Trip Index
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Back in January, Kaleb's (now) stepdad Gerry asked for help in planning a trip to Europe as a present to Kaleb's mom Sue, and if we would like to join them. Due to lack of vacation time, I limited the scope of the trip to London and Dublin to allow time for sightseeing without rushing too much. I've been to those cities before on a Brendan Vacations land tour many years ago, but as this would be Sue and Kaleb's first trip to Europe, I thought it'd be wise to start with English-speaking cities to break them in. Packaged tours weren't available that fit our requirements, so I booked everything independently.
As Gerry and Sue lived in Pennsylvania and we wanted to fly with them to eliminate the stress of catching up with each other in London, we had no choice but to book with US Airways through Philadelphia, even though we had non-stop options from the West Coast. Our flight included a 3-hour layover in Phoenix and another 3-hour layover in Philadelphia, making it a long journey for us. Fortunately, I had the
United Club Visa (with first year free), so Kaleb and I were able to get into the US Airways lounge in both airports to pass the time.
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| Flavia drink machine in PHX lounge |
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| hot soup and other goodies in PHL lounge |
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| "turn off devices" instead of "no smoking" |
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| Liberty Bell made of Legos in Philadelphia |
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We met up with Sue and Gerry at a food court near our departure gate. Our plane was an Airbus A330, which had a 2-4-2 configuration. At reservation, we were able to secure two pairs of two-seaters in adjacent rows, sweet! This being an overnight flight, we attempted to get some rest by taking sleeping pills, but it didn't work for everyone. I declined the late night meal as I was full from dinner. For breakfast, we were served muffin tops.
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| heated for your eating pleasure |
Arriving into London Heathrow Airport, we got our luggage and made our way through immigration without a hitch. Our home for the next three nights was at the
B+B Belgravia, which I had found through perusing TripAdvisor reviews. Sue had requested that we stay in establishments that were more personable than a large hotel. B+B Belgravia was a small, modern hotel that was affordable, included breakfast, and offered a two-bedroom suite with private bath that was less expensive than two individual en-suite rooms. It was located a few minutes' walk from
Victoria Coach Station, which was convenient in terms of airport transportation as well as tour starting points.
Last time I was in London, to save on costs, we took the Underground (also known as the
Tube) from the airport to the hotel. Since riding the Tube to Victoria would require transfers and we'd be carrying a bunch of luggage, I decided to pre-purchase tickets online for a
National Express bus ride from the airport to Victoria Coach Station. It was about $11 per person, a few dollars more than taking the Tube, but it was nice not having to worry about getting off at the transfer stop and lugging our bags across the station and up escalators while sleepy and jet-lagged.
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| bus waiting area at the airport |
The tickets were for a specific bus and boarding time; if you missed the bus or wanted to make any amendments, you'd have to pay for any fare differences as well as a change fee. There was some risk to buy the tickets ahead of time in the case of travel delays. To be safe, you can buy tickets when you arrive in London, but you may need to wait longer for a bus that has enough seats for your party and pay a bit more for your fare, or you could take the Tube or hire a taxi.
Inside the bus terminal, an electronic board displayed each route and time remaining before the bus arrived as well as an assigned platform number for boarding. Our bus ended up about 15 minutes late; we headed to the designated platform, showed the driver the tickets I printed from home, got on board and headed on our hour-long ride to Victoria.
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| bus had power outlets |
After the bus dropped us off at Victoria Coach Station, we headed in the direction of the hotel, located in the Belgravia district a few minutes away. It was a pleasant area, with townhouses lining the street.
It was hard to find B+B Belgravia as there was no prominent sign, just the name faintly frosted on a window above the front door. We pressed the door buzzer and were let in by one of the employees. Since we arrived in the morning, our room was not yet ready, so we left our luggage in the main sitting area of the hotel and went searching for some lunch, finding a restaurant down the street called
Friars Inn that served fish and chips. The menu offered several types of breaded fish. Most of us went with traditional offerings such as cod. Sue got adventurous and ordered the skate (lots of spiny cartilage). The fish was perfectly battered and fried. I didn't think the 'chips' were that great, but I am accustomed to American french fries. Sprinkling salt and vinegar on them would have probably improved the taste.
After lunch, we returned to the hotel to find that our rooms were just about ready, so we were invited to sit down and have a beverage. B+B Belgravia had many complimentary inclusions, like hot beverages from a gourmet coffee/tea machine, fresh fruit, bottled water, assorted cookies and candies. The place also had free wi-fi, which was nice for our portable electronics, but they also had a laptop for guest use. Apparently you could also call anywhere in England, but we never needed to.
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| sitting room of hotel |
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| community laptop if you need internet access |
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Our room was in the basement of the building, so we had to carry our luggage down a flight of stairs (no elevators). It wasn't completely underground, as there were windows that let in light and fresh air, with a view of a stairwell that led up to the main street. The room stayed nice and cool despite having no air conditioning.
We were in a "double/double" room, which was a two-bedroom suite sharing one bathroom. Sharing wasn't too bad since just outside the main door to our suite was a public bathroom with a sink and toilet, so we could use it when ours was occupied.
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| one bedroom |
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| main door to left, hallway to other room, bathroom at end |
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The bathroom itself was pretty small, so I couldn't even get a good picture of it without standing way out in the hallway. The door to the bathroom didn't close all the way nor lock; fortunately we didn't have to worry about anyone barging in while we were showering or on the toilet.
It was best if we stayed awake until proper bedtime, so we walked back to Victoria Coach Station to catch the HOHO (hop-on-hop-off)
Big Bus that went around the city. We were able to find seats on the second level of the double-decker bus. The weather was perfect - cool air with sunny skies. The HOHO bus was a great way to get some air to fight off jet lag and also get a taste of the city.
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| art vendors at the park |
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| lion and unicorn |
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| Duke of Wellington |
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| Pagani window shopping |
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| very English! |
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| busy Piccadilly Circus |
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| Napier memorial near the National Gallery |
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| Big Ben |
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| Tower Bridge |
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| Westminster Abbey grounds |
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| London Eye |
We transferred over to the Green Line HOHO to get in one hour at the British Museum before it closed (free admission). You pretty much need a whole day there to look at all of the exhibits. We also stopped at the
Highland Store across the street as Sue wanted to buy a clan-specific
tartan kilt for Kaleb's brother Jarrett.
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| front of the British Museum |
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| Egyptian artifacts |
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| fist bump |
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| stone entryway |
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| atrium |
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Afterwards, we rode the HOHO back to Victoria Coach Station and returned to the hotel to freshen up before dinner. We found a restaurant close by called the
Ebury Restaurant and Wine Bar that had delicious food and reasonable prices on their set menus served between 6pm and 8pm that include 2 or 3 courses and complimentary champagne.
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| witty paintings on the wall |
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| bread basket (which you had to order, not included) |
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| minestrone verde |
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| beetroot cured salmon with celery remoulade |
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| sea bass filet with an awesome crushed pea salad |
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| roast duck breast, sweet potato puree, orange sauce |
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| banana sticky toffee pudding with caramel sauce |
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| vanilla panacotta with strawberry soup |
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| strawberry and chocolate shortcake, delicious! |
Finally it was time to sleep. We were getting up early tomorrow morning to go on a "Special Access" tour to Stonehenge with an opportunity to walk inside the stone circle...stay tuned!
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