*These events took place in October 2025.
*This post is very long, so if it is cut off, be sure to click “View Entire Message” at the end.
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Marcel Proust
Greetings from London!
This is my first visit here, and now that I’ve finally arrived, I’m excited to see what all the fuss is about.
To be honest, London has never been especially high on my travel wish list. I think it’s because, as Americans, we’re descendants of England in many ways. We share the language and plenty of cultural similarities – but unfortunately, not the metric system.
I’ve always been more drawn to places that feel completely different from my everyday life.
My plan was to visit London someday when I was in my 70s or 80s – when I’d transformed into a grouchy old woman who only stayed in posh hotels, drank high tea, and bossed people around…like a queen.👸
I’ve also always pictured the British as far more proper than we Americans. Just listen to them speak. They’re like a luxury yacht gliding across the ocean. We’re more like a speedboat tearing across the Lake of the Ozarks with a questionable amount of sunscreen and absolutely no plan or life preserver.
Have you ever seen the SNL skit with Nate Bargatze about George Washington’s Dream for the US – to change the calculations and values of weights, measures, and temperature, and to remove the letter “u” from British words? If not, watch it here, and you’ll understand what I mean.
But James offered to show me London from his perspective, and I never want to turn down an opportunity to see a place through the lens of a local.
James and I drove the two+ hours from his family’s home to the city. God bless James for staying three nights in a hostel with me in his own city. He owns a flat in London but is renting it out during this period of his life while he travels abroad.
We found a lively, comfortable, very clean, and surprisingly affordable accommodation called Palmers Lodge Swiss Cottage. It was in a spooky-looking old mansion. James even did me another solid and took the top bunk. What a nice guy.
First stop: Buckingham Palace
According to James, it was practically a requirement to pay our respects to the Royal Family before seeing anything else.
We walked up to the gates, which is about as close as ordinary people get. Apparently, “royal blood” and “tourist fingers” are kept at a safe distance from one another.
The monarchy tends to inspire one of two reactions. People either adore it, or they find the entire concept slightly absurd – a family that won history’s biggest inheritance battle and is still cashing the checks centuries later.
As you’ve probably guessed, I lean toward the second camp. I still think they are lovely humans, though.
Pro Traveler Tip: Purchase a British flag scarf…not only to keep warm, but to instantly identify yourself as a tourist and mildly embarrass your local friend.
Mission accomplished. ✅
Don’t forget to wave it occasionally to demonstrate your newly acquired British pride. 🇬🇧
Selfies with the Royal Horse Guards at Whitehall.
We’ve probably just contributed to a human fail, which continues this centuries-old tradition of horses standing guard for no reason at all except to look good for tourists who want to take selfies – like us.
To be fair, I respect that they bite and kick people when they are annoyed with them. Maybe I’ll start doing that as well.
We took a brief, and I mean brief, stroll by Westminster Abbey, the site of British coronations since 1066 and the location of countless royal weddings, funerals, and historical ceremonies.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t open for casual wandering and gawking.
I realize I already sound like the grouchy old lady I mentioned earlier, but I’ve always struggled with paying admission to enter places of worship (that typically pay zero or next to nothing in taxes). If it’s a church, shouldn’t people be able to walk in, sit quietly, and say a prayer or even admire the architecture?
This complaint follows me to nearly every country.
We took a walk past Big Ben and Parliament (officially Palace of Westminster). Seeing it made me think of that scene in National Lampoon’s European Vacation when Clark can’t seem to exit the roundabout.
“Kids, look! Big Ben! Parliament!“
James informed me that Big Ben is technically the bell inside the Elizabeth Tower and not the clock, like most people (tourists) believe. In person, the tower is gorgeous.
One interesting experience was looking at all the different bills and coins and trying to spot the new from the old. They are in the process of swapping out the British Pounds – from a picture of Queen Elizabeth to King Charles.
So far, all of this is from our first day, and we arrived around 11 am on a Sunday. James is nothing if not a thorough and speedy tour guide.
Speaking of Sunday…it’s tradition to have “Sunday Roast” in England. James took me to a local pub/restaurant that he used to frequent when he worked in this section of town called Mulberry Bush. We had a pint of beer, my first real pint in London!🍻, while we waited.
The meal was phenomenal.
As a meat-and-potatoes kind of gal, this was basically my Super Bowl. Plus, the weather was a little cold and gloomy, so it was perfect.
I was impressed…and deeply disappointed that I wouldn’t still be in town the following Sunday.
Side note: Sunday Roast even has its own Wikipedia page…click this link to see for yourself.
To cap off the night, we played several competitive games of Machiavelli back at the hostel before going to bed. You’d think there would be a clear winner, but we are always fighting over who “actually” won the game…and then who won the most times.
James had a full itinerary for us on day #2, and I had a surprise for the evening activity.
We started with more visits to Monarchy tourist traps, I mean sights. First up, the White Tower, more commonly known as the Tower of London. If you remember my earlier post about King Richard III, this is where his two young nephews – the famous “Princes in the Tower” – were imprisoned before mysteriously disappearing. If they were out of the picture, Richard could be king. Ahhh, the good old days.
This is also the former residence of the Royal family, and where their billions of dollars of jewels (some say they are replicas to keep the real ones safe) are kept.
We were not allowed to take photos inside with the crown jewels, but I was able to snag a photo with this Beefeater (official term: Yeomen Warders). Similar to the police officer in Leicester, I begged this Beefeater to arrest me, lock me in the Tower of London, and throw away the key. He said no…that I was too bossy and would annoy the staff.
Probably true.
His uniform is top-notch.
