Let me preface this by saying that it has been a life long dream to visit Ireland. My first visit was a little underwhelming which made Gina a little sad for me I think. The problem was our little side trip to Dublin was kind of a spur of the moment type thing and wasn't really planned out very well, which is my own fault. Also, since we didn't have time to hit the countryside all we saw of the Emerald Isle was Dublin City, which is like going to Seattle and only seeing downtown (which also happened to me recently). It was nice and the people were wonderful, but Dublin doesn't have a 'thing' to go see. In London there were so many landmarks and famous places to visit it seemed as if the whole city was a tourist destination (which it sort of is now that I think about it). With Dublin you just don't get that. At least I didn't.
I do highly recommend the Guiness Storehouse and especially the resturant inside. We had the best meal of our entire trip there. Trust me, you will not regret ordering the Guiness and Beef stew.
We decided to do a hop-on/hop-off bus tour to avoid walking in the freezing cold. This was a pretty good value and saved Gina feet from further damage. We were able to go see Trinity College (founded by Elizabeth I in the 1500's), Christs Church Cathedral, St Patricks Cathedral, Guiness Storehouse and a few other sights during our one day stop in Dublin. The view frome the 'Gravity Bar' atop Guiness is amazing. 360 degree views of Dublin and incl the mountains and the sea. Fantastic.
One final note, Dublin Intl Airport is far superior to Heathrow. Not sure why this is, but Heathrow seems more like Crapville Municipal than a real airport.
Cheers!
Monday, April 14, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
London Travel Blog
Day 1.
Let me start off by saying that if you ever get the chance to fly business class across the pond by all means do so! It was a wonderful experience. And Gina loved being pampered. Thanks for the passes Amy, you rock! Since we traveled non-rev we ended up arriving into London via Heathrow about 8 hours earlier than originally planned. Fortunately we were able to check into our hotel a day early. So after a long day on flights, we checked into the Novotel London West at 11:00PM. The hotel is in Hammersmith, which is a bit out of the city center, but is a great location! The tube stop here is great. Its in a mall with several great places to grab a quick bite. There is also a Tesco (local chain grocery store) to pick up some snacks or what-nots.
Day 2.
We started the day by taking the tube from Hammersmith to Westminster. As soon as you leave the station you a treated to an amazing view of Big Ben. It was simply amazing. The pictures just don't do it justice. Big Ben is a part of the Houses of Parliament, so we stopped into the House of Lords for a bit. The inside is simply breathtaking. Unfortunately they don't allow pictures inside so all I got was the outside and the main visitors entrance. Next up was Westminster Abbey. This was an amazing church. The place is enormous. Again, only pictures of the outside, but the inside was wonderful. Seeing Elizabeth I tomb was the highlight for me. After the abby we went and got lunch at 'The Abby', a nice restaurant down the street from Westminster.
We spent the rest of the day along the 'Queens Walk'. This is the walking path along the south side of the Thames river. During our stroll we got to see a ton of stuff. First up was London Eye (more on that on Day 4. Then we passed Millennium Bridge and the Tate Modern. Finally our stroll ended at Tower Bridge, which is as impressive as it looks. Tower Bridge is right next to the Tower of London, but by this time it was about 5 in the afternoon and we were pretty beat so we hopped on the tube at Tower Hill and headed back to the hotel.
Day 3.
We decided to pick up where we left off the prior day by hopping the tube straight back to Tower Hill. The great thing about Hammersmith is that it is on the District Line, Piccadilly Line and Hammersmith and City Line which will get you almost anywhere in the city. We started things off at the Tower of London. The tower isn't really a tower it's a castle. It actually has several towers and keeps in one large complex. They also store the crown jewels there. We spent the better part of the day at the tower exploring all that there was to see. It's where Anne Boleyn was executed, and Elizabeth I was held before she was named Queen.
After the tower we took the tube from Tower Hill to Blackfriars for a short walk to St Pauls Cathedral. England just keeps amazing me with the awesomeness of it's churches and St Pauls was no exception. It's almost 400 years old and was where Princess Diana and Prince Charles were married.
We ate ate 'Pizza Express' across from the Cathedral, and I must say it was amazing. The food was good but the view was fantastic.
After dinner we took a stroll across Millennium Bridge to wander around the Tate Modern for a while. I know it wasn't Gina's cup of tea, but I really enjoyed it.
Finally we ended the day by catching the tube from Blackfriars back to Hammersmith,
Day 4.
We decided to go big on day four. We took the tube to Westminster and jumped on the London Eye. The views are definitely not to be missed. I think Gina got a little queasy on the way up however. Next we decided to walk to Buckingham Palace through St James Park. The park was beautiful. The cherry trees were in full bloom and looked wonderful. Buckingham Palace was great, but there were so many people there it was crazy madness. We got some good photos then off we went to catch the tube over to Harrods. Some quick shopping and a bite at a great Italian place and we headed back to the hotel.
Day 5.
We had planned to go out to Kew Gardens, but the snow storm nipped those plans in the bud so to speak. Yes, I said snow. We awoke to a winter wonderland in London. So we kept the day short. A quick trip to Piccadilly Circus and then onto the British Museum. We decided to stay in as much as we could to avoid the winter weather. Afterwards we did a bit of shopping then headed back to the hotel. Tomorrow we head out for a day-ish in Dublin before heading home.
