Well, it�s another milestone birthday trip. Deciding where to go was a challenge but I decided to go for a destination and experiences�one that I had wanted to do since I was a kid.

So, I decided to wait on Italy, Portugal, Spain and other amazing places and head to the UK.



We�ve been loving London and I decided that for this milestone I wanted to finally go to Wimbledon. I also was lucky to be successful in obtaining tickets to The Open and that happens to be the week after Wimbledon ends. So it was set�a week in London and a week in Northern Ireland. We were lucky to find a great AirBnB in Castlerock, Northern Ireland. Once notifications went out to those who secured tickets to The Open, finding any place to stay was a challenge! For London, we decided on a hotel instead of an apartment for this trip. We noticed The Cadogan on our last trip to London and ultimately decided to stay there.



We love a smaller hotel with good service and we love the Pavillion Road/Sloane Square area. The Cadogan seemed like the perfect choice. I was not successful in getting Wimbledon tickets through the lottery but the hotel helped us find debenture tickets to the Quarterfinals (not inexpensive and as much as I would have loved Centre Court, Court One was a more �reasonable� option).



We booked Delta One for our flights and chose to fly home from Dublin to get a direct flight to Atlanta (and we love that it�s a preclearance airport). I also decided to break a travel rule and take the last flight out of Atlanta to London�.leaving at 11:59pm. We are about to start a renovation of our downstairs and had a ton of stuff to do before leaving and having a full day to take care of things before we departed was needed. I also liked that we could just skip dinner and go to sleep on the plane and arrive later in the day when our room would most likely be ready.



As always, I love planning a trip. Looking forward to this trip was also a bit anxiety inducing as one of our dogs is reactive to strangers and other dogs. There is no way he could take being boarded and we weren�t sure how he would react to being left in our home alone. (With our previous pups, we had pet sitters come in several times a day and walk them, but they didn�t stay with them overnight). I didn�t think that would work for Beau and our usual pet sitter agreed to have her daughter stay in our house with the pups. A big relief.



The plan was fairly simple�visit some new pubs, do a little shopping, see two iconic sporting events, marvel at the summer gardens and flowers decorating the pubs and enjoy the spectacular coast of Northern Ireland.

Yay! Always a treat to read your reports! Following along eagerly

You got me with the "Pimms Cup". I love the Belgravia/Sloane Square area.

Glad to have you both along for the ride!

Day OneIn the days leading up to the trip Beau had some meet and greets with Annie before we left and he took to her pretty quickly (especially for him). I can�t tell you what a relief that was for me but I was still nervous that he�d get upset/anxious once he realized both pawrents were gone. He�d only been without one of us on any previous trips.



We were struggling to pack for the heatwave London was experiencing and the potential for rain and cooler weather we expected in Northern Ireland. We took more on this trip than for any previous trip. Annie and her mom came over to be there for a bit before the car picked us up. We essentially did an Irish goodbye and got to the airport in record time. Check in and security were a breeze and we headed to One Flew South for a preflight dinner and drink. This is our tradition before any international flight. Boarding was not very organized but we got on and settled in. We left an hour and half late as there was something wrong with a computer. It was a relief that there was a plane parked at the gate next to us and they took that computer and installed on our plane (this may be why you don�t take a flight that leaves at midnight on a Sunday). We finally took off and the flight felt pretty quick. I slept a little and watched Succession (I miss the Roys so much).



Easy immigration and we picked up our bags and grabbed a cab to The Cadogan. I was getting anxious that our tickets had not appeared in the Wimbledon app but stopped myself from sending an email to the concierge before we left. We were greeted by the head bellman who looks like a model and so chic in his red jacket and top hat and The Cadogan had a cute little ice cream stand set up on the corner (and a little nook to sit in, if you wanted to).



They checked us in and immediately one of the gentlemen approached us to ask us to share our email address so they could get the tickets transferred. They were completely on top of it. At check in we were offered an assortment of waters and drinks and we ordered a Pimms Cup. The bar at the hotel always looked like a good one when we�d walk by, so we figured this would be a great way to start.



We were escorted to our room, which was beautiful and well appointed. The hotel had lots of treats in the suite for us. A bottle of Veuve on ice with glasses, a gorgeous piece of chocolate cake with berries, a glass cloche holding a tennis ball dessert, 4 flat peaches, fresh flowers, a welcome card and birthday card. And then the Pimms cups arrived from the bar. So beautiful, lots of strawberries and mint leaves in the glass (and only one slice of cucumber which is good for me�I don�t like them and they don�t like me). THIS is THE Pimms cup. Perfectly summery and refreshing.



