My London Wales Recap!

Since I took 331 pictures, I thought it would be best to just post a few highlights and let you all know my daily itinerary from my fabulous trip! It's 8 days of travel and a bit long, but a good recap of my adventures!

Tuesday, Nov 4th: Arrived at Gatwick international at 9am London time. Alysa picked me up and we headed to the Abbey Road flat to settle in and have breakfast.

That afternoon Alysa had class so I hopped on the tube and went to Hyde Park and Kensington Park. Even tho it was off season, the parks are beautiful and I enjoyed all of the statues and also walking around Kensington Palace!

In the evening we made a stop at Kings Cross Station and Platform 9 3/4:
and then we headed to Liverpool Street and grabbed some dinner at a pub. I had traditional Fish and Chips of course...and a few Guinness!

Wednesday, Nov 5th: My birthday started out by heading to the National Theater to see if I could get a ticket to the play Alysa and her class were attending that evening. I did get a standing room ticket for 5 pounds which was fine because the play was only about 1 hour and 40 minutes. We then strolled along the Thames past the London Eye and over the bridge to Big Ben and Parliament. There was alot of security as Parliament was in session.

We headed over to West Minster Abbey and took the tour of this amazing structure. I was so impressed and did not realize how many and who was actually buried there! Besides Royals the likes of Mary Queen of Scots, but Sir Lawrence Olivier, Sir Isaac Newton and Darwin are buried there as well!

That evening we ate at a little chain eatery called EAT. One of Alysa's classmates was not attending the show that night so they gave me his ticket. The seats were second row balcony and the play was "Oedipus" starring Ralph Fiennes!!! It was wonderful.

Afterwards a few of Alysa's classmates joineds us for drinks near Trafalger Square for my birthday. The pubs are all so cozy and wonderful in London.

Thursday Nov 6th: Up early again for shopping at Top Shop and the famous Hamley's toy shop in Oxford Circus. Coffees at Cafe Nero and a tour of the area of Soho where Alysa has her internship with a casting company.

Alysa had class again so I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was lovely and had lots of great English hertitage from Medieval to present day. I enjoyed getting lost in all the history for a few hours! This is the largest bed in Britain: the Bed of Ware and quite possibly the bed of my dreams. The carvings on the frame and ceiling were amazing tho this picture couldn't capture it's true beauty:

At 6pm I hopped on the tube and went to meet Alysa at the Tottenheim Court Road Stop. From there we met up with my friend Becca who has worked in London for about 5 years in publishing. We went to a pub and sat and chit chatted and had some more great beer! It was great to catch up with her and I look forward to her being home at Christmas so we can once again chat over drinks!

Friday, Nov 7th: An especailly early start because we were headed to Pembroke, Wales for the weekend. The train ride was about 5 hours, but went fast.

We arrived in Pembroke around 2pm and checked into our lovely Welsh Inn, just a stone's throw from the Pembroke Castle!

I had a wonderful Steak and Guinness Pie for late lunch at a local eatery and we took a walk around this beautiful town and through the paths that encircled the castle. It was beautiful to see the castle as the lights began to light it up in the ever growing darkness. The town was small and quaint and the people were very friendly and helpful.

That night we went to a local pub called the Castle Inn which was so cool inside. We met some Welsh calvary boys, which made me feel REALLY old. :) They were quite nice and very interested to know why Americans were in Pembroke, since it is such a small out of the way town.

We returned to our Inn for sandwiches and a final drink and discussions with the owners and locals turned quickly to the new American President, and what they thought our ethnic backgrounds were. It was an interesting evening!

Saturday Nov 8th: Today we tour the castle! After a traditional english breakfast at our Inn, we went to the castle and found that entry was only 3.50 pounds!! No guides, just a book to take along, so you could take your time and run around by yourself for as long as you wanted! It took us a few hours to go through the entire castle complex. It was huge! The sun came out and tho it was a bit windy it was warm and sunny and blue skies prevailed until about 3 pm! A perfect day.


