London

London 2016: Day 7

Laura Irwin

So… I saw the president this morning.  Of course, that’s not what I set out to do today.  But expected rain and colder temperatures put a bit of a damper on my original plans for the day (pun very much intended!).  My original plan was to do a day trip to Rye.  I was looking forward to wandering quiet streets, exploring the town, and enjoying afternoon tea.  I knew a couple of days ago that the trip probably wouldn’t happen and was having trouble coming up with an alternate plan.  Honestly, I would have been happy if I had been flying back to Boston today instead of tomorrow.  

Regent's Park
Regent’s Park

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London 2016: Day 1

Laura Irwin

If you know me at all, you know I am not a city person.  I hate the crowds, the noise, the fast pace… pretty much everything about a city.  So it may come as a surprise that I picked London as my vacation destination.  Especially since I was just here last year for a couple of days and spent a week here three years ago.  I know it’s a bit of a contradiction, but as much as I hate cities in general, I love London.  I think it’s the combination of history (I’m not a history person either, so another contradiction…), music, and culture that continues to draw me back.  The British scones certainly have a bit of pull as well!

St. Paul's Cathedral
St. Paul’s Cathedral

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England 2015 – Day 2: From London to Chipping Campden (on the left)

Laura Irwin

Despite a solid 9 hours of sleep last night, I still woke up tired this morning.  Blame it on my body thinking I was getting up at 1AM.  I had a few hours to spend in London before heading to pick up the rental car, so I took advantage of the quiet streets and wound my way from my hotel in Westminster to Buckingham Palace, St. James’s Park, and back.

Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace

London has a very different feel when you beat the crowds and can enjoy a walk without wall to wall people surrounding you.  I took the obligatory pictures of Buckingham Palace (and the boatload of news vans camped out awaiting the Royal baby announcement!) and then headed back to my hotel via St. James’s Park.  While there are plenty of other things to see and do in London that I skipped over this time, the Cotswolds were calling me.

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England 2015 – Day 1: Boston to London

Laura Irwin
Iconic London Phone Booth
Iconic London Phone Booth

“There’s no rest for the weary.”  Or so the saying goes.  In this case, there’s no rest for the jet-lagged.  After very little sleep (more like a few winks) on last night’s overnight flight from Boston, I arrived in London excited and ready to go.  That lasted for about 10 minutes.  Or the time it took to get from my gate to the “UK Border” sign at immigration (I love that sign!).  Exhaustion set in hard and fast.  Determined to beat it, I quickly made my way to the Underground ticket booth and discovered that my Oyster card from my visit two years ago was not only still active, it still had money on it!  The 45 minute tube ride from Heathrow left me outside Pimlico station, where the cool air and crisp breeze perked me right back up.  I made my way to my nearby hotel and took advantage of the Executive Lounge to grab a Diet Coke and some enormous marshmallows.  Completely random, but coupled with the warm Doubletree cookie and hot shower, I was good to go.

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