Day One

Jason surprised Jolie with this trip, planning with her sister to keep the kids and calling her boss to get the time off work. He let the cat out of the bag earlier than he planned by accidentally texting Jolie some revealing information one day while she was at work, he was texting Jena at the same time and got the texts mixed up. As a result, he announced the trip that night giving Jolie a card and a guide book of London, what a fabulous surprise!

This was a very long travel day, we left Denver about 12:30 pm and landed in Newark, NJ at 4:30 pm. We only had 55 minutes between flights which was kind of stressful, but we had no problem getting on our next flight to Heathrow. We landed in London about 7:30 am local time, which is 12:30 pm Denver time. We had a long line at customs, then took the tube with our luggage to the hotel and got there about 11:30 am. Thankfully our room was ready so we could unpack and shower. We set out to explore the area around our hotel which was very close to Tower Bridge. We stopped at a small pub for lunch and were falling asleep on the stools. We decided to come back and take a 2-hour nap and were still in bed by 8 pm that night.

That first night we stumbled upon the Tower of London and Tower Bridge during a very special exhibit with some wonderful evening light.

Tower of London

Our very first night we walked by the Tower of London during the 100th anniversary exhibit of WWI, Tower of London Remembers. With the warm glow of the setting sun, these were probably the best photos we captured during our visit, however, we were so tired that we hardly remember taking them.

Tower Bridge

Day Two

Day 2 included stops at Big Ben (The Elizabeth Tower), Westminster Abbey, The Palace of Westminster, and The Jewell Tower.

Jolie’s birthday! We took the tube to Westminster Abbey, coming out of the underground is Big Ben, right there! We toured the Abbey on a private tour with about 20 people setup by a colleague of Jason’s and his wife who happened to be visiting London at the same time. The tour kicked off with the docent asking us how the pot is in Colorado, legalize weed and everyone wants to know what it is like living there! The Abbey is a very interesting place, lots of people buried there; poets corner, musicians, scientists including Isaac Newton, and CS Lewis. Each reigning monarch can do whatever they want at the abbey during their reign. Planning their own burial tombs or burying others as grandly as they want. For example, Mary Queen of Scots had the grandest tome put in place by her son, James I but was never an English queen. It was cool to see Elizabeth I’s tomb, she’s buried beside her half sister, Mary.

The entire building is crammed full of statues and friezes honoring dead people. Edward the Confessor is buried there and he commisioned the most work done on the Abbey by anyone. It is very ornate, grand and has extremely tall ceilings. The throne the monarchs are crowned in is very plain, scarred and weathered but has been in use since the 1500’s. The Dean of the Abbey isn’t controlled by the Archbishop, this building and everything apart of it is controlled by the monarchy. Queen Elizabeth I granted them into the collegiate body to protect them after King Henry VIII disbanded the catholic church in England. He created the Church of England so he could divorce his first wife, Katherine of Aragon because she couldn’t have children and he needed heirs. The Abbey was protected and continued to function as a church with Benedictine monks.

Then we walked to Trafalgar Square, we saw the Column of Nelson, the navy commander who defeated Napoleon. We visited Covent Garden, a crazy place full of people and performers. Later, Jason found the Twinings tea shop as he was randomly reading store signs, it’s only 10-feet wide, I was super excited! I had to buy tea there, it is a premier tea distributor from London since the 1706.

We also toured St. Pauls’ Cathedral, it’s a beautiful church! It has the second largest dome in the world next to St. Petersburg in Russia. The church has beautiful old stone and thick archways. Finally, we took the Millennium foot bridge over the Thames and made our way back to our hotel. It was an exhausting day! Jolie had a mini cupcake and then later croissant bread pudding for her birthday.

Westminster Abbey

Big Ben & The Jewell Tower

Buckingham Palace

Day Three

Day 3 stops include a full tour of the Tower Of London and a visit to eclectic Shoreditch.

