On my full day in the city, I woke up before my alarm - London, or at least the hotel I was at, was VERY loud! I was running on little sleep but was excited for the day. I first made a stop at Pret a Manger, which I soon found out is EVERYWHERE in London - it's like Starbucks in the US, but worse because you can't really go a block without finding one. Thankfully, it's also tasty and serves fresh food and coffee. And has free Wifi! I had a coffee and sandwich for breakfast and sent my mom a quick email to let her know I got to London ok and was safe.
Then I crossed the street to the Russell Square train station and bought a day pass. I quickly learned that the London tube is SUPER easy to navigate - I was able to just look at a map and figure out what I needed to do to get to my first stop, the Tower of London. I did at one point hop on the wrong train, but that was because I wasn't paying attention (shocker), not because of the train system itself. I was pleased how easy it was to figure out I was in the wrong place, get onto the right train, and get where I was going.
I had to switch trains at Kings Cross, which was actually awesome because I got to see platform 9 and 3/4 - the place you would go to get on the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter books! Truthfully, it wasn't that impressive. But it was kind of fun to see anyway. Obviously it's not real but you could use your imagination.
Platform 9 and 3/4
The Tower of London was a neat place, though I'm not sure it was really the one "must see" thing to do in London. I picked it primarily because I had seen it recommended several times on a travel message board, and because it was close to Tower Bridge and the starting place of the tour I was taking in the afternoon. In hindsight, I am glad I visited the Tower but I probably could have hit some other places I wanted to see more (Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye) and still made it by tube to my tour in plenty of time. I had no idea how easy the trains were when I planned my day, though.
With that said - I am glad I did go to the Tower. The Tower of London is a former palace and royal fortress with a lot of history - there were many public executions held there, and the crown jewels currently reside within the fortress (which was my primary reason for visiting!).
The Tower of London fortress from outside
Unfortunately, it was raining and despite joining a tour led by a Yeoman Warderer (Beefeater), I did not get to see as much of the fortress as I would have preferred - the tour essentially walked us to a chapel and gave a talk about the blood and gore of the executions that had been held there. If it wasn't raining, I think he would have walked us around more. Regardless, it was a neat place and very different from anything we have in the US - so it was an interesting first stop on the trip.
The "Traitor's gate"
A square near where public executions were held!
One of the towers, it was neat to see the fortress
The crown jewels were my favorite part of the visit - not just viewing them, but actually learning the significance of each piece and learning how the coronation works. I didn't realize the Queen had been Queen for so long - the last coronation was in the 1950's. I'm not exactly a royal follower, I guess! It will be neat to see when the Queen steps down and the next King is crowned. You could not take pictures inside so I don't have any to share.
The closest thing to a picture of the crown jewels I could get was a picture of the building they are housed in
The Tower of London actually has several museums, and I wish I had more time to look at them. There was an armory and a big museum with tons of historical information about wars and battles and such. I ran through it REALLY quickly because it was huge and crowded and I knew I didn't have much time. In retrospect it was a good first taste of how my trip was going to be - I got to see a little of a lot, but didn't get to spend as much time as I'd like in any one place.
By the time I was done with the crown jewels and a little looking around, it was raining harder and I only had about 2 hours before my afternoon tour. I decided to leave the Tower of London and head in the direction of the tour to find lunch. The Tower Bridge is right near the Tower of London and the tour was on the opposite side of the River Thames, so it was a good opportunity to walk across the bridge.
Tower Bridge
Walking across the bridge
A rainy walk across the bridge
By the time I got to the other side of the bridge, I was pretty soaked and ready for a break from the elements. I stopped into a little restaurant and ordered fish and chips - I couldn't leave London without trying them. I was pleasantly surprised that they were good - I had heard that London fish and chips are very different (in a bad way) from what we're served in the US, but I found them pretty comparable. The only thing I found "odd" was that the tartar sauce came in a little jar with a spoon, which didn't seem very sanitary.
After lunch it was time to walk over to the London Bridge tube station and meet up with my tour. Choosing this tour caused me a bit of angst ahead of time - I was so indecisive about what to do in London, and came across Muggle Tours on TripAdvisor a few days before I left. The reviews were so good and the temptation to experience London from the perspective of a Harry Potter fan was too great. Still, I was nervous I had made the wrong choice and would sacrifice precious time for sightseeing.
The tour was really fun. It rained throughout but thankfully another tourist had a free poncho she wasn't using so she gave it to me. The guide, Kaitlin "Tonks" did a nice job of bringing us around the city to see several of the Harry Potter movie sites, some areas that inspired J.K. Rowling while writing the books, and also walking past some major London landmarks, such as Big Ben, Parliament, and Trafalgar Square. I felt this was actually a surprisingly nice way to see London as I saw some areas I probably would have missed without the tour and it was enjoyable listening to her passion about the Harry Potter series and envisioning J.K. Rowling visiting these places and creating her stories around them. Kaitlin also did a nice job of sharing stories about the movie premieres, creation of the books, etc. that were just generally interesting.
If you get thrown into the "Clink", this is the prison being referenced. Also the inspiration for Azkaban
Got off the tube right by Big Ben!
I didn't have time to go on the London Eye, but got to see it at least
Parliament
This was #12 Grimmauld Place in the HP movies
The alley that inspired Diagon Alley
The tour lasted about 2 hours and ended up near Trafalgar Square. I could have jumped on the tube to go back to the hotel at that point, but I decided to spend a little time wandering instead. The rain had slowed to a mist and I had some time.
I wandered back to Trafalgar Square:
Then wandered over to St. James Park, which was so pretty.
I hadn't actually planned it this way, but I realized as I was walking through the park that Buckingham Palace was close. I had wanted to see the Palace and didn't think I'd have the time, so I was pleasantly surprised to find I was only half a mile or so away. I walked around the park until I got to the Palace.
Honestly? I didn't find it that impressive. And I'm really glad that I was in London first, because I saw a lot of really amazing palaces and castles around Europe and Buckingham Palace was probably the least impressive. I guess British architecture is not my style. I'm glad I stopped by but I'm also glad it's not something I planned my day around.
Buckingham Palace from the square in front
One of the guards - he was standing completely still but was behind the gates
By this time, it was getting late in the day and I had to make it to the Contiki Kick Start meeting at 7pm, so I headed back to the hotel. Overall, I was very pleased with my day and while I wish I had had more time to see more of the sights, I think I actually did pretty well seeing a lot of highlights in only about 8 hours. I was already exhausted from walking so much on little sleep, but London was such a neat place to explore that I didn't care.
That night was the Kick Start meeting in the Contiki basement. The meeting itself wasn't anything too exciting, but it ended quickly and the group went up to the hotel pub for drinks to get to know each other. I'll admit, I felt pretty awkward. I recall meeting Brittney, Krste, Danielle, Alyssa, Phil, and a couple of others that night. Not everyone was there but those who were were very nice. I had 2 beers and called it a night. The actual tour was starting at 6am the next morning, so it was time to get some sleep before hitting the road!
Final conclusion on London
London was a really neat city. After visiting so many on the tour, I'd say it ranked near the top. I felt very comfortable walking around as it was very clean and easy to navigate. There were tons of things to do, the food was good, and the people were friendly. I would love to return and spend more time seeing the other things I missed.
Love the Muggle Tours idea!!
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