We stopped into Surrey for 4 days to start for some lovely time with the family.
We stayed at the Sandhurst Premier Inn, it was fine for what it was. They have a Beefeaters restaurant attached where we ate a great buffet every morning (kids eat free, so it was around $40 for the whole family!), and some decent dinners too.
We used London Heathrow cars for our car service and they were fine, but overcharged us on the quoted price. I was too tired to argue.
Going back to London we had realised that transport in this neck of the woods was useless so we booked with Woking Taxi and they were wonderful.
Airbnb in Fitzrovia
The location was spectacular, so much Soho, Carnaby Street, China Town, the High Sts, it was so very good.,
Honest Burger Oxford Street
I cant tell you how many times we ate here, it might have been 4, it was just around the corner from where we were staying, they catered for GF, and vegan, and both children liked it, so we stuck with it.
Wahaca Oxford St
The food here was so good, but the service was crap. Weird kids menu, which they didn't give us until we were having trouble ordering off the adults menu for the kids.
Five Guys Soho
Fast food done right, everything is delicious!!!
& Juliet
At the Shaftesbury Theatre, London
I don’t want to spoil this for my Australian friends as after we booked tickets, they announced an Australian tour.
This was BRILLIANT!
From the minute Juliet ( @miriamteak_lee ) started singing I had full body goosebumps. She was an absolute powerhouse, love, love, loved her! Wish I got to see her in Hamilton!
Mays (Alex Thomas-Smith) first solo had me in tears.
The aesthetic was so pleasing.
The story was interesting, funny and Queer! Marley said it was perfect that we saw it in Pride month.
It’s a jukebox musical so you will know the songs.
That’s all I’m saying.
Wherever you are GET TICKETS!
Harry Potter Warner Bros Studios Tour
I know that giving money to JK Rowling is a terrible
thing. We booked this in 2019, were given credit and rebooked twice since.
While I did think that JK Rowling wasn’t a great human back then, it has become
glaringly obvious since I originally booked the tickets that she’s a raging
transphobe. It still makes me uncomfortable, but on the flip side, this event
isn’t for me, my daughters special interest for years was Harry Potter, and I
always promised her that I would take her. So we went. It doesn’t feel ethically
good, but the smile on her face lit up the whole room (surprisingly Mace loved
it too), so I’m going to quietly sit with my shit feelings about JK and let my
kids live their Harry Potter fantasy…
A day in Brighton (pebble beach) with Chloe and Rufus
We got the train, apparently if there are 4 of you, you can get a group saver or something, check at the ticket office.
We looked at shops, ate at a fried vegan chicken shop 'Really Happy Chicken', and a treat at the Hello Kitty Cafe, hung out at the beach, where Mace swam! Really lovely day, I am glad we made it!
Kentish Town and Camden Town
We went to see our old neighbourhood and flat in K Town, then off to Camden for some shopping. Unfortunately it was raining and cold and we werent really prepared for that so we ate and drank in a coffee shop waiting for the worst of it to subside. The website says Camden market opens at 10am, but it is more like 11, didn't pay to be the early bird. I did get to see the Amy Winehouse statue, which made me happy.
Was very excited to see the London cast perform Hamilton.
It was wonderful, except when it stopped 15 mins before the end of the first
act with no explanation, we all thought it was done for the day, and then
resumed!
Burr was amazing, smooth like butter, Eliza was also
amazing! George Washington, The King, Phillip, Hercules Mulligan all gave such
great performances. The kids now say this is their favourite King 😬
Alexander, Anjelica and Lafayette were understudies/stand
ins and it showed. Alexander confused and forgot his lines 3 times in the first
20 minutes, not great, if you didn’t know every lyric, you may not have noticed,
but that’s not me. I feel destined to never see the lead in the role. Anjelica
just couldn’t hold the note, when she did, she missed syllables and enunciating
the end of words, not great either.
We did love it though. I know I’m a harsh critic. Can’t wait
to see it for our third time in Melbourne!
The Tower of London
Allow 3-5 hours for this. It was pretty wonderful, we were there 3 hours and didn't see it all. The first thing you need to do is check the crown jewels (queue gets wild later), then head to the Beefeater/Yeoman tour, its every half hour, free, and awesome. Really brought the Tower to life. Paid our respects to Anne Boleyn. Saw a lot of armour and weapons. Left satisfied, if I was on my own, I would have stayed longer.
If you have issues with stairs, there are a lot, wouldn't recommend if you have mobility issues.
The Southbank
One of my favourite places to walk. You can walk, boat or tube down to the other end - Houses of Parliament, walking is my favourite, but it is an hour longer than my kids had in them. So we took the tube. Had a ride on the golden carousel, checked it out, crossed at Big Ben and walked home because uber is useless in London. We later learned about Bolt, but it was very late.
Regents Park and Hyde Park
The city parks are just amazing, so much to offer. If you have time to check them out, they are great.
Strawberry Tours free Harry Potter walking tour
Colin was an awesome guide, thoroughly enjoyed the magic of London becoming the inspiration for Harry Potter. Brilliant
tour, highly recommend! These are free tours so everyone can access them, we tipped 50 pounds because it was very good.
Most of the trip was catching up with loved ones, but I am glad we got to do some things too.
Gates are opening 1.5 hours before departure and boarding is 20 mins before. This was way easier than flying, I cant believe I didn't use it when I lived here.
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