The Boatwrights Abroad: Touring London

Much-needed, delicious coffee looking out our window

Our first morning waking up in London, we woke up at 9:30 a.m. - we slept nearly 12 hours - and the kids slept even longer! But we all felt so much better. We made coffee with the Nespresso machine - figured out how to make it Americano with added hot water, plus milk and a little sugar. Drinking coffee while looking out the window, being nosy neighbors, was so enjoyable!

After breakfast in the room (toast, yogurt, hardboiled eggs), we walked over to Tower Hill, which was about 18 minutes walking, and got on the Big Bus hop on/hop off double decker bus tour. We spent all morning looking at various sights in London from the top deck! It was cold., but we bundled up. It was really fun!

The kids brought their digital cameras to take snapshots. We had an audioguide through the bus seats.

I liked seeing Trafalgar Square, which is also the name of the book I wrote, Your Complete Guide to Equine Arenas, book’s publishing company.

Hello Trafalgar Square!

Wilder had been looking forward to seeing Big Ben so much!

Westminster Abbey. Apparently we were driving by during the Commonwealth Day ceremony - waving hi at Princess Kate and King Charles (we did not see them)!

When we went to Buckingham Palace, Felicity wanted to see the palace, so we stepped off the bus, saw the front of it, and got lunch at a nearby pub called Bag O’ Nails. The pub was close to the palace, but didn’t feel too touristy. It was cozy, with warm wood walls and little booths. Felicity and I split a steak with fries, Zach got lamb, and we both got beers on tap. Wilder loved the garlic bread and ate his lunchbox.

Buckingham Palace

Bag O' Nails

A cozy place to warm up for lunch

Holding hands

Royal Courts of Justice

Fleet Street

Tower Bridge. The first time I visited London I thought this was London Bridge. :-)

Tower Bridge

The day got away from us due to getting up so late and taking a while to get going, so after we finished the bus tour back at Tower Hill, we jumped on the Underground to get on the Thames river cruise tour at Westminster Pier - we had booked the cruise for the same 24-hour period as a package with the bus tour.  

Our first time on the Tube (in over 10 years! Wilder and Felicity had never ridden the subway system in London before), was a little nerve-wracking, but Zach and I used the contactless wallet app on our phones, and the Tube employee let us know the kids were free, so we just tapped through the gate and each held one of the kids’ hands, and walked through. 

In a 24-hour span, these kids traveled by plane, Black Cab, Uber, double-decker bus, Tube and river boat! Our transportation-loving son was in heaven.

The river cruise left from Westminster Pier and dropped off at Tower Hill, so we basically retraced our route that we took on the bus. 

But we ended up on the cruise at 6 pm, at dusk, so we saw the same sights from a different perspective and lit up at night. After being on the top of the bus for several hours that day, we decided to sit inside for the river cruise because it was still really chilly. We did still see plenty of sights, and even got coffees and juice to enjoy while we took it in. 

River Cruise

This building is called The Shard

Walking back, we saw the Tower of London lit up.

From Tower Hill, we walked back to our neighborhood. Where our hotel was located seemed to be a primarily Muslim community, and it is known for a variety of restaurants that are Turkish, Indian, Thai, Pakistani, and particularly food from Bangledesh. We are near London’s Brick Lane, nicknamed Banglaland for its row of restaurants.

We got a restaurant recommendation from my brother-in-law Simon’s dad, and also our Uber driver! To try a place just 3 minutes from our hotel called Lahore Kebab House- a Pakistani restaurant. It was unassuming and low-key inside, but the food was very good. Our server brought us a dish to try that had chickpea flour, sweet and savory yogurt and corn on it. He said it was his favorite dish when he was our kids’ age. I had butter chicken and Zach had lamb curry, and the kids sampled the food, plus devoured the nan bread and rice. The food was good and hearty! 

butter chicken and rice

Not sure what this dish is called, but it was good!

We went to bed pretty late - close to 11 for the kids - because we were still disoriented on time. We had a big day the next day!