We unpacked and were so happy they had LOTS of nice wooden hangers. We had a dinner reservation at a gastropub we found on Insta and headed over to The Prince Albert just over the bridge in Battersea. The weather was superb and we sat on their lovely terrace. Our previous trips to London have been in early Spring and not outdoor dining weather.



We both got fish & chips which were terrific! The only downside was the cigar smoke from a guy who looked like he was right out of casting from a Guy Richie movie as the neighborhood bad guy. We walked back to Kings Road and decided to watch some tennis and get a drink (we�re on vacation). It�s a beautiful pub. We ended the night at the bar at The Cadogan. Yep, a Pimms Cup for me and Chaz got one of their signature drinks inspired by the Belmond in Taormina Sicily (lemoncello, vodka, citrus) . Our bartender was Francesco (from Sicily) and was great fun! He also sent us upstairs with a large bottle of water, ice and a wonderful memento of the hotel.

They had these Veuve containers that looked like an arrow at say �The Cadogan� and I mentioned that maybe he could turn th either way while I took it. I explained that we are renovating and building a wine & whiskey lounge. He immediately said, �I think we have a few in the store room� and he was back with one for us in minutes.



Off we went to bed and a good night�s sleep. We had a great first day and were excited about the rest of the trip.

smokers!

on for the ride

You�re back! I�ve been looking forward to reading your trip report!

Glad to have you along for the ride! Sharing some photos of our room and the treats from the hotel



Pimms cups and all the nice goodies from The Cadogan

The perfect Pimms Cup

My birthday flowers

The special Wimbledon dessert

These were delicious!

The sitting area in the suite

The dining area

The suite

Champs!

Great bathroom!

I regret is was so hot in London a soak wasn�t in the catds




That chocolate cake was delicious

Looks wonderful! Looking forward to more.

Day 2



We have an AM routine for our trips, Chaz heads out for coffee while I finish getting ready and then I catch up. He was very happy with perfect weather to sit on the front terrace at the hotel to sip an Amercano (or two) while he waited on me.



He also was excited about our breakfast destination�The Buttery at The Lime Tree hotel on Ebury. It�s about a 15 minute walk from The Cadogan but we fell in love with it on our last visit. (And were also sad to find that another breakfast fav �Greenespears� had closed). Again, the weather wasn�t super ideal last visit but we had imagined how nice breakfast in their Secret Garden would be and it did not disappoint. The weather was so great and based on what we were eating & drinking the walk over sure wouldn�t hurt us.



Their full English comes with these layered roasted potatoes that are amazing. I decided to get a flat white as I think Chaz is secretly horrified when I order a diet coke for breakfast.

It was warm and the garden was in bloom and that also brought out the bees. Fortunately, our table neighbors got pancakes and so got the bee attention (our waiter called him a cheeky bee-he was very persistent).



Breakfast was terrific, as usual and we chatted with the neighbors - two guys from Seattle and later a lady from Austria who was great fun. I lost track of Chaz� coffee total but we coulda stayed there all day. The joke of the breakfast was that Chaz could not stop commenting on how nice the weather was and our new Austrian friend joined right in on having a little fun with him. In all fairness to him, we live in Atlanta and July/August are frankly horrible. So hot, so humid and we�d never even think about wearing a jacket or long sleeves in Summer. In the morning in London, a jacket was nice even if not fully necessary.



We eventually tore ourselves away for a little Sloane Square shopping.



First stop, Kiki McDonough. I have wanted some of her jewelry for awhile and this was the time. We had the shop to ourselves and it�s a great way to shop. The young lady who worked with us there had some South Carolina connections and we enjoyed comparing Charleston notes with her. She was lovely and showed us everything and I�m glad she did. I had my eye on the Bubbles collections (appropriate given my Champagne obsession). I was also interested in Peridot as I wear a good bit with green in it. I settled on a Bubbles necklace with peridot and aquamarine and some cushion cut peridot earrings. I thought I would also want Bubbles earrings but it was too matchy and the peridot earrings had larger stones and will look great with so many things. Mission accomplished.