Pembroke Castle is a medeival castle that was originally a wooden structure in 1193 which gave way to the current stone structure in the 1200's. Henry the VII was born there and it was quite a pivital spot for Welsh and English history.

After the castle we had soup and tea and sweets at a local eatery just across of from the castle. This tided us over until we had our large meal at the Inn that night. I had a lovely Welsh lamb dish. It was wonderful! Alysa and I finished our bottle of wine and sat in the cozy bar for the evening as the rain had begun and was very heavy.

Sunday, Nov 9th: We decide to be lazy and veg until about 11:30 when we had to check out. We packed up, settled our bill and checked out. The Inn was nice enough to let us leave our bags while we walked about a bit. We mailed our postcards and the rain got heavier so we went back to the Inn and had lunch, dessert and tea and sat chatting in the coziness until it was time to catch our train.

The rain had been so persistant that the trains were unsure as to timing because of delays with flooding in areas. We were lucky to get back and make all of our connections. We arrived back in london about 12:40am. In reference to a comment from Jen Mathis: I believe I was well prepared for the cold damp of Wales that day BECAUSE I am from Upstate NY! :)

Monday, Nov 10th: Up by 7am and headed to Tower of London.
I had no idea how large the grounds were. We spent the morning there in the towers, seeing the crown jewels and seeing the place where the beheadings took place. This pic is standing on the site of the executions and what the accused would see as their last site...I know, how creepy but a grisley part of English heritage that should not be ignored:

There is a building that contains the arsenal and armour of knights, including Henry VIII suits of armour seen here: I hate to say that I knew very little about the Tower of London and the significance of many things that happened there. I was very intrigued and find myself in major reseach mode now that I am back! View of Tower Bridge from within the walls of the London Tower:

After the Tower we went to do a wonderfully touristy tour of "the London Dungeons. Mixing horror tales with history we curved through a mirror maze, stories and recreations of the plague, Jack the Ripper's killings, Sweeney Todd's Barber Shop and hangings of thieves. It was cheesy and fun and ridiculous. the walls REALLY WERE covered in Mirror (so be careful with those lazer cats!) and I will never forget the look on my face...(Alysa!)

For dinner we went to this great noodle house chain called Wagamama in South Bank. The food was great and it was nice to sit and dry off for a bit from the only rainy day we'd had before continuing our journey.

Next was the London Eye at night! The Eye is situated on the banks fo the Thames diagonally across the bridge from Big Ben and the 360 degree views of London are amazing...especailly at night!

Tuesday Nov 11th: My last day in London :( Alysa and I got up and headed to Buckingham Palace. It is a beautiful site but the Queen was not at home. Apparently when the British flag is up she is not home but when her personal flag is up she is in residence.

We lunched at Pret A Manger, a trendy fresh food style chain and then headed to the British Museum. Alysa toured the Egyptian areas with me and then headed to class. I stayed and saw all but one exhibit!

My highlight was The Rosetta Stone. It was wonderful to finally lay eyes on the real thing since I had written a paper in 7th grade on it and had been facinated with it ever since. It was hard to take a pic with how it was lite, but I like the fact that you can see my reflection taking the picture!

I have to say, the V & A museum was more interesting to me in many ways than the British Museum, but I was glad I got to tour it extensively.

For my final evening and meal in London, I had made my mind up that I MUST go to Fleet Street and eat a Meat Pie! We found a great little pub called The Old Bell on Fleet Street and I got my wish: a steak and ale pie...YUMMY!

On our way home we took our inevitable Telephone booth pics and were tired from all the days events.

Wenesday, Nov 12th: Up early, packed up and to the tube to Victoria Station to catch the Gatwick express train. It had been a wonderful trip that went so fast, but I saw so much. Thanks for the hospitality and Tour Guide services of my niece Alysa! I had a an amazing time with you!