We had such an amazing time in London, and we definitely would like to visit again sometime. Like New York, London is a city where you can never run out of things to do, which makes it an excellent vacation spot.
Here are some final stats on our vacation:
- We were in Europe for 32 days.
- We visited 3 countries.
- We saw 10 plays.
- We visited 12 museums.
- We checked out 21 additional tourist attractions.
- We ate and drank at 46 different restaurants and pubs.
- We took over 1,000 photos.
Hannah's list:
1. The Audience
2. The Importance of Being Earnest
3. The 39 Steps
4. Miss Saigon
5. The Play That Goes Wrong
6. The Mentalists
7. Bend It Like Beckham
8. The Mousetrap
9. Measure for Measure
10. Bad Jews (this is the only one that I actively disliked)
Jon's list:
1. The Play That Goes Wrong
2. The Audience
3. The 39 Steps
4. The Importance of Being Earnest
5. The Mentalists
6. The Mousetrap
7. Miss Saigon
8. Bend It Like Beckham
9. Measure for Measure
10. Bad Jews (while I didn't hate it, it definitely wasn't great)
Throughout our stay, I've been thinking about what a good itinerary for a vacation more typical in length would be. Assuming you were in London for about a week, I think this would be a good to-do list:
- Buckingham Palace
- The Tower of London
- The London Eye
- 2-3 plays (things you couldn't currently see on Broadway or on tour, such as Bend it Like Beckham, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Play That Goes Wrong, or The Mousetrap, and a combination of straight plays and musicals)
- Afternoon tea (we had a splendid time at the Rubens Hotel)
- ≥1 art museum (the Tate Modern, the National Gallery, or the Tate Britain depending on your favorite kinds of art)
- ≥1 large museum (e.g. the Natural History Museum or the Victoria and Albert Museum, depending on your interests. Again, don't go to the British Museum, it is wildly problematic)
- ≥1 little museum (I recommend Cartoon, Design, Dickens, and Fashion and Textile)
- ≥1 really old house of worship (I'd recommend St. Paul's over Westminster Abbey if you only have time for one. St. Paul's doesn't have a wait to get in, it's less crowded, and you have the opportunity to climb to the top for a cool city view. Westminster Abbey has more things in it though.)
- ≥2 parks (there are 8 Royal Parks, and many of them are near other popular tourist attractions.)
- Barrafina (both locations are excellent)
- Duck and Waffle
- Lambert's (if you happen to be near the Balham area)
- Savoir Faire
- Pimlico Fresh for breakfast
- Bombay Dine Club
- Dishoom
- Pizza Express (this is not so much a recommendation as it is a tip; they're everywhere, the food is solid, and it's a speedy meal. We ate there a couple times when we did not have time for a leisurely lunch.)
- Waxy O'Connors was my favorite centrally-located bar.
- The people are friendly, if a bit reserved.
- The spicy food is not spicy enough.
- It is hard to get a cab outside of Central London.
- It is super easy to get around on the Tube.
- Despite the country's culinary reputation, it's not hard to find a tasty meal.
- Their television shows are hilarious.
- The Tube totally spoiled us with how frequently it came, although it stops running at midnight which was inconvenient.
- There's lots of good theatre.
- Nothing of note ever happens on the Tube. Everyone just sits in silence.
- It's not as easy to find good craft beer in a store.
- When you do find good craft beer, they're sold individually.
- The weather is much nicer than New York's summer weather.
- It really didn't rain that much.
- Everything there is a lot older than everything back home.
- They have different flavors of Doritos.
xo
Hannah and Jon
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