We toured the Tower of London. First, we saw the crown jewels, it was a great idea to see them first, so we didn’t have to wait in line later. It’s ridiculous all of the pieces, pomp, and pageantry. Each monarch has their own salt and receptor, and they are incredibly ornate. The main crown weighs 5.5 pounds, but on lesser occasions other than coronations, the crown weighs 1.5 pounds. The White Tower is the original tower that houses the staircase where the missing princes were supposedly buried. It is a vast place and has been used for many different things. Currently, it holds an armory museum and history of the mint. Several towers in the compound have been added and renovated throughout history. We really liked St. Thomas Tower, which jutted outside the walls. It was used by several monarchs including one king during a barons ’s revolt. The walk around the castle walls facing the Thames had great views.

We also toured Tower Bridge, and we took several flights of stairs up to a walkway that spans the river between the two towers. This is commonly mistaken as the ‘London Bridge’ because it is so iconic, whereas it is somewhat plain and boring. There were great views, but pretty crowded and definitely a tourist attraction. It was built in the 1800s to relieve traffic over the river, but still iconic.

We took the tube to Shoreditch, a happening, chic borough with vintage shops. It was not Jolie’s favorite, it was kind of like sifting through Savers! Our guidebook said not to stay here at night, anywhere but here! We did find a fun market with some treasures and Jason’s favorite, tasty beer at Brew Dog.

Tower of London

Shoreditch

Day Four

Today was all about Greenwich, with visits to the Royal Observatory, Old Royal Naval College, and tea at the Queen‘s House.

We took the tube to Greenwich. We started at the Prime Meridian and the Royal Observatory. It was pretty cool to learn about the discovery of the heavens and stars and how they mapped them. Haley’s Comet was named after the second royal astronomer, but none of his other work could be used because he didn’t carefully calibrate his instruments.

Then we had tea at the Queen’s House! It was rainy and blustery, but tea was on a covered balcony on the second floor facing the Royal Observatory. We were the only ones there, it was wonderful!

We toured the Naval Museum and learned about the race to measure longitude. A 20,000-pound reward was offered for an accurate way to measure longitude, east to west. Then we spent some time in the Hardy Admiral with a beer and a cider in the afternoon watching Arsenal and Manchester City in the Community Shield. We were in an Arsenal-friendly establishment. Good thing they destroyed City, as there were some rowdy fans to make it more entertaining. We also toured the Cutty Sark, the fastest tea clipper in Great Britain at the time. We found some fun shops and treasures in Greenwich.

Greenwich, Royal Naval Academy, & the Royal Observatory

Tea at the Queen’s House

The Cutty Sark

Day Five

Day 5 was our visit to Hampton Court Palace and the boat ride back to London on the River Thames.

Today we visited Hampton Court Palace, definitely Jolie’s favorite! It was about a 40-minute train ride with two train changes to get there. This was Henry VIII's principal palace, which he confiscated from Cardinal Wolsey in 1523. The original construction of the palace began in 1494. Henry had a grand hall, and then, courtiers had to get through a few more chambers to see him. Everything is very grand and large-scale, the chapel is amazing, with a beautiful ceiling and reverent atmosphere, which is interesting since Henry overthrew the catholic religion. Henry had six wives: he divorced Katherine of Aragon, then he beheaded Ann Boleyn, then Jane Seymour died, he divorced Ann of Cleves, beheaded Katherine Howard, and lastly was survived by Katherine Parr. William III and Mary II 1688 demolished 1/3 of the palace with the plan to renovate the whole thing fully but never completed the project. So the castle has two completely different sides, Henry’s medieval side and William and Mary’s Baroque side. William’s apartments are magnificent, with several rooms, and more than five courtiers had to get through to see William III. The gardens are also extremely beautiful. Jolie’s favorite was the knot garden, but the grounds, fountains, and statues are overwhelming. The palace has several courtyards inside the main buildings. That is interesting to us since the weather is very wet, but this plan lets in a lot of light throughout the palace. We actually got some pictures of the palace with very few people because once the rain started, everyone stayed inside but us.

