunchtime!), then headed to Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park. The sun came out as we were leaving the hotel (the ONLY time it was sunny while we were there), so we took advantage of the 52 degree weather, green-ness, and sunshine, and...leisurely walked through the park...! Not how we typically "vacation", but it was a delightful MELLOW morning!
...then searched for the Peter Pan statue.
We walked along "The Serpentine"...
...explored the Diana Memorial fountain (disappointing...!)...
...then headed to the Christmas Market!!
Duane had researched a couple of markets in the city before we left home, and thought that the Hyde Park market was probably the best. I'm glad he did, and I'm glad we found it...it was REALLY great!!!
Gluhwein!!!
Riding the rides!
After the Christmas market, we headed to Harrods to do some "looking" (too expensive to "shop"!). On the way, we found a restaurant called Wagamama, which a friend from work recommended, so stopped for a bite to eat.
It was DELICIOUS!!!
We found Harrods, looked around for a little while...
...then headed to the Victoria and Albert Museum for a quick look around.
The Chihuly in the foyer...GORGEOUS!!
While wandering the exhibits, I found the COOLEST salvaged facade of Sir Paul Pindar's house. It was displayed wonderfully, and I LOVED that they had preserved it, and included it as part of their collection! Read about the restoration, and about the facade itself here.
After a quick wander (we arrived 45 minutes before they closed), we then went back to "our" neighborhood to explore the area a little further, and find a place for dinner.
We ended up at a nice little Greek place called Santorini, found a couple of supermarkets to explore, had AMAZING gelato at Snowflake, then went back to the hotel to pack, and sleep.
Friday morning, we had another lovely breakfast at the hotel, checked out, and headed to the airport. We were able to get business class on the way back as well, and discovered that we had the same flight crew in both directions.
We chatted with them on the way back (and compared adventures), then I spent the rest of the flight catching up on movies ("Maleficent", "Guardians of the Galaxy", and "Edge of Tomorrow") and eating...and eating...and eating.
The trip was SPEEDY SHORT, but it was AWESOME to get away for a few days. It was fun to revisit familiar sites, explore new ones, and enjoy the "warmth" of late November in non-Minnesota!!
Here's hoping YOU were able to enjoy a quick adventure recently too!!!!
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