Primrose Hill After Camden we headed for Primrose Hill. Our intent was to see if the top of the hill would be good to watch the fireworks later that night. We explored the utterly charming Primrose Hill area and hiked to the top of the hill to check it out. The neighborhood has lots of boutiques and other shops. There were quite a few people staking out their spots...
Camden Market Dingwalls Camden Town is known for its street markets. The Camden Market is a bustling collection of shops, pubs, and food stalls. First up we have Dingwalls, which has hosted many bands over the years, and was a favorite watering hole of Charlie Watts, David Gilmore, and others. On July 5, 1976, the Ramones played their second UK show at Dingwalls...
We started the day in King’s Cross as we had breakfast reservations at Dishoom King’s Cross, which is in Coal Drops Yard. After breakfast we explored Coal Drops Yard and visited a floating bookstore on the canal at Coal Drops Yard. Platform 9 3/4 The Hogwarts Express takes off from Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross Station. It’s located between...
After Leake Street Arches, we made our way along the curve of the Thames, our eventual destination being Shakespeare’s Globe. Along the way we stopped to check out the Tate Modern and got a good look at the Millennium Bridge. Tate Modern + Millennium Bridge We really enjoyed the Tate Modern museum. There were exhibits that required pre-booking, which we...
Entrance to the Leake Street Arches (Graffiti Tunnel) The Leake Street Arches (aka the Leake Street Graffiti Tunnel) is a tunnel that runs under the Waterloo Station, so if you’re in the area of the London Eye/Buckingham Palace/etc., it’s definitely worth checking out. The Eurostar used to operate out of the tunnel, before it eventually moved to St...
We started day 4 doing the obligatory tourist stuff (Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, etc…) We weren’t particularly interested in most of this aside from the architecture. We didn’t tour the insides of anything in this area, and altogether it was a small part of the day. That said, there were some good reasons to brave the most...
Vintage + Vinyl We spent all afternoon in Shoreditch (mostly Brick Lane, part of the greater Shoreditch neighborhood), which is a very Bohemian neighborhood filled with street art, vintage shops, and vinyl. And when I say vintage shops, I don’t mean Goodwill style junk. These are serious. Stuff people would actually want to wear. And there are a TON of them...
Duck & Waffle We began the day with a late (10:00am) breakfast at Duck & Waffle, which was amazing. The views from the 40th floor are amazing, and the food was incredible. I, of course, had the duck & waffle, and Teresa had the eggs Florentine (served on a waffle). We split a dessert waffle: the lemon meringue. It was divine. Be sure to make a...
Given my GenX childhood, I was very interested in music related sites around London, and the West End has no shortage of spots. Most of these are not interesting aside from “hey, cool stuff happened here”, but others are worth a visit if 1960’s through early 1980’s music history is your thing. Regent Sounds Studio We’ll start at 4...
We pre-booked afternoon tea at the Sanderson Hotel. It was a Mad Hatter/Alice In Wonderland themed tea, and it was amazing. The tea was the best either of us had ever had (5 different types), the Champagne was fantastic, and the food was divine. A word of warning, though: although they will leave behind the teapot after pouring each variety, DO NOT go for seconds (or...