Stop 2 - Monica Vinader for some gold jewelry



This jewelry is very reasonably priced with lots of options to choose from. It�s so versatile. I chose some thick hammered gold hoops and a �paperclip� chain with a teardrop charm. The charm is smooth/shiny gold on one side and a more matte/hammered gold on the other.



Chaz decided to duck into a barber shop on Pavilion Road for a trim while I window shopped. The joke there is that his hair was already very short that I couldn�t tell at all that he got a haircut. He was happy and loves that London is full of great barber shops.



We decided to go to Harrod�s as I kind of wanted some perfume but not Penhaligon�s (already have some). I knew it was gonna be crowded and it was. And it was hot. There was already so much fragrance that had been sprayed you could barely breathe�.we didn�t stay long. Last time we were there was in April and we got there when it opened. July is obviously more full of tourists and we didn�t get there until afternoon. Same for Harvey Nicks. Back to Sloane Square and lunch at Cote (Colbert was packed).



Our next door neighbors at lunch were interesting. I can�t explain it but it was a pair of women but one did all the talking and she ultimately called one of the servers over. It wasn�t her server for lunch but it seems maybe she goes there frequently. The server got to the table and the woman produced a drawstring trash bag out of her purse and presented it to the server. Inside was a swimsuit that she said the straps were too small for her but she thought the server would like it and that it would fit her perfectly. That�s unusual. The server was very polite and thanked her. Anyone else think it�s a bit strange to give someone your old swimsuit? Anyone? People watching is fascinating.



Lunch for me was a jambon beurre and for Chaz and croque monsieur. We paid and went to find a pub (Chelsea Potter) where we could watch the Taylor Fritz Wimbledon match. We hit a Boots on the way home to buy sunscreen for Wimbledon and where I apparently forgot how to use a self checkout and the person behind me had to tell me what I was doing wrong. Maybe I had too much Rose?



After a rest and getting cleaned up, we hit the terrace at The Cadogan for a cocktail. (Pimms Cup for me, Chaz got the Belmond La Residencia signature drink (kind of like Sangria). I eventually wanted to move inside as there was a man on the terrace smoking a cigar that was blowing in my face. Ugh.



Dinner was at Manicomio at Duke of York Square. Fortunately no cigar smokers were on the terrace. The food was good - fried artichokes, pasta carbonara but the service was not so good. I hate to be asked about dessert while I am still working on my meal�and they did it more than once. So we went back to the hotel for a nightcap�.Pimms Cup? Yes, please! I had one of the fabulous flat peaches in the room for dessert.



It was a great first full day in London. Wonderful weather and no real plans for the day. Tomorrow would be the Quarterfinals at Wimbledon. We were surprised to see that Sinner would be playing on Court 1 and Djokovic was on Centre Court. I had kinda hoped we�d get Djokovic but I understand the deference to him and the MANY Wimbledon championships he�s won and would this be his last tournament? Anyway, we were excited as we�d get to see Ben Shelton. Our tickets were showing in the app and the QR code would activate at 7am. We�d have breakfast at the hotel and hop on the Tube for the trip. The plan was to explore the AELTC and certainly have some Champs and Strawberries & Cream before the match.

Some of my friends as a kid were senior staff at the Savoy, the stories of crap gifted by people who thought they were "in" with the staff were legendary. It comes of too much money and too little humanity.

Bilbo�that would make a great book!

Hi Denise…..you and Chaz sure do live well on vacation. I always enjoyed chatting back and forth about Paris and here you are giving us the low down on London. That hotel looks perfect and just your style.
Looking forward to hearing all about Wimbledon. Maybe I’ll have a glass of bubbly while I read it and picture you there.

Great to hear from you TPAYT! We haven�t been. Anywhere in two years and we go a bit more all out for the milestone birthdays and are certainly fortunate to be able to do so.

Definitely follow along and a glass of bubbly is ALWAYS appropriate!

Prince Albert terrace

Prince Albert pub and our first of many fish and chips

The Cadogan Arms

Cadogan Arms

Cadogan Arms

The terrace at The Cadogan

Secret Garden at The Buttery (Lime Tree Hotel)

Garden at The Buttery

The Buttery garden -gorgeous day

More Secret Garden

Great view from our seats on the terrace


Nightcap�Pimms Cup and a Belmond signature cocktail-named after their property in Spain La Residencia

Peridot earrings from Kiki McDonough

Bubbles-aquamarine and peridot

nice earings

Day 3



I�ll start by saying that I have watched Wimbledon since I was a girl. I grew up watching Chrissie, Billie Jean and Martina. I love the tradition of everything at Wimbledon (let�s face it, the British know how to nail tradition) and I couldn�t imagine how you play tennis on grass. Fast forward decades of watching Breakfast at Wimbledon, and countless champions and epic matches and my time had finally come.



