Cool Mom and 13 year-old went to London
 

I want to thank everyone who assisted me in planning for this trip. I asked many questions and your insight was quite valuable. This trip report will be in parts.

Saturday:

We took an American Airlines domestic flight to Charlotte for a 10:05 PM departure to Heathrow. I chose departing from Charlotte because the seat configuration in main cabin is 2-4-2 and we prefer to sit on our own in 2 seats. Flight was full and flight attendants were moving everything along at a brisk pace. I had never taken a flight so late so perhaps this is the usual course. After dinner, I watched Crazy Rich Asians and tried to sleep. Various things awoke me every now and then.

Sunday:

Finally arrived at 10 AM and was welcomed to London by waiting over an hour in the immigration line because several flights landed at the same time. I had arranged Blackberry car service to pick us up. I used Just Airports for my last several trip to London, but this time tried Blackberry out. The driver was calling me every 20 minutes to check the status. I was thinking thank God I had the AT&T international plan! We got the luggage and finally met our driver who led us to the parking garage, and we were out heading towards our hotel! The drive was interesting as is always so cool to see the first glimpses of a country’s day-to-day. The driver was talking about Brexit and how it’s affected many jobs and businesses already.

We arrived at the Conrad London St. James around 12:30. I had prepaid £36 for the airport ride and gave the driver $10. Our room was not ready, so we went to Blue Boar Restaurant connected to the hotel and had the chicken tikka masala entree. It was large enough for both of us to share and pretty good for a non-Indian restaurant. We had a great view of the street. I felt the trains go by underneath our chairs from the St. James's Park underground. We finally got to our room and took long naps. I had not planned to do this but we were exhausted from not sleeping well on the flight. We wanted to do the open top bus tour in the evening but found out they don't operate past 6 PM in March and then slept late to miss the Jack the Ripper tour by London Walks.

Monday:

Up and excited to start the day! We had a light breakfast in the hotel lounge. Went to Kensington Palace via tube. It's a walk from the tube station but we were excited to be there and take London in. I had last been to Kensington Palace 10 years ago. They've changed things up. Before there was more Princess Diana, young Queen Elizabeth's dresses and they talked a lot about Queen Victoria. Now there was one Princess Diana dress on display and some sketches of her outfits with fabric swatches hanging in a hallway. We were able to grab one of the tours which talked of life at the palace under Queen Mary and King William and then Queen Anne. We walked through the park and grabbed a taxi to Elan Café on Brompton Road. Elan is a chic café with multiple locations in London. Beautiful, flowery and feminine décor for the Instagram crowd. Beautiful desserts. Food was OK to be honest. I had read there were lines out the door to get into these cafes, but we were lucky to get there in between the rush. I had avocado toast. We took our mandatory pics. Afterwards, we walked to Harrods and spent almost 2 hours there looking around. Lots to see there. My teen bought some athletic wear and I got a small box of Neihaus Fruits de Saint-Tropez for £10. Very expensive but they are just so good!

We walked around Knightsbridge shops for awhile and then took the tube back to our hotel.

We took the tube to the Tower Hill stop to meet up for the London Walks' Jack the Ripper tour. It was fascinating. The woman giving the tour was a very classy lady who spoke in such a tone that really hit the backdrop of quiet dark London night! She took us all over the key areas. We certainly walked to places we would have never gone to on our own. I won't spoil it for you but it sure is a great evening activity to do with teens. The tour ends over by Spitalfields. We went into Muhib Indian Restaurant at random since there were a lot of people in there. Service and food was great. Our first dinner in London! We took an Uber back to the hotel.

To be continued.

Tagging along for this one! Good so far.

Sounds like you had a nice trip.
Bit surprised to see a tour about a serial killer who brutally murdered women mentioned as a great activity for teens.

on for the ride

chicken tikka masala, the original source is either Bangladesh or Pakistan or Glasgow (not Indian) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tikka_masala
so your concern about eating it in a non-Indian restaurant is a bit.... Still, not Glasgow only London. :-)

billboburgler: Great point! :) In America, we don't usually see chicken tikka masala in non-South Asian restaurants. It's on just about every Indian restaurant here so we were pretty excited to see it at the Blue Boar.

Tulips: If you go on the tour, it ends up being more of a historical tour with the constant mystery of who was Jack the Ripper. The teen found it intriguing. I do not recommend this for younger kids but most teenagers can handle.

The whole Ripper thing is fine. In the UK the kids all watch horrible-history stories where smells and blood are part of life/death.

Jamila, if you ever get to Birmingham (UK) the origins of the Balti are in a small triangle of houses there (or Pakistan), another British assimilation of an other's food. :-)

billoburgler - Will check it out someday.

