Our London Itinerary | Day 3 & Day 4

For days 1 & 2 of our itinerary, click here

Day 3 started off with us waking up early, eating a quick breakfast, and heading up to Leavesden for the Harry Potter studio tour! We were all pretty excited! Although from our new hotel, it was going to take us over an hour to get out to the studio. One underground and one overground train were late, so we were worried we were going to miss the shuttle bus. We got there in time and the shuttle bus waiting around way longer than the website said it did!

The Harry Potter studio tour was the one activity that we decided was worth the splurge. We tried to limit what activities we spent money on, and we were all SO glad we went! There was SO much to see and do on the tour! We spent a good chunk of the day exploring the studio before taking the train to St Pancras/King's Cross station. We did eat a snack at the studio cafe before leaving. About halfway through the tour (and I should state that the first few minutes of the tour are with a guide, but then you are welcome to explore and take as much time as you want wandering around.) From what I can remember, I believe they had burgers, sandwiches, some sort of meat pie, and a few other items. Since the prices weren't too bad and we weren't sure what we were going to do after the tour, we wanted to make sure we ate before we left. And they also had a place where you could buy butterbeer! We did buy a cup and share it (it was a little expensive.) and it really just tasted like cream soda. We were kind of disappointed!

Anyways, back to St Pancras/King's Cross. We walked over to the British Library, because I had read that they were supposed to have some free exhibits you could look at, but when we got there everything we found you had to pay to look at, and since none of it was interesting enough to us to pay for, we left. 

We then decided to walk over to 187 N Gower Street, which is the location used for the exterior of Sherlock and Watson's apartment in the BBC Sherlock series. Unfortunately there was a bunch of cars parked in front of it, so we weren't able to get a great picture. But it was still pretty neat to see!

It was later in the afternoon by now and everyone was getting hungry again, so we decided to have an early dinner. I has spent quite a bit of time researching a good place to get fish & chips, and the place I had found was not too far. 

We almost walked by the place (I had read some reviews that said it was a hole in the wall type of place. They weren't kidding! There was construction going on around the shop, so there was scaffolding everywhere so it was quite hard to find because of that.) But anyways, Fish Bone was a great place to get fish & chips! Most of the places I had read about were pretty expensive, but Fish Bone had a pretty decent menu, and also had items for people like my brother who doesn't like seafood. My mom, sister, and I all got the cod and chips, while my dad got the calamari and chips, and Michael went with a meat pie. The food was all SO good! And, as with most American fish & chips, the food was not greasy at all! Meaning the cook knows what he's doing. The staff was really friendly and I would definitely recommend stopping by if you're in London! 

After eating, we took the tube back to our hotel.

For the full London day 3 post, click here.

On day 4 (and our last day in London) we didn't have too much planned. I wasn't sure what we were going to be able to do earlier in the week, so, since we had already done what was planned, we headed over to the British Museum. The museum is free and there is a lot to see there. We spent maybe 4 or 5 hours there before leaving. 

We wanted to find some touristy shops so we could get some souvenirs, and luckily we didn't have to go far! Fancy That London was right by the British Museum and had tons of fun touristy things at decent prices. We had been in a few other tourist shops before and they were all kind of expensive, so I would definitely recommend Fancy That if you are looking for a more affordable place. We all picked up some fun little trinkets and postcards and then left. We spent a little time just walking around the city, taking it all in since it was our last day. 

We then took the tube back to Tower Hill and walked over to St Dunstan-in-the-East, which was finally open! I don't think the rest of my family was too excited about it, but I thought it was pretty neat! 

The church was built around 1100, was severely damaged during the Great Fire of London in 1666, was fixed up, then was severely damaged during the Blitz in 1941 when they just left it as ruins. In 1967 it was cleaned up a bit and the ruins were left as a park. I thought it was pretty neat and took an ton of picture (which you can find if you follow the link just below the map to the full London post.) 

It was nearing dinner time, so we walked over to the Tower Bridge and walked around on the west side of the bridge. There was a lot of restaurants, but they were all pretty expensive, so we walked back over to Pret and picked up some sandwiches. The weather was nice, so we took our sandwiches down the the river and ate by the Thames. It seemed like a nice way to end the day! After dinner, we walked back over to the Tower Bridge to take some more pictures. We all wanted to pick up some British candy (becuase let's be honest, European chocolate is SO much better than American chocolate!) there is a Tesco right by the Tower Bridge, so we stocked up on Cadbury bars, Jammie Dodgers, and whatever else sounded good. I also got a couple baking items to try.

After buying all our chocolate and stuff, we headed back to our hotel. We knew we were going to have a long day the next day, so we wanted to get packed up and to bed at a decent time so we could travel on to Paris.

For the full London day 4 post, click here.

A few tips...

