Changing of the Guards--Buckingham Palace

Our first day in London turned out to be a beautiful day with blue skies. Perfect day to see the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace.

Read Rick Steves for instructions on how best to see the Changing of the Guards.

The Queen was not in residence since the Union Jack was flown. If the Queen was in residence, you would see the Royal Standard flown.

We were able to get glimpses of the guards through the fence. The main ceremony takes place in the fenced courtyard at 11 am most days of the week. You can look online at www.householddivision.org.uk for the current schedule.

From the Victoria Memorial, you can get a view of the ceremony at the palace and the arriving and departing processions along the Mall.

Another place to see the guards is on Marlborough Road near St. James' Palace. 

Cavalry Guards headed down the Mall.

2019 11 18

In Search of Theater Tickets & Victoria Station

London is known for having great same-day tickets to shows. After a late breakfast, we went in search of tickets. A friend told me that she got cheap tickets by visiting the theaters so we gave it a try.

Hamilton was playing at the Victoria Palace Theater. You can download the Hamilton App and enter the lottery to get £10 tickets. Since we didn't win the lottery, we tried at the theater for tickets. No such luck.

The theater was worth visiting to see the statue of ballerina Anna Pavlova on the cupola.

Across the street from the theater is Little Big Ben.

Victoria Station is nearby and we stopped in to see one of the bigger train stations in town, with trains departing for the south of England and to Gatwick.

We also stopped by the Apollo Victoria Theater to try to get tickets for Wicked but they were being sold at full price--£125.

Next stop was TKTS in Leicester Square. Bingo! We were able to get orchestra seats in Row M for Wicked for £46 each. Forget visiting the theaters and go straight to TKTS!

2019 11 18

Blacklock Sunday Roast

Sunday Roast is a tradition in England and you can find it served at various restaurants throughout London.

We chose Blacklock and were able to make reservations at the location in Shoreditch, 28-30 Rivington Street.

The restaurant is set in an old furniture factory. It's spacious and can get loud.

Their Sunday Roast is "almost as good as mum's."

We ordered Sunday Roast for 2, which was enough meat for 4 of us to share. We got the All-In for £20/person. This included beef, pork (including crispy skin) and lamb skinny chops, along with choice of 2 sides (we chose cauliflower cheese and vegetables) and 2 yorkshire pudding.

We also got an order of Veggie Roast--£10, which came with yorkshire pudding.

Black Pudding Yorkshire--£5.50. I was disappointed by the black pudding. It didn't have much flavor.

We had a bottle of Primitivo--£26. It was perfect with all the meat.

2019 11 17

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey is the most famous English church, where royalty has been wed, crowned and buried since the 11th century. On Sunday nights, they have an organ concert at 5:45pm. It's free, a bargain when it costs £23 to enter Westminster Abbey during the day.

On the evening of our visit, James Gough from Wells Cathedral was the featured organist. He played Sonata No. 3 in A major by Mendelssohn, Rhapsody for Organ Op 25 "in memoriam Herbert Howells" by Ian Venables and Prelude and Fugue in B major Op 7 No. 1 by Dupre.

Get in line next to the Gift Shop. We were there in November and there wasn't much of a crowd so you can arrive at 5:30 pm, just a few minutes prior to the doors opening. You'll go in through the West door, walk up the left side of the nave, past Scientist's Corner and be escorted to seats between the Choir and High Altar. You don't have much of an opportunity to sightsee inside the Abbey.

After the 30-minute recital, you'll exit through a side door and pass through the Cloisters.

2019 11 17

Doubletree Hyde Park

Our package included air and 7-night hotel. Our hotel was the Doubletree Hyde Park, conveniently located just north of Hyde Park & Kensington Palace.

It's a 4 minute walk to the Queensway Tube Station on the Central Line and a 6 minute walk to Bayswater on the Circle Line. The location was definitely very convenient.

Doubletree's signature warm cookie on arrival.

Looking out our window

There was some construction going on but the facade of the building next door was preserved.

The rooms were fairly large, by London standards.

The bathroom was large as well. My only complaint was that there were not enough hooks and bars to hang towels. The water pressure was good but the hot water ran hot & cool--apparently it's a London-wide problem.

Standard shampoo, conditioner, body gel, lotion and bar of soap. No q-tips or cotton swabs, no shower caps and no shoe shine sponge.

We got free breakfast and it was more than adequate. There was no variation--we were there for 7 nights and got the same thing every day.

Standard English breakfast with sausages (pork & chicken), bacon, hash brown potatoes, grilled tomatoes, fried & scrambled eggs, mushrooms, fruit & pastries.

The Hydration Juice was quite good. It was naturally low in sugar and was loaded with zinc and Vitamin C. You also had a choice of apple or orange juice.

There was a coffee and hot water dispenser.

