The boys joined us after we had the weekend to adjust to the UK time zone. They flew their first unaccompanied flight overseas. I had to hang around Heathrow arrivals hall for a few hours due to a delay but oh well it was worth it to see them come off the plane. I hadn’t seen them in two months!
So we now had about 48 hours to show them some sites. Nathan had been to London before briefly but it was Peter’s first time. We stayed at the Marriott hotel right next to Heathrow. You have to take an uber to get back and forth to the airport because there is no free shuttle and you can literally see the runway from the hotel. Still it takes about 5-7 mins to get to the terminal. So of course the first thing we have to do is go to a pub and eat…..FISH AND CHIPS.
Yes they were jet lagged but finally all the kids get to reunite!
After our greasy meal we went back to the hotel and played at the pool and made a mockery of the executive lounge dinner.
The next day we went to nearby Windsor. It was about 20 minutes from the airport. It is a small little town and apparently it is where Prince William and his family live most of the time. It is a quiet London suburb — with the exception of course of the nonstop landing air traffic on its way to Heathrow. We went to Windsor castle which was a fun self guided tour. We got to see alot of great furniture, art work, and views. Including the guards march which was eerily similar to the soldiers in the Wizard of Oz.
Eooohhheee ohhhh…eeoooooum!
After the tour we ate at a good Thai restaurant and walked the streets of Windsor. Even did some shopping at some stores. A very fun little town to visit and not very far from central London. If you do not need to go in to London on a trip to the UK Windsor is a great place to base your operations. Next to the airport and connected by train to most of England. Only a 45 min tube ride in to town.
The next day we did go to central London. For the best use of our time we did the Hop On Hop Off bus tour. I believe that for the money it is your best and least expensive option to get to see the whole city. And you can use it as a cab to get you around in case you want to see something else. The best seats on the bus are the front row of the second level. Then you have an unobstructed view.
We got to see all the sites and I think the total tour was around 2 hours.
For lunch we searched the city for some Beef Wellington. Unfortunately we spent two cab rides and a bunch of tripadvisor searches to go to places that had it. But those that advertised it were either closed for a private lunch or didn’t have it on the menu. Finally we settled for the Ship Tavern. I am a big believer while in London that you have to eat pubs. Such good home town cookin (ok it is probably all heated up or deep fried) but the beer is terrific.
We had really only one landmark we could visit and so we chose the Tower of London. It is fairly inexpensive (for London) and is a great self guided or guided tour. We took about two hours. It sounds sick but honestly the wing that talks about torture devices was extremely interesting. We got to walk inside the castle walls and see everything from the crown jewels to one of the earliest toilets.
There was a small chapel that was in the Tower as well. Hard to imagine such a dark, depressing, and horrible death site for so many had a church onsite. But then again where there is darkness is where you need Christ the most to light the way!
We finished our tour and took some pictures right before sunset. It was back on the Tube to the hotel. The next morning we flew out to Athens. It was a quick trip but we got to see alot and it didn’t break the budget. Staying near the airport did cost some Tube tickets but the hotel was about 1/2 to 1/3 the price of what we would have paid in central London (and we needed two rooms). Cheers!
Richey's Travel Adventures 