Tuesday:

We slept in late and raced to make it to 11:15 Sky Garden time-slot. Again, the train was super easy. We were staying across from St. James’s Park station and took the tube to Monument station. It was about 3 minutes to walk to Sky Garden through all the construction going on. Lots of people were going in. When it was time to check our tickets, it turned out our tickets were for Wednesday! I had put it down for Tuesday! The lady working there was kind to allow us to go on in if I released my tickets for someone else to get them. I immediately did that on my phone. We took the elevators up and entered the Sky Garden. The greenery is lush and it’s all so nicely done. The views are great. I got some good pics of Tower Bridge and Tower of London. Another great activity to do and tickets are free. You must book them online way in advance and make sure you calendar it correctly.

We took the tube over to South Bank to meet a cousin for lunch. This was the first time I had been over in this area. We went to Wagamama. Lots on the menu. I had a chicken and vegetable dish with rice and a tasty sauce. My teen went for the usual teriyaki chicken. Very good and family friendly! After lunch we walked along the bank and saw all the people in line for the London Eye. Saw a nice view of Parliament and the Big Ben scaffolding. Snap Chat had a cool filter that removed the scaffolding. We went to London Dungeon. Yes, I know many on this forum are not for it, but my teen wanted to go. I had been years before and again, it's changed quite a bit. Gone are the gory mannequins showing torture tactics. It’s basically a gloomy maze of hallways and you go into different rooms and someone all dressed up in costume gives a talk about different events that happened in London. There is a mini courtroom with a judge that picks people from the audience. I do think this is for a more mature audience.

We went back to the hotel and then took an Uber to Maroush Express on Edgware Road. It’s a Lebanese restaurant that is filled with people. We had to wait 10 minutes for a table. The bouncer type guy told me people wait a lot longer out the door and around the corner. Food was delicious and hit the spot. I liked how the restaurant was filed with Arabs of all different backgrounds. You know the food is good if they are eating there. Service was fast and everyone was attentive. We had the chicken and beef kabob plate, humus, vermicelli rice, Lebanese salad and a plate of fries. Every table had the fries.

Wednesday:

We met the London Walks’ guide at 11 AM at the Tower Hill tube station for our visit to the Tower of London. It was a large group, but we stuck to the front with the guide. A lot of information. I know they have the Yeoman Warder tours and you can easily get by with going with that which is included in the price of your entrance ticket, but I wanted more commentary and the London Walks’ tour is about 2 hours. London Walks’ charges £10 per adult and my teen was free. The tour ended in front of the Crown Jewels. Luckily no line so we got right in. There is a movie playing of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. Very cool. It is just amazing to see the royal collection of crowns, processional objects, robes, ornaments, banqueting dishes. The list goes on and on. After we exited the Tower of London, we saw a guy all dressed up in a traditional skirt playing bagpipes. A very British moment!

We were very tired from all the walking and so we grabbed a cab to Selfridges. The cab driver was super chatty and gave a lot of suggestions of which stores to go to for the teen’s shopping based off his own kids. We had lunch at Selfridges Food Hall on the top floor. They have everything. All different cuisines. I also saw another Elan café up there. Again, no line.

I had pre-arranged a painting session for my teen. We took an Uber to Kite Studio. This was in White City. It got us out of the usual touristy tracks. The teen selected a London skyline scene. It turned out great and was a good activity for the teen to do something creative plus a memorable souvenir of the trip.

We then took an Uber to Westfield Mall which was very close. The mall is huge, and I recommend coming here if you want to do big-time shopping. They have all kinds of stores here including the high-end designer shops under one roof and weather won’t be an issue. Got back to room late so had room service for dinner.

Enjoying your report!

I am sorry you took uber so much. I personally think uber is an awful scourge in London. Taxi drivers are pros and take years and ££ to qualify, while any bloke with a stanav can be an uber driver.

janisj: Glad you are enjoying it! I agree with you about taxi drivers but I must say I did not see as many taxis as I usually did years ago and I also noticed, many taxis were occupied so uber was a quick way to go.

Thursday:

The early morning much anticipated bus tour! I wanted to go on a tour to Warwick Castle, Stratford-Upon-Avon & Oxford University. It was an easy way for us to go and not have to hassle with the trains or find the places. I had checked on this forum for a recommendation of bus tours and some were heavily voicing against it in terms of cost and what you get to see. After much consideration, I booked Premium Tours and it really served us well. We took the tube to Victoria Station in time for the 7:30 AM departure. It was a small group of about 15 people. Our first stop was Stratford-Upon-Avon. Our bus parked nearby, and we walked over to Shakespeare’s childhood home and took a tour. Plenty of time for pics and there was a guy in character outside the house asking us to tell him what we’d like to hear. I told him Rome & Juliet and he recited some lines in full drama style. We then walked to King Edward VI School which was Shakespeare’s childhood school. It was very interesting how little children had at that time and how much was learned. This school sends more kids to Oxford and Cambridge than Eton! We sat in classroom with a teacher in costume who put on a mock class. He asked how many wives did King Henry the VIII have and what were their names and how did they die. I answered the question. Someone came up to my teen later and asked how did your mom know all that? 😊 We had a calligraphy lesson which was a nice experience. The tour guide gave us some good lunch recommendations, but we ended up grabbing a quick lunch at Pret A Manger. We walked around the town a bit and browsed many shops.