We took a ferry boat back to Westminster from Hampton Court which took about 2 1/2 hours. It was very cool being on the Thames. There were a lot of trees, small cities, and grand palaces and buildings lining the river. We docked in Westminster about two minutes before a soaking downpour and got some great pictures of Big Ben!

Hampton Court, Henry VIII side

Hampton Court, William III & Mary II Side

Hampton Court Grounds

Thames River Cruise

Day Six

A relaxing day visiting Chelsea Football Club, Arsenal Football Club, and Olympic Park.

Sports day. We took the tube to Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea Football Club. We couldn’t see the pitch because the team had their last practice match before opening the EPL season in four days. The museum was cool, they have several trophies from the FA Cup, EPL, and the UEFA Cup, which is very impressive. The stadium is tucked right off the main road, about 50 feet from the underground. Definitely easy access for the fans. Then we took the tube to the Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal Football Club. The team is owned by Stan Kroenke, who owns the Colorado Rapids. This stadium is much more commercialized with a huge store area. Seeing the pitch was cool, the soccer stadiums here are way bigger than at home, and soccer is a much bigger deal with a bigger fan base.

Then we headed to Olympic Park. London built the area for the 2012 Summer Olympics. There were several cool buildings, but not much to do with no sporting events. There was a big shopping mall at the entrance to the park, and we hung out there for a bit so we wouldn’t be on the tube at rush hour. The London commuters get very annoyed with tourists and the trains are really packed. We definitely tried hard to avoid the tube at rush hour. We sat at a restaurant at the mall, and I got scones and tea. You can get tea pretty much anywhere in the afternoon, Jolie’s favorite. We also stopped at several pubs, Jason’s favorite. They all seem navy blue with flower boxes and gold lettering with fun names like the Bridge House, the Shipwright’s Arms, the Carpenter’s Arms, and Brew Dog. They also have cider on tap, and Jolie learned to ask for 1/2 pints after the first day of a few too many pints. It’s been really fun not to worry about schedules, European time seems to be later than at home. Coffee shops don’t open until 8 am and somehow, between castles, tea, and pubs, we end up eating dinner every night pretty late.

Stamford Bridge

Emirates Stadium

Olympic Park

Day Seven

Day 7 stops included the Jewell Tower, The Banqueting House, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, #1 London (Duke of Wellington), Royal Albert Hall, Hyde Park, and Kensington Palace. A lot of walking happened that day.

We toured several lesser nobles’ houses and monuments. We started at the Jewell Tower in Westminster. The Tower is one of two remaining originals from the 1300’s. It is crazy thinking about how old those buildings, walls, and stones are. Then we headed to Banqueting House. It was originally built to hold courtier entertainment with a vast main hall and a painted ceiling as part of Whitehall Palace. But the building is really known as the place of Charles I’s execution by Oliver Cromwell for treason. Cromwell briefly tried to turn England into a democracy, which obviously didn’t go well.

After much walking and getting lost, we found the Apsley House, Duke of Wellington’s residence. He became famous by defeating Napoleon in the 1850’s. Wellington also has a grand gate and a huge monument in the front of his townhouse that backs to Hyde Park. It is interesting to see how much wealth was among the elite.

Next, we found Harrods. What a crazy, busy place with six floors! You can only buy something from the floor you found it on, which Jolie didn’t know until she tried to buy a purse for her sister. Jolie wanted to pay and leave but had to go back up several floors through a lot of traffic to purchase that purse! While waiting for her to return, Jason tried on a 20,000-pound Hublot watch, all to use the only couch in the place.

