So Much to Love About London

After two weeks, we have come to the morning of our departure for home. We are so ready to see our sweet kiddos again. We can’t wait to give them all a big squeeze and lots of kisses!

We have seen so much and thoroughly enjoyed experiencing some of the different cultures of Europe.

London has been a whirlwind of experiences, and we walk away with a genuine fondness for the British.

There’s so much to love about London, and here is just a sampling of that.

The Tube

Now the tube, or the underground subway system, may drive most people crazy, but once we figured it out, it was my favorite mode of transportation in London.

Oyster Cards

Upon arrival, we bought a Visitor Oyster Card at the Gatwick Airport. These cards are £5 plus ours came with another £20 added to it to cover travel expenses on the public transportation systems. These were so handy to use. All we had to do was “tap in” and the beginning and “tap out” at the end of a tube ride. Each tube journey costs £2.40 but will cap out £7 a day for as much travel as we wanted.

The signs

Look at them! They are quintessentially London! There’s no missing the bold red circle with the blue banded station name.

We made most of our trips from Lancaster Gate. Every time I descended the steps I couldn’t help but think of the maze of tunnels that run under the city of London. The engineering that it must’ve taken to build this network of underground trains simply amazes me.

The Escalators

At Lancaster Gate, we usually got to take a spiral set of steps down to the bottom. Otherwise, we could choose between the lifts (elevators) and the escalators.

The platforms

As we waited on the platform for the train to come, we always knew it was close by the tell-tale rush of wind that would start gushing from the tunnel. Such a cool feeling!

The Stations

There’s just something about ascending the escalators from the bottom of the tubes and coming out into the large stations with their bright and spacious ceilings.

As we sped from stop to stop until we arrived at our destination, I would always imagine the bustling streets of London above us. The mangle of streets above and the maze of tunnels below are certainly an experience worth having.

British Hospitality and Politeness

Our hotel Park Grand London offered superb hospitality. Every morning they would have a pot of hot coffee at the door with “to-go” cups.

Whenever we would come back to the hotel in the afternoon, there was always a carafe of juice on ice along with some special baked good of the day waiting for us. The staff was always waiting to greet us, whether we were coming or going.

We found the British to be very kind and polite overall. However, I forgot to mention that my first encounter with a Brit at Gatwick wasn’t exactly kind, but apparently, she was scolding me to be kind. What happened is that there was a mass of people getting on the the train, and I was schlepping along with my big backpack, trying not to lose Dave. This young lady actually looked me straight in the eyes and sternly announced, “We don’t shove!”. I apologized for my big bag (that inadvertently pushed her, I guess) and continued forward to keep up with Dave. Wouldn’t you know, I sat directly across from her half way to Paddington Station until she got off at her stop, and there was not one smile that came from her.

English Continental Breakfast

We thoroughly enjoyed the large continental breakfast awaiting us every morning at our hotel. The were so many more healthy options than what we find in the states. We always had a fresh yogurt bar, a variety of meats and cheeses as well as a green salad. Of course, the croissants and fresh loaves were my favorite splurge. The coffee and milk with a brown sugar cube was a nice way to start the morning.

Red Telephone Booths

Traditionally British. Who can resist not taking a photo or two of these telephone booths?

Double Decker Buses

We could also use our Oyster Card on the double-decker buses. They are exactly what you would expect to see tooling down the streets of London.

Black Taxi Cabs

The classic taxi cab. Love it!

Signage

Because they drive on the opposite side of the road unlike the majority of the rest of the world, the British are kind enough to paint large reminders on the streets of which way to look. This was VERY helpful!

They even have a way of sounding polite on their signs and cautionary words.

Mineral Water “with Gas”

We love sparkling mineral water. And we especially love the way their menus differentiate between still (regular) water and sparkling water by saying “with gas”.

Bonus…

Along with the red tube signs and the red buses are also the cute little red post boxes found on the corner of the block.

So there you have some of the little things we loved about London. As much as we enjoyed every bit of our stay, we are excited to be back home in the States.