-We all really enjoyed London, and it really wasn't too busy or crowded with tourists when we went. London is an expensive city, but we tried our best to keep the cost down and I think it can be affordable for a family. Airbnb is a great resource for finding an affordable place to stay. Most hotels in Europe only allow 2-4 people in a room, so since there is 5 of us, that meant we would of had to get 2-3 hotel rooms! I'm not sure about you, but an average of $300 a night is just not doable for us! Airbnb allows you get be closer to the city, and you will probably have a full or partial kitchen, as well as a washing machine, and WiFi. 

-We also saved money on food by purchasing breakfast items (like muffins, yogurt, things like that) at a grocery store (link Sainsbury's Local, which are all over the city). We either didn't eat lunch, or snacked during the afternoon (it's a good idea to bring protein bars from home) and then we ate out for dinner.

-Some food places will charge you extra if to dine in. (Pret is one of those places.) If you get your food to go (or take away as they call it in London!) it's cheaper.

-Definitely bring some good walking shoes! Something comfortable because you will probably walk a LOT!

-Do get a picture of yourself with a telephone box. I know it's super touristy, but I wish I had now!

-If you are going to be in London 4 or more days, or plan on traveling across the city a lot, get an Oyster card. It can be used on the bus, underground, overground, and most of the rail services in London. Just swipe it and go! Super easy and way more convenient than purchasing tickets ever single time you want to go somewhere. And, if you don't use all of the money on your card, you can use the machines in the stations to get a refund. Plus, they'll make you feel like a local ;)

If you have any other questions about traveling London, or London as a family, feel free to leave a comment or send me a message at nicolealiciablog@gmail.com!

Our London Itinerary | Day 1 & Day 2

For days three and four, click here.

We arrived at London Heathrow a little after three, got through customs and immigration pretty quickly, picked up our bags, and met Michael before taking the Underground to where we were staying in Bethnal Green. 

We were supposed to meet up with the lady we were renting our apartment from, but she never showed for over an hour (it was a nightmare. You can read a little more about that here.) 

Anyways, we were over an hour behind on our sightseeing because of the apartment delay. We took the tube to Tower Hill and checked out the Tower of London. We didn't go in, just took pictures of the outside. It was pretty pricey to go in (especially as a family of 5! It would have cost us £100 (or $162.19!) so definitely not worth it for us. If you are interested in touring the Tower of London, HERE is the website.

We then stopped by Pret for some sandwiches for dinner (It was right by the Tower of London.) It was pretty inexpensive (by London standards) and the food was great! Pret has a variety of sandwiches, wraps, soups, and salad ready to eat as well as coffees and bakery items (all organic and natural by the way!) Sandwiches were between £2 - £5 (about $3 - $7)

We then headed over to the Tower Bridge. It was so cool to finally see the Tower Bridge in person! It's something you always see in pictures, but finally seeing it up close was so neat! We stayed there for a little while, walking around and taking a ton of pictures before heading back to our room.
  

Full London Day 1 blog post

Day 2 in London started out with us taking the Tube to Waterloo station and checking out all of the touristy things! We also did a TON of walking! 

We first walked by the London eye. We decided not to go on it for several reasons. A couple of which were that it was very expensive (especially for a family of 5!) the lines were really long, and it seemed like a bit of a waste of time considering we had so much we wanted to see! 

We walked west along the Thames, when everyone decided they were hungry. I had a place picked out for lunch, but everyone wanted to eat right now, so we ended up at McDonald's. Not the greatest, but definitely cheap and easy! We then crossed the Westminster bridge and checked out Big Ben, the Palace of Westminster, and Parliament Square, before heading over to Westminster Abbey. Unfortunately for us, they were doing construction on it so we weren't able to get very good pictures on the one side of the Abbey. 

We then walked through St James's Park on our way to Buckingham Palace. Luckily, there was hardly anyone there and we were able to walk right up to the palace gate! 

Next, we walked to Trafalgar Square, then by Piccadilly Circus, we walked down Regent Street, then up to Covent Garden, where we ate dinner at Shake Shack. We were all really hungry at this point, so we were happy to have some decent food! Shake Shack has a fairly simple menu of burgers, hot dogs, fries, and shakes. The food was really really good! 

After dinner, we took the tube back to Tower hill, then walked to St Dunstan-in-the-East. Unfortunately the park was closed, so we continued on to the Millennium bridge, then by St. Paul's Cathedral, and then back to the Tower Hill tube station.

We were all very tired, and were looking forward to going to bed, but as luck would have it, the heat would not work in our room, and we were just done with the place. The apartment sucked and we couldn't get a hold of the lady we were renting from. My mom called Airbnb, and the lady there told us there was no way we should be staying in the room any more! That was all we needed to hear! We found an overpriced Holiday Inn, and despite the late hour, we packed up and took the tube to the hotel. The hotel ended up being an unfortunate extra expense, but it was nice to be able to sleep in a clean, comfortable bed! 

Full London Day 2 post

Check back on Wednesday for day 3 & 4!

London - Day 4

Day 1 - Day 2 - Day 3

We didn't have much planned for our last day in London, but we started off the day by visiting the British Museum.

