London Calling

Have you every taken a great trip with your kids but throughout the whole trip it all felt a bit bittersweet? Our trip to the UK was this. My daughter Samantha had been accepted to the University of Leeds. Of course my daughter’s acceptance as an opportunity to see London with my girls, but the mom truth was that I wanted to see where my first born was going to be spending the next 365 days until her course was complete.

My daughters Samantha and Julia and myself travelled by plane, train and cab with four suitcases and a traveling backpack until we reached Samantha’s 25 step up to her flat in Leeds. Wow I needed a drink and a massage after that.

We settled Samantha in and spent a few days in Leeds to get to know the area and visit the university. While in Leeds Julia celebrated her birthday and we went to a fantastic restaurant called ‘The Alchemist’. The food was excellent but it was the drinks that brought the interest. Julia had a ‘Colour Changing One’, Samantha had ‘Bubble Bath’ and I had a ‘Lightbulb Moment’. Check their cool drink menu online https://thealchemist.uk.com/menus/drinks/ and a few short clips of our drink experience. The following day we took out one suitcase and headed to explore London.

Day 1

Taking the train is the easiest way of transportation in the UK. I highly recommend purchasing a ticket and a seat before arriving to the train station. The train from Leeds to London is a 2 hour and 15 minutes ride.

We arrived in the late afternoon. We stayed at the Holiday Inn, Mayfair which was the perfect location. The hotel was across the street from Green Park which was a pleasant walk that lead to Buckingham Palace. It also was the first stop for all hop-on-hop-off buses and a straight walk down towards Piccadilly Circus. We did a lot of walking and used very little Ubers or taxis.

Since we arrived late in the day we had one thing on our list to see first, Buckingham Palace. We strolled through the park until we reached the palace. We learned that when the Queen is in residences, the Royal Standard flag is flown. When the Queen is out of town the Union flag flies signalling her absence. Also, when the Royal family is away there are tours of certain rooms in the Palace. Unfortunately, we didn’t take advantage of the absence. The rest of the day was exploring the city and planning out what the extra few days would look like.

Day 2

There were many sites we wanted to see but because of our short time there we decided on the most touristy venues. Our first purchase was 2 sights for one price ‘the London Dungeons’ that gave you an interactive history of London, e.g. London fires, plague, Jack the Ripper. With that ticket we also experienced the ‘Eye of London’ with beautiful sights of London.

From there we hopped on a hop-on-hop-off bus that gave us a short history lesson of the city. Once we were close to the famous Tower bridge we hopped off and walked to it. From there we walked along the waterfront. I could not help and think of all the millions of people from centuries ago who actually walked this path too. We walked until we reached the ‘Soho district’. What’s a trip without at least a little shopping? On our way we ran into this little Canadian pub. A quick look and drink is a must eh?

Day3

We headed to ‘Portobello Road’ which was in the district of Notting Hill. The street is littered with thrift shops, cafes and unique art stores. Our visit was a morning trip that lasted until the early afternoon. We decided for that evening to purchase tickets to ‘Shakespeare’s Globe’. I am not a Shakespeare reader, I find it hard to understand, but at this theatre you become immersed in the culture. The theatre itself makes you feel like you have walked back in time. If there is only one thing you must do in London, definitely experience a play at Shakespeare’s Globe.

Day 4

Our time in London was coming to an end and we had not had high tea yet. We stopped at a café called Caffe Concerto. It was delicious and was right around the corner from our hotel. The day was gloomy with rain, so we went to the Tate Modern. On our final night we had dinner at “Fishworks” it was a bit on the expensive side but a fantastic meal if you like fish.

The next day we packed our suitcase up and headed to Manchester as Julia and I would be flying out from there. We had a quiet evening together remising of our trip.

Heading to the train station the next morning was a rush as our ordered taxis didn’t show and we had to order an Uber. I knew this was a goodbye to one daughter until Christmas. I knew with all of todays technology she would never be far away, but as a mom it was a tough goodbye. I gave her a mamma bear hug with tears holding tight and Julia and I boarded the train.

Goodbye UK, see you soon. Take care of one of my jewels who is now in your bosom.

Traveling with My Daughters

London Calling