Friday:Being that we had a pretty late night, I let DW sleep a bit late before waking her up to a lavish breakfast prepared by our dear family members that hosted us. At about 11:00AM we headed to Clapton Common Road to catch a bus to the underground station. For the duration of our stay in London, we got around using public transportation. Instead of buying an oyster card (which is the pass to get on all busses/trains), one of our family members gave us a credit card to use which was registered to pay the special fares as when using an oyster card.
We took the underground (not sure which line) to the Tower of London. Tickets in hand, we went into the shop to get audio guides, which was well worth the money. We spent about 2 hours admiring the crown jewels and exploring the various towers and exhibitions. We then headed out to get some nice pictures at the Tower Bridge. From there, we made our way to the Horse Guards (which we had just missed), passed by Downing Street and arrived to the Big Ben. Many photo’s later, we realized it was late so we started our trek back to Stamford Hill to get ready for Shabbos.
Shabbos:Shabbos was very beautiful! Was nice to spend time with family! Highly recommended
Sunday: Sunday morning we made an early start and yet again with the help of public transportation made our way to Vauxhall Station for the train to Windsor. For the train to Windsor, a special ticket was needed (cannot use oyster card). These tickets can be purchased at the station. We bought round trip tickets and hopped onto the next train. The whole travel time was approximately 2 hours (including transfers and waiting time). Arriving to Windsor, we followed the signs to the Castle. Arriving there, we realized that it would have been smarter to buy tickets in advance as the queue for tickets was very very long. Due to the long line, many people (including us) tried buying tickets on the spot, which caused their site to crash. The wait was close to an hour! Finally, we got our tickets (audio guide was provided free of charge) and made our way to the castle. We spent a few hours going through the many rooms in the castle which were all magnificent!
After leaving the castle, we spent some time window shopping and purchasing some souvenirs. After that, we headed back to the train station for the long trip home.
Arriving back in Stamford hill, we did some shopping (can’t come back from London without Thomy mayonnaise, Colemans mustard and some Kosher eggnog). Bags in hand, we made our way back to our hosts who prepared a lavish dinner/BBQ which was delectable!!! As coincidence would have it, a friend of mine got engaged to a British girl and his vort happened to have been that very Sunday that we were in London so I surprised him by attending!! For the remainder of the night we spent quality family time with our hosts.
Monday:Since we were scheduled to fly home that day, we started the day early with packing our suitcases and a quick yet extravagant breakfast. (Thank you Dear Hostess). Due to everyone ranting and raving about the Fun London Tour, we booked for the Monday morning Changing of the Guard tour. Although this has been mentioned many times, I will yet again emphasize how amazing this tour was!!! I had been to the Changing of the Guards in the past but seeing it while being squashed at the gate is incomparable to the experience of the tour! Highly Recommended to all people of all ages! Upon the completion of the tour, we decided to pass by Big Ben yet again as there was a beautiful sky out and we wanted some better pictures. We then headed back to Stamford Hill where our hostess prepared a beautiful and elaborate lunch in celebration of our engagement anniversary which was that day!
Being that our flight was running on time and scheduled for 6:10PM, we ordered a cab for 2:30 to pick us up which would give us plenty of time to arrive at the airport on time.
Next up……. Our flight home……....or not!!!