Day 13: From Leiden to Richmond
We got up early to catch the train to the airport in Amsterdam. Everything went smoothly, and before we knew it we were in England.
If you’ve ever flown into London Heathrow, you would know that it’s really not in London. We debated about taking the train into London, and then bus to our Airbnb, which was in Richmond, but we decided that we would splurge and get a taxi. It was definitely the right decision. The thought of lugging around the suitcases once again on public transportation in a strange city was not appealing at all. We walked right out of the airport after customs and went straight into a typical English taxi. It was about a 30 minute drive to Richmond and our host gave us the green light to check in early.
The inside of the taxi is super spacious
We chose to stay in Richmond because, as in the other places we have stayed, we are not big fans of big cities and it was much more affordable to stay in the suburbs. This bnb is on the river Thames. The view is beautiful. It is a 100+ year old apartment and the only downside is that we have to climb up three steep flights of narrow stairs. It’s not horrible except when you are lugging up luggage.
We took it easy that day, getting groceries, doing a load of laundry, and napping. That evening, we walked into the center of town. When I booked the bnb in Richmond, I had not heard of the show Ted Lasso. But since then, it has become one of my all time favorite shows (if you haven’t seen it, you really should watch it!). The show is based in the city of Richmond, so we went to dinner in the pub, frequented by Ted called The Prince’s Head.
Outside the pub
The corner dedicated to Ted Lasso
There is a Ted Lasso store next to the pub
The alleyway where Ted and Coach Beard lived
England was playing in the EuroCup that evening and it was PACKED inside the pub. People were squeezing in . No fire codes here.
The dining section of the pub was much calmer. We had reservations, so no problem getting a table
I tried this cider and it was so good. If anyone finds it in the US, please let me know.
Since it was Sunday, most pubs do what is called a “Sunday roast”. We both ordered the roasted chicken. It comes with Yorkshire Pudding, roasted vegetables, and cauliflower cheese. The UK has a bad reputation for their not-so-good food, but this was probably one of the best meals we had on our trip so far.
We finished it off with the traditional English dessert, Sticky Toffee Pudding (seems like everything is called a pudding. It’s not. It’s a cake with ice cream and a toffee sauce)
We got up early and navigated the British train into London. It was about a 30 minute train ride to London Waterloo station, right next to the London Eye. This is where we were to meet our tour guide. We arrived earlier than many of the tourists in London, so we got some fantastic photos across the Thames .
Parliament Square from a distance
Big Ben
I don’t know what this is, but thought it was beautiful.
The London Eye
We were allowed to get closer than I thought we could. It was an actually a really cool thing to see. Incredible to think people did this over 3000 years ago. How they moved the rock (from Wales) and stacked them so precisely is amazing. Each stone is over 20 tons. Nobody is for certain as to what the purpose of the stones served.
One of the guards of the stones.
After Stonehenge, we got back on the bus and drove for another 45 minutes or so to the city of Bath. Bath is known for its architecture, as well as for its ancient Roman Baths.
Its architecture is Georgian, known for it’s symmetrical design.
This is the Royal Crescent. It was a group of townhomes in the Victorian Era where the wealthy spent the summer season. Today, it is individual apartments as well as a hotel.
The baths were warm springs that were first used by the Romans. It regained popularity in the Victorian Era and the wealthy came here for its healing properties.
The majestic Abbey in bath.
There were many performers in the city square, including this guy. There were also musicians.
After Bath, we moved on to the Cotswold Village of Castle Combe. It’s a tiny village in the Cotswolds (literally means sheep pens in the rolling hills). The countryside of England is like a fairy tale, as is most of the villages.
The doors to all of the homes were so tiny. I’d say they were only about 65” tall.
Castle Combe is where some of the village scenes in Downton Abbey were filmed.
This is the ancient center where trading took place.
St. Andrew’s church. Dates back to the 13th century.
The cemetary at the church.
We headed back to London and were exhausted after this 12 hour long tour of southern England.
Day 15: London
We were able to sleep in a bit today before heading out to London. London, like Switzerland and the Netherlands, has a very good public transportation system and this time, we navigated the Tube. If you know me, you know I love to watch British dramas (Downton Abbey, The Crown, Victoria, Bridgestone, etc), so I was in my element today. It was all about all things royal. Our first stop was Kensington, where we had reservations for Afternoon Tea, then a visit to Kensington Palace.
I only took this photo because there was a cute little cat looking out the window.
We had tea at the Candella Tea House
We got there a bit early, so Stan was peeking in the gate next to the tea house.
Even the ceilings were painted
The great British divide…clotted cream and then jam, or jam then clotted cream on top. We decided that the cream comes first.
On to Kensington Palace. The security here is serious. Royals must have been present.
Princess Diana birthday memorial
Queen VIctoria statue sits in front of palace.
The entry gates
We then got on a double decker bus and headed to a more central London area and walked to most of the major sights.
Prince Albert Monument
London on a Tuesday afternoon.
Trafalgar Square
Kings guard on horse
Big Ben
Parliament
Westminster Abbey
Queen Victoria Memorial outside of Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
The promenade at the side of the palace. I can just image the horse drawn carriage carrying the royals here.
Walking along the promenade, there is a huge stone wall, which is probably enclosing the gardens to the palace. It’s about a mile long and has a ton of security around the wall .
After a long couple of days, we headed back to Richmond to our favorite pub and then headed home.
The beautiful sun was beginning to set. It was a fabulous day.
Day 16: London
On our last full day in England, we had tickets to visit the Tower of London. I woke up not feeling well and as much as I wanted to visit the tower and learn some more British history, I just couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to spend my last full day jut hanging out in the apartment, so we decided to take a train back into the city and do the Thames Clipper, a boat that goes up and down the Thames River.
This was a great experience, and I would recommend anyone visiting London to go on the boat. There are some great views of places you cannot get on land, not to mention, it’s in a covered and heated boat with comfortable seats. I ordered a hot tea and sat back and enjoyed the views. Here are some photos from our ride:
It was a cold, cloudy and damp day in London
The Tower Bridge
The Tower of London from the boat
There were a lot of bridges, each one was unique.
Parliament and Big Ben
Battersea Power Station was once a coal powered station in London. It’s now a shopping area and apartments.
The US Embassy building
After our boat ride, we got some lunch and headed back to Richmond for a much needed nap. We hung around the town for the afternoon and went back and packed to get ready for our next leg of our journey.
