‘When a man is tired of London, he’s tired of Life, for there is in London all that Life can afford.’ Samuel Johnson
The good news is we are not tired of London, nor tired of Life. We spent 48 hours in London to say our goodbyes to a city that we have come to love. This trip was intended as a chance to see the last few must-see spots we had not yet visited and to go back to some of our favourite haunts.
Both Brent and I were able to cross a couple of must-see items off our list during this trip. For me, it was Kensington Palace. For someone who as a little girl was so obsessed with Princess Diana that I had commemorative china, photo books, paper dolls with all her dresses, her wedding ceremony recording on record, and even at one stage a ‘Princess Diana haircut’ it was great to see where she had lived. A special exhibit to mark the 10th anniversary of her death was on at the Palace so it was full Diana overload! I was in heaven!!
For Brent, the must-see location was the Churchill Museum and War Rooms. This place was fantastic. We were able to walk through the bunker rooms used by Churchill during WWII. We saw the War Cabinet meeting room, the map room, and many private accommodations for the important big-wigs. The Churchill Museum was excellent as well. We would recommend this stop to anyone going to London. After two and a half hours I had to drag Brent out of there kicking and screaming!
Speaking of Brent kicking and screaming, I also had to drag him unwillingly out of the British Museum on our last day so we could catch our train home. And sadly for Brent, I usually hit the point of cultural and historical overload well before he does. But now, thanks to his two visits to the museum, I think he has had his fill for a little while and his happy museum memories will last him until we are able to come back in a few years.
We were happy to spend a few hours walking in both Hyde Park and St James park during our visit. Hard to believe we have to go to the big city of London to see trees, rivers and wildlife. We also made it a priority to eat dinner at our favourite spot, Bodean’s BBQ, and eat breakfast at our favourite café. It is nice that we have been to London enough times to feel like we have favourite spots, almost like locals.Of course there are many, many, many sights, sounds, activities, and experiences in London that we have not seen. London is like Nintendo for adults: it is stimulating, challenging, and never the same way twice. We have really just scratched the surface. It is the kind of city where you could live there your whole life and still only scratch the surface. We are so thankful that we have been able to explore London and experience it at a leisurely pace. We’ve been there four times now. It is nice to be able to have small, frequent visits rather than a mega 10 day holiday, which includes a few days in a jet-lagged zombie state. I guess we are spoiled. It is nice memories of our travels and excursions here in the UK that will bring a smile to our face and warm our hearts on cold Ontario winter nights.
