Europe 2022: London Part 2

Read Europe 2022: London Part 1

London Travel Tips

*For any market like Portobello Road in any city of this size, allow more time than you think. Worst case, you leave early and do something else. For us, we just didn’t have enough time to explore all of the places.

*The line at Westminster Abbey moves fast, but next time, we will book early enough in the day to do a verger-led tour and the Hidden Highlights tour.

*Go to Borough Market at a less crowed time or be very familiar with the map of the market so you find the food you want!

On our fourth full day in London, we went to the Portobello Road Market. Guys, this market was everything we wanted. Antique booths, food trucks, old books, old records, and anything else you can imagine was being sold up and down this stretch of road. It was fabulous. I enjoyed seeing the Notting Hill Bookstore too! Honestly, we really wish we had stayed the whole day here.

(If you missed it, read London Part 1.)

Ready for the day!

After the market, we had tickets to visit Westminster Abbey. Wow! This church is ornate and outrageous. There is a large number of famous people buried or memorialized here. I was excited to see the coronation chair and the Poet’s Corner, where the likes of Chaucer and Tennyson are buried. Of course, we were also excited to be standing where so many famous royal weddings had been held. It’s worth the line to go inside.

Just listen to the gorgeous sounds of Westminster's bells.

Poet's Corner was a must see for this old English teacher. But the coronation chair was remarkable. To think how many monarchs have sat in that chair was humbling.

Finally, we went to high afternoon tea at Fortnum and Mason. I rarely regret things I do on vacation, but I wouldn’t do this again. It was elegant and fancy, but even as much as I like a food adventure, I just didn’t like anything we ate. The tea was fabulous though!

The day ended with a walk around Picadilly Circus and down to the Thames. No dinner reservations for the evening since tea was so late, but that didn’t keep us from picking up McDonald’s once back in Kensington. As we did almost each night of our trip, we played cards in the hotel’s scenic area and enjoyed just relaxing.

Total Miles: 6.6

Our final full day in London had us out and to the Tower Bridge bright and early for our Beefeater tour and the Crown Jewels! This place was so interesting and we ended up with the perfect view of the Tower Bridge.

Tower Bridge was beautiful.

We enjoyed our Beefeater tour at the Tower of London.

From there we walked across the Thames to Borough Market. Since it was Saturday, it was packed. But the crowd did not deter us from getting the food we wanted. Bread Ahead Doughnuts and Richard Howard’s Oysters did not disappoint.

We left the market and went our separate ways. Robert went back to Portobello Road Market and Harrod’s. I went to Daunt Bookstore in Marylebone. Mom and kids went to the hotel. WE met for dinner in the hotel lobby and headed to The Sun in Splendor in Notting Hill. Our final fish and chips of the trip!

TOTAL MILES: 8.8

That’s all for the touring side of London. I will end on a few pictures form 2014 when Mom and I travelled with a small group of students and other teachers.

Click here for information all about our London Bites.