James woke up grumpy, and I’ve managed to keep him in that mood all day with my shenanigans.
The Americans are here, baby! 🇺🇸🇬🇧
Oh, this photo is of me annoying him on the Tower Bridge while dozens of cars whizzed by, and I made him pose for about 50 pictures, “to get the best angle.”
He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s really going to miss me when I’m gone.
Another highlight on James’ itinerary was St. Paul’s Cathedral. By this point, I’ve seen enough cathedrals to last several lifetimes, but James insisted this one was special.
I’ll admit, it was stunning from the outside, but James’ bubble burst when we arrived, only to discover we were required to buy a $36 ticket to peek inside for five or ten minutes (see my earlier sentiments on this – can’t we just leave a donation of our choosing?).
Seems he hasn’t been there to pray in quite a while (sinner), and they’ve raised the price considerably. So we decided to enjoy it (and say our prayers) from the outside based on principle (and, okay, we are cheap – I’ll admit it) and looked at photos of the inside online.
We ate a late lunch/early dinner at Ye Olde Watling (yes, that’s really the name) because we had tickets for a show at the West End and still needed to get back to the hostel across town to shower and get ready. James was not letting me leave town without trying some “Bangers and Mash,” though. Who doesn’t love to eat a heavy meal of sausage and potatoes right before they sit in a theater for three hours? Sleepy? But I have to say, it was another amazing meal.
People who hate on British food are wrong, in my opinion.
After several days of eating my way through England, I would happily defend fish and chips, bangers and mash, Sunday roast, and a full English breakfast in a court of law.
We headed back to our accommodation…but not without stopping to see Abbey Road Studios first!
Of course, I had to embarrass James as we got close to the crosswalk by blaring some Beatles music on my phone and singing along.
Of course, we added our names to the graffiti-covered wall. I’m still trying to get arrested to extend my visit. Judging by the amount of penmanship covering every available surface, I’m guessing they repaint it weekly…or maybe they just gave up years ago. Either way, we have photo evidence to prove that we were there—and to proudly show the police if they ever track us down.
I did some high kicks as I crossed the road and about pulled a hamstring. Getting old is for the birds.
Speaking of dancing in the streets, what better dance move to see than the Moonwalk? As a thank you to James for being such a wonderful host, I got us tickets to see MJ The Musical, the life story of Michael Jackson, at the Prince Edward Theatre.
On my last full day in town, we started the day with a full English breakfast. The last and final tasting of the English food sampling extravaganza.
Holy sausages, this was so much food. Too much, I couldn’t eat all of it.
After what felt like eating a breakfast fit for a gladiator, James took me to the British Museum to see all the artifacts Britain has generously agreed to safeguard (which is one way to put it) on behalf of the rest of the world.
For example, the Rosetta Stone. I saw a replica in Cairo, Egypt, and had to visit London to see the real one. Go figure?
Or the Hoa Hakananai’a, a moai statue from Easter Island in Valparaiso, Chile, which was removed (“taken” sounds so harsh) by the crew of a Royal Naval ship in 1868.
To be fair, museums all over the world contain objects that originated somewhere else. And regardless of where you stand on those debates, the British Museum is fascinating.
If you have the chance to visit, go.
Personally, I hope artifacts that have been requested by the people and communities they came from can eventually be returned.
The building is full of many interesting artifacts from around the globe. From a medieval chess set dating back to the 1200s to panels from the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, 450-430 BC.
Hang tight – I’m about to wrap this up.
And last but not least, a big highlight was meeting up with Kathleen and Laura, whom I had met a couple of months prior, while walking on the Via Francigena. They got to meet James, and we caught up like old friends over some amazing Indian food. You can read about our chance encounter in Italy here.
My final morning, I had to wake up early to get to the airport to catch my flight, which ended up being delayed for four hours, and James kindly got out of bed – still sleepy-eyed – to wish me farewell in the parking lot. What a good friend.
The final breakdown:
Overall, my first visit to London – and England as a whole – was fantastic.
Despite all the sarcasm sprinkled throughout this post, I genuinely loved my time here…and my time with James and Ros.
London felt familiar and foreign at the same time. In some ways, it reminded me of New York City; in others, it felt completely its own.
I was surprised by how much of the city revolves around the monarchy, history, and tradition. Then again, when your country’s history stretches back this far, I suppose it’s hard not to.
If I return, I’d love to spend less time checking off famous landmarks and more time seeing everyday life…the neighborhoods, local routines, and hidden gems that tourists usually miss.
Most importantly, I can’t thank James and his mum, Ros, enough for welcoming me into their home and introducing me to their beautiful country. Thank you both!
The sights were wonderful, but the people were what made the trip memorable.
Ta-ta for now! 💂🇬🇧
If you didn’t catch the first two posts from my trip to England, click the links below to read more.
Leicester: Beans on Toast, Medieval Sword Fighting, and a Car Park
Warwick & Stratford-upon-Avon: Castles, Shakespeare, A Surprise Visitor, & A Much-Needed Reset
Much love & gratitude. Namaste 🙏
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Scenes from the city.
I always have to mail a couple of postcards. The new stamp with the King’s profile is fully in use. It’s not cheap to send mail from England.
There is a famous statue of FDR and Churchill called Allies. I didn’t really want to take this photo, but James insisted. Looking at it afterward, it appears Winston Churchill is either trying to smell me or determine whether I’m a national security threat. Either way, it’s a little awkward for everyone involved.
We did a quick walk-by to see Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. I’d love to see a performance there someday!
The most hilarious souvenir I found was for my aunt…a solar-powered Dancing Queen. 👸💃 I had to get the purple one…her being Royalty and all.
