Trip Index
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On Tuesday, our last day in London, we were going on a
"full day" London sightseeing tour offered by Viator. Normally, I'd like to go sightseeing on my own, but as we were short on time, it seemed a better idea to let someone else drive and take us to the attractions. There was an option to add an afternoon tea at Harrod's or a ride on the London Eye, but I declined, as the afternoon tea they offered at the time only included a couple of scones, and we didn't have time to ride the Eye. I did want to try afternoon tea in London, so I searched online for recommendations, and booked a reservation at Claridge's which did not require a jacket for the gentlemen.
Viator is a broker for other tour companies; when I received the tour voucher in my inbox, it listed Premium Tours as the operator. You could book directly with
Premium Tours, but it seemed the prices were lower on Viator, plus you can get a 2% rebate if you participate in a program like
Mr. Rebates and purchase through their Viator link.
We had an early start due to the 8am tour bus pick-up from Victoria Coach Station. It wasn't clear on the voucher where to meet. It was also a bit confusing within the coach station as there were two buildings. After a frustrating search, we found a huge crowd of people congregating in one part of the station. Some were holding tour vouchers so we figured we were in the right place. It turned out that the tour buses were loading up late due to having to share the platforms with the regularly scheduled city buses. There was someone in charge shouting out the tour name and directing guests to the right door. Unfortunately, a few of the tours sounded similar; people were getting confused and boarding the wrong bus. After standing around for 30 minutes, our tour was finally boarding. I think the 8am pick-up time included an hour of buffer for situations like this.
Our first stop was to the
Tower of London, where we got to enter before it opened to the public. It was in wonderful shape considering that it was built close to the end of the 11th century.
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| approaching the Tower of London |
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| the White Tower |
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We had a "Beefeater" (or
Yeoman Warder) give us a tour of the grounds. He then led us to the building where the
Crown Jewels were on display. Unfortunately no picture taking was allowed inside. Crowns, orbs, scepters, and swords were some of the items on display behind thick glass.
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| Beefeater in front of the Crown Jewels building |
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| guarding the Crown Jewels |
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Afterwards, we entered the
White Tower, which contained many historical items including displays of armor. There were interesting little nooks and rooms scattered throughout, including a medieval toilet, which was just a hole you sat over. Your wastes would just fall several stories to the ground below!
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| knights supposedly slept on this floor |
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| testing out the castle "bathroom" |
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| suits of armor |
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| really tiny cell |
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The group met back up at the specified time and returned to the bus. The sky started to sprinkle, but fortunately we were doing the Thames River cruise next. The boat ride wasn't particularly interesting, especially with raindrops obscuring the windows and no commentary.
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| boarding the boat, near Tower Bridge |
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| inside the boat |
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| sailing under London Bridge |
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| what Millennium Bridge looks like underneath |
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After a short ride, we got off at Embankment Pier, then boarded the bus to take us to our lunch spot near Covent Garden. We didn't have to eat at the tour-recommended pub, so we walked around and found a restaurant called
Mishkin's, a "kind of Jewish deli". I had a bagel burger special while Kaleb had a lamb special.
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| definitely "kind of Jewish" as meat and cheese were served together! |
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| lamb with mushed peas |
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| local beer |
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| they had an old fashioned "water closet" |
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| "lemon" bar of soap |
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At the designated time, we boarded the bus to go to Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guard. Unfortunately it was canceled due to the weather, so we took pictures around the area instead.
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| getting onto the bus |
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| heading to Buckingham Palace |
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| if there was a Changing, the crowd would be huge |
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| Victoria Memorial |
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Our next stop was
St. Paul's Cathedral. This was actually our last stop, as we did not add afternoon tea or London Eye to our tour ticket. No picture-taking was allowed inside.
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| couldn't back up enough to get it all in one shot |
Due to the time allotted for the cathedral visit, the group had the choice of following our guide for a tour of the place, or climbing a total of 528 steps to the top of the dome to see panoramic views of London. Since this was our final stop, the guide was very helpful in suggesting that we could do both the tour and the dome! We stopped by the dome entrance to drop off the people who wanted to climb to the top. The guide mentioned to the ticket taker to make a note for "Kong party of 4" for later entry, as we didn't have actual physical tickets for St. Paul's. Then he led the rest of us on a tour through the different sections of the cathedral including the crypt, providing commentary on notable sculptures, plaques and tombs. The tour ended just outside the cathedral exit near the souvenir shop, restrooms and restaurant. The group and guide departed the cathedral, but we stayed behind to browse the souvenir shop and finish our visit to the dome. We then got worried we couldn't get back into the cathedral as we didn't have a physical ticket, but we mentioned to the employee at the exit that we were part of Premium Tours, and she let us back inside. Then there was a new ticket taker at the dome entrance; I was worried we couldn't get in, but she looked at us and asked, "Are you Kong?"; the previous employee had briefed her, so that was a relief.
