29 Sep 2018
6:30 am
The journey begins on a high
Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (HYD) (Rajiv Gandhi International Airport)
Some mind-blowing bisi bhele baath and veg cheese omelet at the Plaza Premium Lounge
12:30 pm
A Black Cab to enter the country
London Heathrow Airport (LHR) (London Heathrow Airport)
The quintessential London experience started right at the airport when we took one of the famous “London Black Cab” to head to our hotel.
2:30 pm
Checking in
Le Méridien Piccadilly
Arrived at our hotel to a warm welcome from the hotel manager.
After checking in to our rooms and dropping off the bags, some refreshments were in order before we head out into the town.
Ofcourse it was “High Tea” time in the lounge...some buttery English scones with jam, and tea (D-uh!)
4:30 pm
Westminister Walk
Bus Stop S - Piccadilly Circus
First up on London itinerary was a long long walk around the city of Westminster. Starting at the Piccadilly Circus and it’s Times-Square-like massive screens and billboards, the 3 hour walk took us through Leicester Square, China Town, West End, Trafalgar Square, north bank of the Thames and finally to Jubilee Gardens and London Eye.
7:00 pm
Night Walking Tour
Jubilee Gardens
The day ended with a walking tour of the south bank of Thames. Matt (Maceij) was enthralling with stories for 2 hours as he guided us through the sites like Big Ben, Parliament, London Eye, Tate Modern, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Prison, Shakespeare Theatre, Bear Pit and many more.
The tour ended at London Bridge where we got lucky and saw the Tower Bridge open. It was a sight to behold with its lights on.
Day 1 ended with our first experience of London Underground and some quick Udon for dinner.
30 Sep 2018
9:00 am
To see the Queen...
Buckingham Palace
No trip to London is complete without paying respects to the queen, but alas she was no where to be seen in the Buckingham Palace. We did get lucky though, with this being the last day that palace is open for 2018. The audio tour included a walk through the State Rooms, experiencing what all royal guests do, along with the Royal collections, investiture halls and venues for the queen's garden parties. We did miss the change of guards though...something for our next trip.
Once the palace tour wrapped up, the cool weather and light sun tempted us for another long walking day. St. James Park, Westminister Abbey, Big Ben, Palace of Westminister (Parliament) and 10 Downing Street led us to the banks of Thames for lunch.
2:00 pm
Walk Along the Thames
National Theatre
Our quest for lunch took us to a farmer's market outside the National Theatre, where we dug into some local delicacies like Scotch Eggs and Bubble wrap. Further downstream got us to a spot for Gourmet wood-fired pizza...yum on a chilly day!
Having recently finished reading Dan Brown's latest (Origins), I couldn't rests the temptation of checking out Tate Modern. Modern art is never easy to understand, but it did result in some nice photos and great views of the city.
7:00 pm
Lights up London
Tower Bridge
As we continued our riverside stroll taking in the sights along the way, we finally made it to the Tower Bridge after sunset. As luck would have it, we would be on the bridge it was being opened...got to see it action up close!
As the sun goes down, you get to see the famous London landmarks in a new "light"...St Paul's Cathedral, Tower of London, The Scoop, HMS Belfast and the Tower Bridge combine to give a breathtaking atmosphere after dark. Of course, tired legs & jet-lagged eyes still need some coffee and a little nap to take it all in.
Back to Piccadilly and an "authentic" Ramen place for dinner.
01 Oct 2018
9:30 am
Where is the Kohinoor?
Tower of London
Next day we were back to the Thames banks again, but the object of desire this time was the Tower of London and the Crown Jewels. The Beefeaters make for entertaining guides, delving in the past horrors and amusing stories surrounding the tower. The Kohinoor in the Queen's crown was a definite site to behold.
5:30 pm
Primrose hill
Regent's Park
A quick change of hotels to move out of the city and we arrived at the North end of Regent's Park and the Marriott located there. The nearby Primrose hill provided a quiet and romantic spot to watch the sun set over the London skyline.
02 Oct 2018
6:00 am
Train to Edinburgh
London King's Cross Railway Station (KGX) (London King's Cross Railway Station)
Early morning run to catch the 6.30 AM LNER at the King's Cross terminal. The ride to Scotland was uneventful, as we passed through the highlands munching down some more local fare for breakfast - porridge and poached eggs.