The architecture of the museum was pretty neat. All of the columns and details were pretty interesting.

The museum was free (which was nice!) and was filled with a lot of interesting things. The main attraction is the Rosetta stone. (Pictured on the above right.) You could definitely spend a good chunk of your day exploring the British museum. We saw a mummy and a bunch of sarcophaguses which were kinda neat. There was a Japanese art exhibit that my brother had wanted to see, but unfortunately it had just left the museum.

Reconstruction of the Balawat Gate. I'm not sure if the metal part is original or not, but I know the door itself was reconstructed.

We spent the morning and early afternoon exploring the museum, then headed out to walk around the area around the museum. We stopped by a few tourist shops to pick up some souvenirs before heading back to revisit St Dunstan-in-the-East.

I was glad that St Dunstan-in-the-East was open this time. I was excited to get in and take some pictures. I know most people have probably never heard of St Dunstan in the East, and it certainly isn't a popular tourist spot, but I had read about it online and thought it sounded neat. The church itself has an interesting story, and I thought it would be cool to check out some ruins.

We stopped by Pret a Manger for dinner, then sat by the Thames and ate. The weather was just right for eating outside. Not too hot and not too cold. We then decided to walk by the Tower Bridge one last time to get a few more pictures.

So that is the end of our time in London! Even though we did a lot while in London, there is still SO much more to see there! We all really enjoyed it and I would definitely visit London again! 

Check back next week where I begin to post about our time in France!

London - Day 3 & The Harry Potter Studio Tour

Day 1 - Day 2 - Day 4

Day 3 of our trip was spent doing the Harry Potter Studio Tour in Leavesden, England. We were SO excited for this tour! It was the one activity we did that was somewhat spendy. But it was SO much fun!

 Inside the entrance to the studio. The lobby was filled with photos of the main characters, as well as a couple of the large props, like Hagrid's motorcycle.

Family selfie before the tour! In this room there were screens all around the room showing the movie posters from around the world. There was a short video about how the books became movies, and then we were brought into another room to see another short video about how the movies were made as well as some clips from the movies.

 While waiting in line we got to see Harry's cupboard under the stairs. It looked even smaller and sadder than it does in the movie! At the entrance to the Great Hall. The tour guide had asked if it was anyone's birthday and the guy in the picture raised his hand. They then let him open the door to the Great Hall. So if you can, go on your birthday!

 The Great Hall!

 The house point hourglasses. I thought these were neat to see since they are always talked about in the books but never actually seen in the movies.

Yule ball costumes and props.

 Shrieking Shack hallway | Mirror of Erised        

 Gryffindor boys' dormitory.

Wands used by the main characters.

Potions classroom.

Hagrid's hut.

 Part of the Gryffindor common room.

Dumbledore's office | Horcruxes          

The Burrow.

Delores Umbridge's Ministry of Magic office.

Educational decrees.

 They had a cafe where they sold butterbeer, so we had to try some! It pretty much just tasted like cream soda.

James and Lily's house in Godric's Hollow.

Diagon Alley.

Weasleys’ Wizards Wheezes.

 Model of Hogsmeade.

Concept art. I thought the concept art was all pretty cool! I wish they would have had some copies for sale as pictures or posters!

This is the model of Hogwarts they used for all of the exterior shots. It was pretty cool! 

The model of Hogwarts was the last part of the tour. Then there was the gift shop. They had a ton of things for sale! Everything was kinda expensive, and I ended up buying a couple of postcards, a pack of notebooks, and a coffee mug with the Hogwarts crest on it. 

I would definitely recommend going on the tour if you are a big Harry Potter fan. There was SO much to see, and while I posted a lot of pictures, there was still a lot more!

After the tour we took the tube to the Kings Cross/St. Pancras station. I had wanted to get some pictures of St. Pancras. We did go inside of Kings Cross station, where they have a platform 9 3/4 set up exactly like the pictures I took at the studio tour. There was a huge line and they charged you for a picture, which seemed kind of crazy! 

St. Pancras station.

We then walked over to 187 Gower street, or 221b, the apartment Sherlock and Watson live at in the BBC series of Sherlock.

Unfortunately there was a car in the way, otherwise this would be much cooler!

We then decided to go eat. I had done a bit of research online looking for a great (affordable) place to get fish and chips. I mean, it's a must when in London, right? I came across this place named Fish Bone online, and we were not disappointed!

(Left is the calamari and chips my dad ordered, top right is the cod and chips, which my mom, sister, and I all ordered, and the bottom right is the meat pie my brother ordered since he doesn't like fish.)

It's kind of a hole-in-the-wall type of place, we almost walked right by it (there was scaffolding in the way so we didn't see it at first.) and it's a small restaurant. But so so good! I definitely recommend it if you're in London! All of the fish was really fresh and the chips were excellent and none of the food was greasy at all, unlike most American fish and chips.

So, our day 3 in London was a lot of fun! Check back on Wednesday for our last day in London!