London 2023

Although this was officially Callie's birthday trip, we start with a picture of Reese pointing at our final destination. We had been thinking about this trip for a while and even got the girls passports back in March to prepare for the possibility. But the real planning began as soon as Callie made London her birthday destination of choice. Once we knew the destination the research team went into action and we started planning a schedule around the tickets we could get for soccer games in London. It's not as easy as it sounds but we managed to put it all together and there we were at the airport ready for our redeye flight to Heathrow. We landed in London at 10am their time. No one had slept well but Reese hadn't slept at all. We got our bags and headed to our rented flat in the Battersea neighborhood. The plan for the day was to check out the neighborhood before grabbing dinner and heading to our first match - Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
 

Selhurst Park is in the middle of a residential area in South London and is an incredible place to watch a match. Reese had taken a solid nap that afternoon so was ready to go. Callie and Sarah had taken a brief tour of Battersea instead, but all of us were excited for the game. Our seats were not far from the field so we had a great view and could feel the energy that rippled through the stands from beginning to end.

Getting tickets was no small feat and for this match it meant that John had a single seat one section away from Sarah, Callie, and Reese. He had to share this picture with Sarah, though, because Selhurst Park is an old stadium and not built for tall individuals apparently. The leg room left much to be desired but this did not dampen the experience at all. The game ended in a 1-1 draw. We were just happy to see a good match and soak in an in-person Premier League experience on our very first day. It was a great way to kick off the trip.

If we were going to London for only seven days we were going to make every minute count. That meant no sleeping in on Friday morning. We got up early, had some breakfast, and headed to the tube to meet our tour guide for a morning visit to some iconic London spots. We started at the Tower of London with our guide, Amber, who was recommended to us by some friends of ours from Lexington. She walked us around and shared all sorts of stories about the history of the Tower, the lives of its residents, and even the names of its ravens. 

 

We were very lucky in that there were so few tourists there and we seemingly had the place to ourselves. This might be because it was early in the morning or because it was a weekday, but either way it was ideal. We didn't have to wait to see the Crown Jewels and we got to linger in any spot we wanted to. Another cool aspect about our tour was that Amber knew we were going to see the musical Six that night and therefore made sure to tell us all about Henry the VIII and his history with the Tower.

From the Tower of London we walked about half a mile to St. Paul's Cathedral. This was where Charles and Diana were married, a generational talking point for people John and Sarah's age. It was gorgeous and there was much more to see than you might anticipate. Not only do you have the main cathedral space but there is a huge dome overhead you can walk to as well as memorial spaces all throughout the first floor.

 

And down below the cathedral is the crypt, where the bodies of dozens if not hundreds of notable English men and women are laid to rest. This also is home to the Chapel of the Order of the British Empire. It is so very interesting to visit a place that is drowning in tradition and nobility, things that you have only read about or seen in movies. And we wouldn't have fully grasped most of it without the help of Amber to guide us through. She was an absolute delight.

That evening, after lunch downtown and a stroll through Covington Gardens and a few other spots we headed to our Friday evening big event, seeing Six in the West End. We weren't sure exactly what to expect but knew that a musical about the six wives of King Henry VIII was at least fitting for our trip. We loved it and ended up listening to the music for weeks and months afterwards. The show had a lot of great humor and energy and we would recommend it highly.

Once the show ended we made our way back to the flat by walking for a bit and then catching the tube. One of the best parts of the trip overall was navigating the city using public transportation. Callie and Reese loved figuring out the best way to get places and Callie especially enjoyed the idea of the freedom that public transportation could bring someone of her age. It also helped us that we had a bus stop right in front of our flat. Day 2 in London was a success and we fell asleep quickly that night.

Day three brought another early morning because we had reservations for breakfast at the Sky Garden which is located at the top of what the locals refer to as the Walkie Talkie building. This was a cool indoor arboretum that provided panoramic views of the city and we were lucky enough to have very good weather and could see for miles around.

As might be expected, the early morning get up and go did not always sit well with the younger members of our crew, but once we got going they both appreciate the opportunity to see as much as we did. Not only did breakfast have a great view, but it allowed us to sample some interesting English breakfast cuisine. No blood sausage, but the coconut quinoa was intriguing.

