May 17, 2023
This is a much different trip than I’m used to and it’s hard to wrap my head around it. I travelled with my husband, special needs son and 21 year old grand daughter to London for my niece’s wedding. Meeting us there was my daughter and her boyfriend and my sister (the bride’s mother) with her husband, 2 sons and 1 girlfriend. That’s a LOT of people to accommodate! So.. a whole new experience.

One of my strategies for beating jet lag is to get into the current time zone as quickly as possible. So, after an overnight flight from London during which none of us were lucky enough to get more than a couple hours sleep, we hit the ground running. I bought oyster cards and we took transit to our rental in Peckham. That involved 3 trains and a bus. There we dropped of the bags and took a bus to Temple station to join a free (tip based) walking tour of the old city with Sandemans which we all thoroughly enjoyed. Then we met the rest of the family in a pub in Covent Garden where we had dinner and drinks. Devin was falling asleep sitting up so we all left and checked out the Canadian pub Haley (the bride) used to work in. After a bit more wandering we’d had enough and Haley gave us instructions for transit back to our flat. We barely unpacked and crashed.

The next day there was much confusion coordinating all those people so we eventually just headed out to tower bridge as I wanted to be inside it when it lifted. That was interesting! There’s a glass floor and mirrored ceiling in the west passage.

We met the others after and wandered some more before heading to Borough market to try some food. The men enjoyed mushroom risotto. Alex and Ariel got various treats. Mike, Devin and I were tired of the market craziness and walked to Shoreditch. Another interesting place. Then more transit back to get ready for a bachelorette and bachelor party.

Friday. I had booked a spot on a Muggles tour (for the Harry Potter fans) so we had to leave again by 10 am. The tour was a lot of fun and our Harry Potter knowledge was sorely tested. After lunch near the market, Ariel made her own way back to the flat. She’s mastering the transit! Mike, Devin and I went up the glass elevator in the mall across from St Paul’s to view the city from above. It’s free! There’s not much of that in London. It’s an expensive city! Then we headed back again to take a bus to yet another pub for prewedding festivities.

Saturday. WEDDING DAY!

We let Devin and Ariel sleep and Mike and I went out walking. We found the Nunhead Cemetery which is gorgeous and a lovely walk. After breakfast in Nunhead we came back to find them barely awake, though it was NOON. I wish I could sleep like that.

Even the speeches were entertaining. We danced all night and got to know Haley and George’s friends, all of whom are a lot of fun. Not being a lover of drink, I had anticipated leaving early as I generally find drunk people annoying 😉 These were a hoot and we stayed till they closed the place at 1 am. Much as public transit is fun and cheap, it’s nice to have the option of uber at that hour.

The wedding was at Assylum Chapel in Peckham and was absolutely perfect for Haley and George. The weather was amazing, the venue quirky and delightful, the guests were enthusiastic and the couple relaxed and beautiful. George’s best friend was the celebrant and he was very entertaining. The reception was at a venue under the railroad tracks and it too was very different. Dinner was casual as a pizza truck produced assorted pizzas and salads for a couple of hours and we just ate as wanted. Dessert was fresh crispy creme donuts. Ooh they were good! I’ve only ever had packaged crispy creme and they’re “meh” so these were a delightful surprise.

Sunday we got together again at the pub in Mayfair and enjoyed a typical English roast dinner. It was really good. On the way there, my men and I wandered through St James garden, past Buckingham palace, Green Park, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, etc. On the way back we wandered through the Soho area, saw seven dials, an interesting cheese restaurant with a conveyor belt, passed some theatries and even a wand shop. Devin was definitely not feeling well by that point as it barely registered so we made our way back. Google is my friend for finding public transit options no matter where we end up.

The next day Ariel left us to join her cousin on a back packing trip to Europe. I was a little nervous but mostly excited for her to go and enjoy and hope she develops her own passion for seeing the world.

We let Devin sleep as long as possible then packed up and moved to a hostel (Acacia Hotel) I’d booked in Kensington. Accommodation in London is brutally expensive and the family room was as “budget friendly” as I could find. The location was perfect. Minutes from the piccadilly line and we could walk walk the the museum of Natural history, the Science museum, Royal Albert Hall and Hyde park. Once we’d seen all those we went back to Central London, saw the changing of the guards, visited Trafalgar square, Piccadilly circus and the men went for a ride on the London Eye. One night we went to see the Rocky Horror show at the Peacock Theatre. Last minute tickets can be purchased pretty cheap.

I think we covered London pretty well but were I to do it again I’d devote a good portion of a day to visiting inside the London tower. We walked around the outside.. I had no idea it was that big and it looks really interesting The “moat” is now full of wildflowers.

May 25th
After delivering the men to the airport, I spent the next couple days with my friend Davindar (we met on on the last trip to South America) who had graciously offered me a bed in her home. Not only that she cooked me delicious Indian food! We ended up enjoying most of that time in the Royal botanical gardens. Kew gardens are huge and there’s so much to see. It was so nice as it was certainly something my men wouldn’t appreciate. 😉

Davindar escorted me to Victoria Coach station by bus and the tube (LOVE London’s transit system!) where I was to meet the van taking me to Wales. I said goodbye to Davindar and hope to meet her again, likely in another far off place on this beautiful planet.

That’s in the next post. By the way, Wales is amazing!