2:00 pm
Old Town Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Like most European cities, Edinburgh also has all its tourist attractions scattered within walking distance of each other. An Aussie turned Scot tour guide (Lachlan) took us through a 3.5 hrs journey up and down the Royal Mile getting us familiar with the history of Edinburgh, the Scot-English relationship, famous Edinburgh residents (JK Rowling et al), inspiration for Dr. Jekyll Mr. Hyde and the origin of the phrase "shit drunk".
4:00 pm
The North Sea
Portobello Beach
Next we rode the local double decker bus to get away from hustle and bustle and hit the serene beach of Portobello. Chilly weather meant there were only handful of people at the beach, but we were not complaining.
An hour of sea breeze meant we needed a steaming cup of hot chocolate (loaded with marshmallows) to get us back to action, and that when we found the Australian Jaffle Joint.
7:00 pm
Princes Street & Scottish dinner
Princes Street
Once the sun set, we were back to downtown Edinburgh and strolled through Princes Street. Auld100 turned out to be surprisingly cozy place to enjoy some Scot favorite for dinner - Haggis, Neeps and Tatties. It was amazing how being vegetarian is so much easier in UK, and we never had to find "veggie friendly" restaurants or live on salads...something US needs to catch up on.
03 Oct 2018
9:30 am
Grassmarket & Victoria Street
Grassmarket
Grassmarket Edinburgh is full of insane history and pubs dedicated to historic incidents...be it "The Last Drop" near a former public execution spot or "Maggie Dickson's" in the former house of a lady who was hanged and came back to life after a few hours. As Lachlan said, the ultimate honor in Edinburgh is to have a pub named after you.
Grassmarket leads to Victoria street, the inspiration for Diagon Alley in Harry Potter. Hardly a surprise given that JK Rowling wrote most of her work in the city, but the whole street is an absolute delight for Harry Potter fans.
11:30 am
The Castle that guards the city
Edinburgh Castle
Perched on top of a hill in the middle of the city, you cannot miss the imposing Edinburgh castle from anywhere in the town. A former Royal Palace and house of the Scottish Crown Jewels, its morphine for a history junkie.
3:30 pm
Walking the Mile
The Royal Mile
After castle, we still had a few hours to kill before our flight back to London. Walking down the Royal Mile, we finally reached the Palace of Holyroodhouse (current Royal residence) and the Scottish Parliament building.
7:00 pm
Flight back to London
Airlink bus stop | Haymarket
It was finally time to say goodbye to Edinburgh, but we clearly needed more than two days. As we boarded the airport bus and I tried to swipe my contactless card on the terminal, the bus driver stopped me and said "This is not London, here we talk! Tell me where you want to go..."
Quick dinner at the BA lounge and it was good bye Scotland.
04 Oct 2018
10:30 am
Finding GMT
Greenwich
Back to London and refreshed after the night's sleep, we were back on road looking for the place from where the world counts its time...Greenwich Meridian. Measured from the Royal Observatory on top of the hill in Greenwich Park, it now houses a museum that walks through journey of astronomy, navigation and time.
A pitstop at Cutty Sark naval vessel and a lunch of traditional pie and mash with parsley sauce rounded off the eventful morning.
4:30 pm
Hanging Gardens anyone?
Sky Garden
Sky Gardens is literally that...Garden in the Sky. A three story garden built on top of one of London's tallest towers provides great views of the city.
7:30 pm
West End Musical
Queen's Theatre
Another quintessential London experience....A West End musical. We managed to score tickets at the majestic Queen's Theatre to catch Jean Valjean's sung-through story of "Les Miserables".
05 Oct 2018
11:00 am
Home of cricket
Lord's Cricket Ground (MCC)
Within walking distance of our hotel was St John's Woods and the home of cricket - Lords. There was no way an avid cricket fan was going to miss a tour of this place. The Ashes urn, Kapil Dev's Prudential World Cup, 2017 Women's world cup trophy, the long room, the dressing rooms, the batting & bowling honors board, member's pavilion, media center, old man wind-vane and the "nursery" at Nursery end...almost every corner of this place reeks of history and tradition.
3:00 pm
Elementary my dear Watson
The Sherlock Holmes Museum
221B Bakers Street...need I say more?!
