Experience the NFL UK Invasion – Last Day in London
Where Prince Harry does not throw himself at me, but hey, Westminster didn’t collapse under the weight of our sins either, so it was a good day.
After an amazing NFL UK Game Day, our last day in London features well-known attractions. We had priorities such as The Changing of the Guard, Westminster Abbey, Hyde Park, Millennium Bridge and an impromptu pub crawl.
Even after a very late night at the NFL UK game, we were up and out early. We had moved out of the AirBnB and into a chain hotel for the sake of our mum (we are in England, we have a mum now). Mum needed a soft cushy bed, and we needed her well-rested and ready to tackle the day.
The Changing of the Guard
The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace is pretty much a “must do” in England for tourists. Check times and schedules here.
However, allow us to give you a few options to consider for this endeavor.
Option 1
One, show up early, get a coveted spot right on the fence line, and stand there for-freaking-ever. To make this work, you should be exceptionally social, because everyone loves to talk and share stories, but its fun to chat it up with other tourists from weird places.
Option 2
The Changing of the Guard starts across the pavilion where the incoming guards align to march to the palace. They get in formation, then they march, and the marching band plays. So, option number two, get there not quite as early, and line the main walkway towards the palace and actually see the procession and the band from a much better view.
Now, you will not see the pomp and circumstance of the inspections and the changing of the guard. But honestly, the parade is the fun part. The rest got old after about ten minutes. Plus, the guard band plays some killer music, not old English depressing dirges.
ssn – I swear they were playing Havana-ooh-na-na!
Our Conclusion
We opted to line the gate, met some really fun people also on vacation. But when the band started playing, we regretted our decision. We lasted less than 10 minutes at the gate before declaring a “whelp, now I’ve seen it” attitude and headed out to enjoy the rest of the day.
The pomp and circumstance was awesome! I am glad we did it, but it carried on a little too long for those of us with a city to conquer. The area around the palace is beautiful, and we loved our walkabout.
Hyde Park
We headed over to Hyde park for a little nature. We had seen it from the Hop On/Hop Off, but we were looking for the Serpentine Pavilion. Peggy’s work company had built it, and we thought if we came all the way across the pond, we should have a gander. Yes, being in London means I can talk like that: pond. . .gander. . .whatevs, I’m practically British now. Hyde Park is beautiful, and a lovely place for a stroll. We tried to relax and take it all in, but really, we had a city to conquer, and off we went.
Red Lion Pub Lunch
Quick pop in to another pub, The Red Lion just around the bend from Westminster for some more fish and chips, and hand pies with pie liquor (cue giggles).
Wandering
And then a bit of a walk down the block. Around the Westminster grounds are notable historical figures, and I loved that they included Gandhi and Nelson Mandela in the statues. AND AND AND!! OMG, I got to see an actual street musician playing bagpipes in a kilt! Don’t even try to understand why this was to thrilling, just know that it was.
Westminster Abbey
Next stop Westminster Abbey. Our Hop On Hop Off included Westminster Abbey admission. And it was Spectacular. Do not ever skip the Abbey! Which really, doesn’t that make you just start singing How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? It should! Maria is NOT an asset to the Abbey…and I believe we made that reference almost as many times at “Look, Kids, Big Ben, Parliament” (No, it never does get old).
Westminster was amazing. You cannot take pictures inside, but you do get headphones. The entire place, and history, is narrated to you as you wander. The stained glass is breathtaking, and centuries and centuries of old dead guys are buried everywhere (17 monarchs, and plenty of historical Brits).
AND, I got to see the artists burial and memorial areas, and there is a head stone for Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens and the Bronte Sisters, so I was dying ever so slightly inside. The entire church is just mind-blowing! The history, the artistry, it was amazing!
ssn – Westminster Abbey was by far my favorite excursion. It was so incredibly beautiful, I was awestruck and so moved that I genuinely teared up.
Birthday Pub Crawl
Back to the hotel for a brief nap. Then our adventure takes a dark and twisted turn as we hit the town to celebrate Peggy’s birthday.
Yes, that’s right, it’s once again another sister trip for Peggy’s birthday. Sense a theme? Oh, yes, let’s go celebrate Peggy, AGAIN <insert eye roll>. And this means English bar hopping. YAY for bar hopping in foreign countries.