So, like a kid at Christmas, I didn�t need an alarm to get up and outta bed. I checked the app and the QR code was there, so we were in business. Our quarterfinal matches on Court One were world number one Janick Sinner vs Ben Shelton and former world number one Iga Swiatek vs Samsonova. The ladies match began at 1pm.



We decided to have breakfast at the hotel to save a little time. We ordered and were told we could go to the buffet to grab a pastry and fruit if we wanted. The fruit was great. I got a pain au chocolat �good but it did have some sort of sweet glaze on it that was unnecessary and didn�t add to the flavor. Not the end of the world.



I ordered scrambled eggs and streaky bacon. Chaz got eggs benedict. The food came out and looked good. The only things I noticed that seemed a little odd was the canadian bacon on the eggs bene had been chopped up instead of whole.



I have to say we were both disappointed. Both of us were a bit shocked that nothing had any flavor. The eggs texture was way off. They were not curd like but almost like they had been put through a food mill or something. The bacon looked crisp but was just kinda chewy and again had no flavor. Given that we both got traditional breakfast items, a hotel of that level shoulda nailed it.



Not exactly the way I wanted to start off but I just had more motivation to get some strawberries and cream to make up for my sub-par brekkie.



We headed to the Tube station at Sloane Square with tons of people headed there too. It was crowded but not awful and we had seats. We were on our way and it hit me. I started thinking that I didn�t have an ID with me. I�m pretty sure I saw somewhere that you need an ID to get it. Oh no.



Let�s recap:



Pimms Cups - check

Peridot- check

Pubs - check

Panic - CHECK



So, I start thinking maybe I can find a photo of my passport. Christ, how many photos do I have on my phone. About a billion. I start going through my credit cards and confirm that my drivers license isn�t there. I actually took it out (don�t ask me why). I remembered the sunscreen and have no ID. I start searching my email. I know I have sent a photo of my passport to myself. I do a few searches and it finally pops up. And hooray - it�s the current passport.



I asked a young lady on the train, if you need an ID to get in and she said, �yes�. I looked at Chaz and said, I don�t have an ID. I don�t know if I can get in. The young lady thought I might be able to get by with the passport photo. We arrived at our station and I was an Olympic level race walker. It�s about 10am - maybe 10:15 and I told Chaz that I had time to go back if I had to and that he should stay if I couldn�t get in (although the tickets were on my phone and I thought I could get him into the grounds at least. It was a really long 20 minute walk. Did I mention it was really warm in London. I�m sweating bullets in my cute green floral linen sundress but am grateful that I decided not to wear sandals and had on throwback Nikes.



I�m still on a march to get there and find out my fate. He starts noticing gates and I�m like no, we want the debenture gate (of course, it was further away). But, I explained, that I thought maybe they would be more accommodating at the debenture gate than the regular gate and we finally were directed to the gate and waited just a few seconds to get to the lady scanning tickets. And everything went in slow motion. Did I also mention that I check a million times if the passport photo was still up. I was ready. Ready to beg, barter, bribe and plead my case. Beep, Beep �all set, enjoy the matches.



I was in! No mention of ID. To say I was relieved is a huge understatement. I was finally at The All England Lawn and Tennis Center and The Championships. We stopped at Centre Court but didn�t try to get the photo as it was crowded and we thought we might come back later. The grounds really are beautiful. It was hot and we were looking for some shade. We found it at the walled garden terrace and grabbed a table. Champs anyone? Are you kidding? No one there needed a drink more than I did/ And clearly we needed some strawberries and cream to go with it.



We got a half bottle of Lanson Rose and 2 strawberries and cream. A big group sta next to us and most of them were from North Carolina. There was definitely a woman in the group that was channeling Parker Posey and I really expected to hear, � Piper, Nooooo� It didn�t happen, but it could have!