Next stop was Warwick Castle. Very grand castle as you approach. We walked through all the open rooms. They’ve set it up nicely Madame Taussad’s style. There were many school kids around. Teen enjoyed it and had me take pics of her posing with the different displays which to me showed she was having a great time. It was just amazing to think that people were living in this castle for over 1,000 years. If only the walls could talk! Had tea and Sprite in the café while we waited for our tour to move on to the next stop. Service was unacceptably slow. We waited 20 minutes to get the tea and Sprite. I mentioned to the waitress and she said "oh one of the waitresses went to the toilet." I was rather surprised at her choice of words.

Last stop was Oxford University. It was a shorter stop and we checked some of the outer buildings and the guide gave some information on applying and the general area.

As we were approaching London, I saw Porsche, Audi and Tesla dealerships. Showcase style buildings. Quickly snapped some pics to send husband back home. Our tour guide spent the ride back answering many questions we had on life in the UK. I know it’s pricey but this bus tour was a great way for us to see 3 of the places that we would not have been able to do in one day on our own. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at a grocery store and I picked up boxes of PG tips for myself to take back home. Got back late so had room service for dinner again.

Friday:

We were exhausted from our bus tour so slept. We went to the 10:15 AM London Walks’ Royal London Tour. The description is “Palaces & Pomp, Pageantry & Guard Change” which is exactly what it was. Lucky for us, the meeting place was right across our hotel. We walked along the various highlights and got to see the Gurkha soldiers marching. To be honest, I had never heard of these soldiers before. The tour guide took us to prime spots. We also got great pics in front of Buckingham Palace. I highly recommend this. We ended by 10 Downing Street. We had lunch at Pizza Express Trafalgar. Then we grabbed a Big Bus Open Top bus tour. We did that for a while and got off at Covent Garden. We strolled around there and did some shopping. Went to Masala Zone Covent Garden for dinner. Excellent Indian food and restaurant is decorated to the max. Place was packed and we luckily got a table for 2 with no reservation. Took the tube back to our hotel.

Saturday:

Woke up late and spent the day shopping in Oxford/Bond Street area. Teen found lots of new clothes. We had planned to go to the London Walks' British Museum 2:30 tour but got caught up in the shopping.

We met a cousin for dinner at Tayyabs. This is a nice Punjabi restaurant off the grid from where most tourists would go. Food was excellent! It is in Whitechapel. We took the train there. Exited into another world. There were stalls with signs posted for clothes for £5-10. We saw the East London mosque too. After dinner, we had ice cream at Baskin Robbins for the kids. Took the train back. I was hesitant and was going to take a car back but cousin insisted it was save to do so and the security gets better and better as you head back towards Westminster. There were lots of people on the train and we felt safe.

Sunday:

Our final day. I wanted to go to Hampton Court Palace but we were just beat. We ended up going out going for more casual shopping and I found this interesting store called Liberty London. It was Mother's Day in the UK. My teen and I went to Maroush on Vere Street for dinner. It was very busy but we were able to get a table. Excellent last dinner in London.

Monday:

Blackberry car service picked us up at 6 AM for 10 AM flight. We arrived with plenty of time. I dropped off my VAT refund forms at the outside office of the terminal. There were a lot of people there and I suggest going early if you have to do this because it can take some time to get through the line. Some people have loads of receipts.

Overall a great trip.Teen and I learned a lot and the big things was she really enjoyed it and was always up to going everywhere.

Big recommendation I have after this particular trip is try one of the London Walks. Make sure you have cash for that. Everywhere else takes credit cards so you essentially don't need cash.

BTW King Edward VI school sends about 17 kids a year to Oxbridge. Eton sends between 60 and a 100, while Manchester Grammer School (not a state school despite its name) does even better.

Gurkha soldiers, one of our not so secret weapons, selected as the fittest types from a very fit area they have been mercenaries for many centuries and make up a fair bit of the British army ~5%. The name alone was used to terrify the conscripted Argentinians in the Falklands.
https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/c...de-of-gurkhas/

I thought use of word toilet was unprofessional.

Bilboburgler - Interesting. The guide kept repeating how this school sends more kids there than Eton. Like over and over again.

Thanks for the info on the Gurkha soldiers.

A lot of people in the UK are "experts" about the private school (we call it "public" but that is a historical anachronism) system. You will be told, for instance, that Eton is a "toff's" school even though 20% are on full bursary (so little or very low-cost education) but it does expect for its pupils to aim high and be very bright. I met a lot of Eton kids at University and most of them were frighteningly clever.