Next, we had tea at Harrods, and it was nice being able to order tea for Jolie while Jason had a chicken dish and a beer brewed for Harrods. The tea was very good and somewhat reasonable at about 29 pounds. We left Harrods and booked it to Prince Albert’s Royal Hall, a venue for music and plays. Queen Victoria erected an impressive monument in Kensington Gardens across the street from the hall in his honor. We then hiked over to Kensington Palace, but we missed the tour. They do not allow entrance one hour before closing. But we did enjoy the grounds and gardens. Then we were very thirsty and found a cute pub and had a pint before our long trek and several trains back to our hotel.

Jewel tower & the banqueting house

Trafalgar Square & Buckingham Palace

Royal Albert Hall

Kensington Palace

Tea at Harrods

Day Eight

Day 8 included the town of Canterbury, including the Cathedral, Shepherdswell, and Dover.

We took an adventurous train trip to the countryside. We caught the 6:30 AM train to Canterbury. We were both about 3/4 asleep, and the trees are so thick there’s not really a good view. Once we got to Canterbury, we stopped at The Refectory for breakfast; Jolie had scones. We toured the Canterbury Cathedral, it is a very pretty place. There are amazing decorations, arches, and ceilings. We got there right after it opened, and there were very few people around, which we loved. Jolie said prayers, and it was an amazing place to say the Lord’s prayer! The town of Canterbury was nice. Jason had a pint in the town square at The Old Buttermarket while listening to a local street artist playing Bob Marley. Next, we got lost in town and missed our next train, so we had another pint at the White Hart. We actually got to sit outside. Normally, everyone smokes outside the pubs, but not today!

Next, we caught the train to Shepherdswell. It’s a small village complete with village green, we had lunch at the Bell on the green. Jolie had a jacket with brie (a baked potato), and then we headed over to the Bricklayer’s Arms pub for a pint with the locals. The owner was a friendly lady who stopped to chat with us and gave Jason a bar mat to take home. That was a nice change. We have found that most people ignore the tourists overall.

Then we caught the train to Dover. The white cliffs of Dover were really cool to see! We toured Dover Castle, nicknamed the Key to England. The castle was an important defense point throughout England’s brutal war history. We could see the shores of Calais, France, from the castle, that was awesome! The castle has been remodeled during every war. In WWII, they built an underground hospital and defense area on the cliff side to be protected from bombing from Germany. This area could access tunnels from the shore to get the wounded up to the hospital. The castle was high up on the hill, and Jason’s left foot and ankle had been bothering him all week with plantar fasciitis. The last six days of walking a ton have caught up to him. We had to take a taxi up to the castle as Jason was in a lot of pain. And of course, there are a ton of stairs all throughout the castle. We had to walk all the way back to the train station from the castle in a heavy downpour. We were exhausted and soaking wet, and Jason could hardly walk to catch the next train back to London Bridge. The town of Dover was a little sketchy so we didn’t stop at a pub. The train ride back took a different route along the coast with some very cool views of the white cliffs, the ocean, and then the countryside.

Town of Canterbury

Canterbury Cathedral

Shepherdswell

Dover

Day Nine

A day of rest. Jason’s foot was sore, and we were exhausted from running around every day. The cool part about all the old castles, churches, and cathedrals is how old they are. Some date back to 1000 AD. Touching the columns and stonework is overwhelming. All the floors and stairs are uneven and worn down from thousands and millions of feet walking on them. We stopped at several pubs along the river today. Jolie’s favorite was the Barrow Boy and the Banker, and she had a chicken and chorizo pie, her favorite meal in London! We saw The Monument, erected after the great fire of London in the early 1700s designed by Christopher Wren. He was involved in all the architecture of his time. Jolie had tea, looking at the Tower of London, while Jason had a pint.

Thank you for sharing our story

We got upgraded to first class at the last minute in Heathrow for our 7-hour flight home! It felt tiny and tight when we got to Newark, NJ, and back into business class. We had a fantastic vacation with many memories, but we were happy to get home. It was a long time to be away from the kids.

London, United Kingdom

All photos were taken with the Fuji XT-1 or iPhone.