Peggy had just one more “gotta” on her London list: The Millennium Bridge.
For my fellow nerds out there, this is where the Death Eaters attacked muggles in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. And this is also, once again, where my sister decides to risk MY precious life with another bridge crossing. Luckily, I know, and I hope you all understand, there are absolutely no sharks in the Thames River. I’m pretty sure.
So, at least the paleolithic shark attack would be averted. . . this time.
Patti’s Obsession
Oh, and speaking of Paleolithic. . .As we pull up the Millennium Bridge on Google, I see it!…my new mission in life. The Paleolithic Insemination of the Royal Womb. What is this, you might ask yourself? That’s what I asked myself, that’s what I asked my compadres. What is this glorious landmark? We must find this! The click on Google revealed no helpful information. The picture is un-recognizable. A Google search is no help.
We climb the steps, and we walk, and suddenly we pass the dot on Google maps. We back track, and NOTHING. There is nothing but a man on a bench. Is HE the Paliolithic Insemination of a Royal Womb? We ask. We are sure he thinks we are nuts, and he denies any knowledge, which means, of course it must be HIM, silly man, acting like he doesn’t know.
Our sleuthiness (Sleuth, not Slut, this is not just about Peggy) is failing. We cannot find this. . . it is dead ass in front of the City of London School, according to Google. And yet there is nothing there.
ssn – “Which Brigsh ish it?” hahaha.
We decide it is best to just cross the bridge. And do it right quick, before the Death Eaters show up. We get to the South Bank, we bask riverside with ale at Founders Arms Pub.
Founders Arms
After a nice ale, the conclusion is that the lights on either side of the City of London School clearly look like giant sperm, so that must be it. However, I am unfulfilled, and now we must drink away the despair.
This is a great place in London to grab a few pints, or some G&Ts (that’s Gin and Tonic, for you non-Brits). London has amazing pubs, these people know how to create ambiance for drinking.
ssn – we are definitely pub people, not club people! So this was the perfect birthday crawl…seeing the south bank sights at night while finding the cutest, quaintest English Pubs.
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
We absolutely must stop at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. This is actually a remodel a few meters off of the original Globe. This was Shakespeare Summer theatre, as we learned the Black Theatre was his winter production home during our other pub crawl.
Upstairs, we decided to just peek inside at the bar, Swan, and were so enamored that we figure we must stay for at least one pint! Big, long wooden tables, with tree stumps for seats. It has been agreed upon that this is one of the best places we have ever been drinking. It was beautiful!
But following our one and done, theory, we know that our next stop simply must be The Anchor. We had seen this on our Thames River cruise. The oldest pub in London.
The Anchor
And my new favorite bar in the entire world. A main bar, a secondary bar down a few steps, several smaller, more personal rooms, a set of stairs leading up to balcony drinking.
Room upon room, all with different levels of coziness, or jovial group settings. And the absolute best G&T of my life, a strawberry cream gin and tonic. It was heaven! And I loved it. And I need to move in!
We strolled through city streets and alleys, captivated by the British feel.
The city was pretty much shutting down. But we stumbled upon a few smaller, more off-the-beaten track kind of home town pubs. Including one with a side outdoor courtyard area. One last drink and then our night was sadly drawing to a close as places started shutting down, and our London night life closed down.
Hop a taxi, back to the hotel, as we prepare to leave for Iceland the next day.
London, we loved you, we found warmth in the hazy fog, and an old world charm amongst the modern day city life!
Dear Anchor, please save us a seat at the bar, we will return!
Continue the journey or go back and catch up on our other London adventures:
Author’s note:
It just occurred to me that I never resolved the mystery for our fine readers. The Paleolithic Insemination of the Royale Womb is actually located in a cavern UNDER the City of London School. That’s right, you have to go in through the Thames River, into this cave accessible only at low tide, and in there you will find just about this close to nothing. So much so of nothing, that as of the writing of this blog, it is no longer shown on Google Maps. Artist Jaime Miranda of Peru conceived this in 2016, you can see a video of it here: https://vimeo.com/179070043
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