Anyway, the Champs went down easy and the strawberries and cream was terrific. I miss being able to get really good strawberries in the States. I grew up getting field grown strawberries and they were great. Now, almost everything we find is hothouse grown and flavorless. These were perfect. We enjoyed hanging out and just being there. When we finished we roamed around the grounds a bit, practice courts, Henman Hill (usually looks fun but in full sun and the heat - no thank you).



We decided to head to the Court One suites to relax a bit before the matches began. A little more Champs and we watched some of the wheelchair matches on the courts below us. As our match time got close, we decided we wanted to go to the shop as I wanted a hat and figured I might need it with the cloudless conditions.



The line moves fast and the shop was tons of things but was a bit of a madhouse. I got a hat and a few other things and we headed back to the suites for some Champs to take to the match.

We found our area and waited for the guard to review our tickets and he told us to find our row and turn right. Which we did. And as we walked down the row our seats were nowhere in sight. We finally got to an aisle and went back to the corridor and there was a much much longer queue.



I decided that we weren�t waiting in the queue to go back in. I walked back up to the guard and told him that he told us to turn right and our seats were to the left. He looked and said that yes the seats were to the left and it was his mistake. So back in and straight to our seats. And the people we had to crawl over before when we were going the wrong way were laughing.



I was also pleasantly surprised that our seats were great but not so great that they were in full sun. I don�t know how the people with those seats could stand it. We were under part of the roof and it was a relief.



We settled in and took some photos and met our seat mates who were fun. The ladies match was excellent and Swiatek was just a machine. She may not be number one but she looked focused and determined. The only bad thing (if you can call it that was the woman in front of me who arrived just as the match was starting with a hat on and the brim was kinda blocking my view. (Side story: she also had a sack lunch and the biggest bag of popcorn, which she ate 1 single kernel at a time�.her hand to and from the bag was in my view for most of the first set. The voice in my head wanted to just ask her to eat it a handful at a time and just be done with it).



After Swaitek�s win and interview we had about 30 minutes to get new Champs and snacks. Chaz headed to the mens room and I made a mad dash back to the suites to grab a few things. The suites lounge was a bit of a madhouse & quickly filling up. Apparently many were there for afternoon tea but I managed to grab a few mini bottles of Lanson (not very cold unfortunately) and a few snacks and was back in my seat before Chaz got back from the loo. I wanted to see the players come out and when I�m motivated I can get sh!t done.



Match two was Sinner vs Shelton. It was a lot of fun and Sinner looked like he had forgotten all about blowing 3 championship points against Alcaraz at the French Open. Ben Shelton is a fun player to watch and talented but no match for Sinner.



We enjoyed the day so much. At that point we were pretty hot and starving. We decided to head to Wimbledon Village to see all the store fronts decorated for the championship and have some dinner. Yes, the walk was uphill a lot of the time (again glad for the shoe choice I made that day). We felt lucky to get a table at The Dog and Fox. They have an outdoor charcoal grill that instantly makes you want a burger. And that�s what we did and the burger did not disappoint and we were starving at that point. We also went for the sticky toffee pudding which was terrific. I think that was our only STP in London. The staff at the pub is so nice and they were BUSY. Highly recommend it if you find yourself in Wimbledon Village. I love all the pubs in the UK.



Now for the walk to the Tube to get back to the Cadogan. The day was so much fun and I was relieved that Chaz really enjoyed it. He doesn�t follow tennis as much as I do so I was a little concerned that it might now be his thing. We both were amazed by the grounds and who doesn�t love a sporting event were you can take a bottle of Champagne in? I was glad I wore a sun dress and Nikes and I know Chaz was glad he didn�t wear a suit.



Quick ride home with lots of other hot, tired and sunburned tennis fans. No nightcap. Showers and straight to bed.The next day we were headed to Arundel which is a first time destination.

Given the date you were at Wimbledon you must have walked within about 10 yards of us on the way from Southfields tube station. But you wouldn't have seen us - we were volunteering at a stand along the famous Wimbledon queue for those who don't have tickets. We were talking to those queueing about the partnership the Wimbledon Foundation has with a charity close to my heart WaterAid.

“Champs anyone? Are you kidding? No one there needed a drink more than I”

A thought we’ve all had at one time or another 🥂 Post panic!

JohnEW ~ sounds like you wouldn’t have seen her either; just a green race walking blur at that point

John�all apologies for missing you. I was on a different mission. I think NYSE has it exactly with the green blur.