The 259 steps up to the first of
three dome galleries, the Whispering Gallery, starts rather flat, making you think "This is easy!", but then eventually becomes a dizzying steep spiral staircase. Lots of people were huffing and puffing as they made their way up, but it was worth the effort.
The acoustics of the Whispering Gallery allowed people standing across the diameter of the circular walkway to whisper to each other and still be heard. Kaleb and I headed over to the far side of the Gallery so that Sue and Gerry could whisper to us, but unfortunately, the ambient noise was too loud and we couldn't hear each other. It got to a point where we were starting to shout, and an employee came by, shushed us and hissed, "Whisper!" Unfortunately, still no picture taking allowed.
Climbing another 119 steps brought us to the Stone Gallery, which was outdoors, so we could take pictures. It stopped raining, so perfect timing!
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| reaching the Stone Gallery |
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| view of the city |
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152 more steps brought us to the Golden Gallery, the very top of the dome.
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| we made it! |
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| 528 steps is a breeze! |
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| looking down on St. Paul's |
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| Paternoster Square |
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| the Shard in the distance |
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| Millennium Bridge and Globe Theater |
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After St. Pauls, we rode the Tube to
Claridge's for afternoon tea. The subway ride was about 15 minutes on the Central Line, from St. Paul's station to Bond Street station. We purchased one-way fares from the ticket vending machine. From Bond Street, it was a short walk a few blocks south to the hotel.
I had made the reservations almost four months in advance online through the Claridge's
website, snagging the last available reservation for today - 5:30pm - which was the time I wanted anyway to coincide with the end of the tour. I checked the site a month before our departure and it was fully booked all the way through September, definitely a popular spot!
Entering the hotel, it was obvious we weren't the best dressed patrons but at least we weren't wearing shorts or white tennis shoes. We approached the host and were informed to wait as our table wasn't ready yet. About 20 minutes had passed before we were called. We were seated in a separate section in the back of the restaurant...perhaps that's where the tourists end up. :)
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| main staircase |
I read a lot of reviews about the experience at Claridge's, so I knew things that weren't mentioned on the afternoon tea menu, such as we could order a different tea for each of the three courses - finger sandwiches, scones, and pastries. It was also "all-you-can-eat", so if you ran out of anything, the server will bring more until you are satisfied.
To start, we were served a glass of complimentary "sorry-for-the-wait" champagne. That was a nice gesture, very classy. Fine china and silverware were already set on the table.
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| enjoying champagne in the art-deco room |
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| delicious finger sandwiches with super fresh bread |
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| one of several pots of fragrant tea |
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| this salmon bite was heavenly |
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After we were done with seconds on the sandwiches, our server drops off both scones and pastries, which was puzzling to me as I had read they were supposed to be served separately, but I didn't ask about it and just enjoyed them.
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| warm scones, clotted cream and Marco Polo jelly |
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| mouth-watering pastries |
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We didn't see our server for quite some time. Fortunately, we didn't need seconds on the scones or pastries, but I wanted to order a different pot of tea. Eventually we flagged someone down and asked him to find our server. After a few minutes, he returned, telling us our server left for the day and didn't tell anyone or pass us off to an alternate server. No wonder he brought both the scones and dessert trays at once! I was quite annoyed. What was worse was that the tip was automatically included in the bill so he was getting away with the lack of service. (I am not one to stiff anyone anyway) Oh well! I asked our new server what was in the
Marco Polo jelly because it was so delicious. He explained that it was made from tea and that we could buy it, so Sue bought us a jar and one for herself to enjoy when we got home. After the bill was paid, we each got a little box of complimentary chocolates to take home.
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| Marco Polo jelly by Mariage Freres |
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| chocolates wrapped up in a pretty bow |
If I were to do afternoon tea at Claridge's again, I would reserve an earlier time so that the servers won't get tired and disappear!
That was pretty much our dinner so we walked around Oxford Circus to do some souvenir shopping. Then we took the Tube back to our hotel and freshened up.
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| having complimentary beverages at the hotel was very nice |
Since it was still early, we decided to prowl the area to find a nice pub to enjoy our last night in London. We asked someone on the street where to go and he directed us to
The Albert, located right next to
New Scotland Yard. Despite the proximity of the police, there were still signs scattered inside the pub telling patrons to watch their belongings in case of theft.
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| The Albert at night |
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| famous police headquarters |
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| cheers! |
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Goodbye London! Tomorrow, we're heading to Ireland...stay tuned...
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