Overall this has been a wonderful trip. Gina has been great. I drug her around to all kinds of places and she has graciously put up with me through it all.
Observations:
First off I have to say I really miss my kids. I don't think I can go away from them for this long again. So any future trips will definitely involve them.
Second, London is expensive,but only because the exchange rate is so bad for us Americans. You can have a good time without breaking the bank, you just need to be careful and plan where you want to spend your money.
And finally, I have enjoyed my time here so much I would definitely consider moving here. Hint hint.
Well, that's it for now. I probably won't get to post again until I get home.
Cheer from London!
Sean + Gina
Let me start off by saying that if you ever get the chance to fly business class across the pond by all means do so! It was a wonderful experience. And Gina loved being pampered. Thanks for the passes Amy, you rock! Since we traveled non-rev we ended up arriving into London via Heathrow about 8 hours earlier than originally planned. Fortunately we were able to check into our hotel a day early. So after a long day on flights, we checked into the Novotel London West at 11:00PM. The hotel is in Hammersmith, which is a bit out of the city center, but is a great location! The tube stop here is great. Its in a mall with several great places to grab a quick bite. There is also a Tesco (local chain grocery store) to pick up some snacks or what-nots.
Day 2.
We started the day by taking the tube from Hammersmith to Westminster. As soon as you leave the station you a treated to an amazing view of Big Ben. It was simply amazing. The pictures just don't do it justice. Big Ben is a part of the Houses of Parliament, so we stopped into the House of Lords for a bit. The inside is simply breathtaking. Unfortunately they don't allow pictures inside so all I got was the outside and the main visitors entrance. Next up was Westminster Abbey. This was an amazing church. The place is enormous. Again, only pictures of the outside, but the inside was wonderful. Seeing Elizabeth I tomb was the highlight for me. After the abby we went and got lunch at 'The Abby', a nice restaurant down the street from Westminster.
We spent the rest of the day along the 'Queens Walk'. This is the walking path along the south side of the Thames river. During our stroll we got to see a ton of stuff. First up was London Eye (more on that on Day 4. Then we passed Millennium Bridge and the Tate Modern. Finally our stroll ended at Tower Bridge, which is as impressive as it looks. Tower Bridge is right next to the Tower of London, but by this time it was about 5 in the afternoon and we were pretty beat so we hopped on the tube at Tower Hill and headed back to the hotel.
Day 3.
We decided to pick up where we left off the prior day by hopping the tube straight back to Tower Hill. The great thing about Hammersmith is that it is on the District Line, Piccadilly Line and Hammersmith and City Line which will get you almost anywhere in the city. We started things off at the Tower of London. The tower isn't really a tower it's a castle. It actually has several towers and keeps in one large complex. They also store the crown jewels there. We spent the better part of the day at the tower exploring all that there was to see. It's where Anne Boleyn was executed, and Elizabeth I was held before she was named Queen.
After the tower we took the tube from Tower Hill to Blackfriars for a short walk to St Pauls Cathedral. England just keeps amazing me with the awesomeness of it's churches and St Pauls was no exception. It's almost 400 years old and was where Princess Diana and Prince Charles were married.
We ate ate 'Pizza Express' across from the Cathedral, and I must say it was amazing. The food was good but the view was fantastic.
After dinner we took a stroll across Millennium Bridge to wander around the Tate Modern for a while. I know it wasn't Gina's cup of tea, but I really enjoyed it.
Finally we ended the day by catching the tube from Blackfriars back to Hammersmith,
Day 4.
We decided to go big on day four. We took the tube to Westminster and jumped on the London Eye. The views are definitely not to be missed. I think Gina got a little queasy on the way up however. Next we decided to walk to Buckingham Palace through St James Park. The park was beautiful. The cherry trees were in full bloom and looked wonderful. Buckingham Palace was great, but there were so many people there it was crazy madness. We got some good photos then off we went to catch the tube over to Harrods. Some quick shopping and a bite at a great Italian place and we headed back to the hotel.
Day 5.
We had planned to go out to Kew Gardens, but the snow storm nipped those plans in the bud so to speak. Yes, I said snow. We awoke to a winter wonderland in London. So we kept the day short. A quick trip to Piccadilly Circus and then onto the British Museum. We decided to stay in as much as we could to avoid the winter weather. Afterwards we did a bit of shopping then headed back to the hotel. Tomorrow we head out for a day-ish in Dublin before heading home.
Overall this has been a wonderful trip. Gina has been great. I drug her around to all kinds of places and she has graciously put up with me through it all.
Observations:
First off I have to say I really miss my kids. I don't think I can go away from them for this long again. So any future trips will definitely involve them.
Second, London is expensive,but only because the exchange rate is so bad for us Americans. You can have a good time without breaking the bank, you just need to be careful and plan where you want to spend your money.
And finally, I have enjoyed my time here so much I would definitely consider moving here. Hint hint.
Well, that's it for now. I probably won't get to post again until I get home.
Cheer from London!
Sean + Gina
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After being home for a couple of months I keep finding my thoughts returning to our time spent across the pond. I really think I didn't...
