London: Day 2 & 3After an awesome first day we were excited to head back into the city and see some of the other famous sites. Day 2 was a Friday, and with Shabbas set to start at about 3:40 PM (!) we knew we'd have to get up early and get our day started... Thanks to some jet lag and incredibly soft bedding at the hotel, we woke up late for our planned activities.
In any event, we planned to head to Buckingham Palace and see the changing of the guard. In the winter, they do it every other day. It's set to begin at 11:30 AM, but anyone who has been there knows you need to get there early. Like an hour our so. I did some research prior, but because of our late start we didn't get to the Palace until about 11:00 AM.
In retrospect we probably should have just come back a different time instead of wasting time trying to see anything (of which we couldn't), but I guess it's all part of the experience!
From there, we took the tube back to Westminster station and walked across the bridge to the London Eye.
I have nothing good to say about the London Eye. Sure the views are fine (and it was a really clear day), but it's probably one of the most over priced attractions. Ever. Don't pay for the fast pass... And just don't go at all. Shoulda listened to the Wiki and went to the Shard, huh?
From there we went back to Buckingham Palace - not for the changing of the guard, but so we could get some better shots at a less crowded time.
From there we went back to the hotel to get ready for Shabbas.
We got food the night before in Golder's Green from Shefa Mehadrin. The fish, schnitzel and yerushalmi kugel are all pretty good (in case anyone is wondering!).
Total Steps on Friday (Day 2) - 10,500 Steps
Shabbas day was pretty standard at a hotel - walking around, exploring and hanging out in the lobby. We walked to the Marble Arch (about 30 minutes) and then continued to the park nearby. All in all we spent a good 2 hours walking around getting a feel for London and it's cold weather offerings.
You can't stay near Oxford street and not go into the shops - there are just so many! After Shabbas we spent some time walking around shopping and window shopping. Contrary to what I had assumed, there were lots of Black Friday Weekend sales going on from Thursday - Sunday.
After a bit of that we went back to Golder's Green and at the recommendation of the London Master Thread wiki we went to Isola Bella. The site recommends reservations but we were only two people so I was hoping it wouldn't be a problem.
We lucked out and there were two seats left.
What. An. Amazing. Restaurant.
I was concentrating too much on my delicious food to take pictures but we ordered:
- Crispy Cheese Skewers
- San Minam
- Pad Kee Meo (Hot)
- Belgian Waffle
- Gaya cake
Thoughts: The service left something to be desired, but the food! The Thai food was really excellent and different and I thought the portions were generous for the pricing.
The last two days of our trip were pretty mellow. I would definitely love to go back to London and see some more of the museums, history, and of course, Harry Potter.
Total Steps on Shabbas/Saturday (Day 3) [This is a guesstimate because of Shabbas] - 19,805
Running total of steps taken: 50,305
Part III: ¡Hola, Barcelona!