We left breakfast in order to catch a train to East London where we had tickets to see West Ham United play Manchester United. After reassuring the West Ham ticket office that we had no intention of saying anything nice about the team from Manchester they let us have our tickets and we entered a stadium very different from Selhurst Park. This stadium was originally built for the 2012 Olympics and West Ham managed to get it as their home once the Olympics were over. It is massive and the seats have plenty of leg room. We had a great time watching the Hammers beat the Red Devils 2-0 and watching the bubbles fly high in the air.

But the day was nowhere near over. It was December 23 and London is known for its Christmas light displays. If you ask Callie and Reese, it appeared that Sarah was intent on seeing every single one of those displays. We may not have seen them all, but we saw a lot of them. You would turn down a street and see a different them for the lights hanging across the road. It was very impressive.

There were a couple of areas that had massive storefront displays as well. This one was set up as an advent calendar, which was quite a sight to see in person. The streets were filled with locals and tourists preparing for Christmas and even though it was not the holiday preparation we were used to, we were definitely getting in the spirit.

We spent Christmas Eve morning with thousands of our closest friends outside the gates of Buckingham Palace to witness the changing of the guard. We knew we wanted to experience this but didn't know the treat we would get. Since we were there on Christmas Eve the band played several Christmas carols along with their traditional music. Fortunately we were right by the gates and got a great view of the whole proceeding.

Once that was over we walked to visit a few Christmas markets in Trafalgar Square. Everyone was still a bit fatigued but a tasty donut can help cure even the largest ailment. We didn't have any specific plans until a little later that afternoon so took our time walking around, did a little shopping, and walked through Chinatown.

We knew that during our trip we would have to have afternoon tea at least once and there are all sorts of options offered by hotels in the city. On a recommendation from the same friend who pointed us toward Amber, we chose the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory themed afternoon tea. We didn't know what to expect but all went in with open minds. This especially applied to John, who did not have high expectations for the amount of food that "afternoon tea" would provide.

The meal started off with some fun cocktails and mocktails, followed by scones. This led into a variety of sandwiches that were very tasty. Even better, we could get more if we wanted to. John was pleased. Eventually we did have some actual tea and even hot chocolate, but the grand finale was the sweet finish to the meal which included all that you see in this picture. It was decadent to say the least. That night we made it back to the flat and made a simple meal of ravioli in the flat and watched a movie before heading to bed so that we would be ready to go on Christmas Day.

All public transportation is closed on Christmas Day in London, and after a brief thought that we might have to ride e-bikes into the city John was able to secure an Uber so that we could make it to Westminster Abbey for Christmas Day mass. Because we were unsure of the timing we got there early, which turned out to be fantastic because we ended up getting seats right near the pulpit and the altar. It was an incredible experience to be in that space on such a special day.

When the service was over we walked out through the main entrance. It was somewhat slowgoing, which was great because it gave us time to soak it all in and take some photos. Everything about the building was impressive and we were so happy that Sarah's planning had enabled us to be part of the experience.

Even though it was Christmas Day we still had things to do and we were clearly not the only ones. John could not stop commenting on how busy the streets of London were. We had scoped out some places to have lunch in Chinatown the day before, but on our way made sure to get the requisite picture of us with Big Ben.

Lunch in Chinatown was very tasty, but it is quite possible that the dessert afterward was even better. Sarah and Reese had their eyes on these bubble cones long before we finally got them and they were not disappointed. We headed back to the flat a little earlier than our norm because all of our activity was catching up to us. We recognized that it was not the end of the world if we didn't see everything this time around.

December 26 was our last full day in London and we started off by taking a bus to Richmond. All of us but Reese had watched the three seasons of Ted Lasso and wanted to get a glimpse of where some of it had been filmed. It was also a great opportunity to see a smaller community in the greater London area. We ended up having a great meal and making sure that the London area Lululemon store was not overstocked. 

On our way back to our flat we stopped at the Tower Bridge to get some photos and check out another Christmas market that was spread out along the Thames River walkway. It was so fun to be in a city where almost every direction you looked you saw a recognizable building or landmark. 

On that final night we ate dinner in a pub and watched a soccer game. It was the perfect way to wrap up a fantastic trip. We truly could not have asked for it to have worked out any better than it did. We have a feeling that this won't be the last trip to London for us and we can't wait to get to all the things we missed this time around. Thanks for turning 16, Callie!