2019 11 17

Transportation in London

Because there were 4 of us, we used Uber to get from LHR to central London. It was £52 for the Uber XL ride on a Sunday mid-day in November 2019. To reach the Uber pick-up location at Terminal 5, exit the terminal and cross into the parking structure. Take the elevator to the 1st floor and immediately turn left to find Row R. Uber takes 40-60 minutes to get from LHR to central London. It all depends on the traffic. Check first before counting on using Uber. They may no longer operate in London.

Alternatively, you can take the Heathrow Express. It's £37 for a roundtrip ticket per person. It's a 15-minute ride to Paddington Station.

Once in Paddington, you'll need to use the Tube to get to your final destination.

Purchase an Oyster card--refundable deposit of £5 and load it with a minimum of £5. You get a discount off the cash price of a Tube ride. Each ride on the tube is £2.40 with the Oyster card and it tops off at £7 per day. Essentially, after 3 rides, all additional rides that day are free. The Oyster card can also be used on buses.

At the end of your trip, turn the card in to get your £5 deposit and up to £10 refund of any unused amount left on your card.

The London Tube is efficient, convenient and clean. You generally don't need to walk more than 10 minutes to reach a Tube station.

Some of the Tube stations are connected to Rail Stations and these are attractions of their own. Get out at the Paddington Station to see the canals.

There's a blue velvet Paddington Bear to greet you under the bridge.

Inside the station, you'll fid a Memorial to those who fought in WWI & WWII.

Under the big clock at Platform 1, you'll find a bronze statue of Paddington Bear.

He replaced the stuffed Paddington that used to sit in a glass case.

Nearby, you can sit on a bench with Paddington.

Visit the Paddington store to pick up an adorable stuffed Paddington Bear Christmas ornament--£7.99. Also, pick up a free Pawprint Trail map and follow Paddington Bear in the neighborhood surrounding Paddington Station.

Harry Potter fans will want to visit Kings Cross Railway Station. Near Platform 9, you'll find a Harry Potter shop and next to it is Platform 9 3/4, complete with a luggage trolley. The trolley is only displayed when the shop is open. There are props available. You can wear a scarf, wave a wand and get your picture taken.

2019 11 17

British Air Business Class

I must say I was not impressed our our Business Class flight from SJC to LHR.

There was a glitch with our tickets and it took us over an hour to straighten it out at the check-in counter. Note to self: if there is an issue with online check-in, call the airline to straighten it out before arriving at the airport. Not quite the Business Class experience we were hoping.

Our flight was on a 787 Dreamliner.

Because we booked on American, BA would not allow us to choose our seats unless we paid a supplement. We were assigned seats at check-in.

The Dreamliner is 2-3-2 configuration in a herringbone pattern. The window and middles seats face backwards while the aisles are forward facing. The aisle seats don't give you much privacy--the flight attendants reach over you to access the middle and window passengers. This is fine if you know the passengers but can get annoying if you don't.

The middle seat has extra space on the armrest to place a few items. Otherwise, it's in the foot storage space or in the overhead bins.

The last row in each of the 2 business class sections are the best for the window and middle passengers. No need to crawl over anyone to access the aisles.

The in-flight entertainment is pretty good on BA. There were a lot of movies, including some classics like Notting Hill. Perfect to watch on a flight to London.

You're given a small amenities bag with toothbrush/toothpaste, socks, eye shield, lotion and lip balm. You also get a pair of noise-cancelling headphones to use during the flight.

We had a welcome champagne before takeoff.  After reaching cruising altitude, I had Fizzberry Mocktail (mix of cranberry juice with Indian tonic water, served with ice and a slice) and fancy nuts.

One of the starter options was Ras el Hanout (Moroccan Spice Blend) Marinated Grilled Tiger Prawns, Smoked Hummus and Moroccan Salad. This was delicious! The prawns were well cooked and had a lot of flavor.

One of the options for the main was Atlantic Salmon with Five-Grain Couscous, Green Beans, Roasted Baby Peppers and Herb Beurre Blanc. The salmon was very dry. Should have ordered the Short Ribs.

I ordered the Vanilla Cheesecake with Wild Berry Confit for dessert and it wasn't worth the calories.

The flight attendants do not make your bed for you, so I made mine. The seat completely lies flat and is fairly comfortable. BA does keep the the cabin fairly warm and I found myself too hot with the blanket.

Two hours before arriving, we were served breakfast. Chilled Fruit Juice, Fresh Seasonal Fruit (Mangoes, Kiwi, Pineapple, Raspberry and Melon), Strawberry Yogurt with Rolled Oats.

I ordered the Traditional English Breakfast--Scrambled Eggs (terrible--tasted like they were powdered eggs), sausage, Irish Bacon, Potato, Mushroom & Tomato.

Upon arrival, you'll be given a Fast Track card. Throw that away and use the electronic machines instead to clear Immigration.

On arrival, you have access to the BA Arrivals Lounge. In Terminal 5, exit Customs and take the escalator to the 2nd floor. You'll find the Arrivals Lounge to your right. It has limited hours and closes by 2 pm. Yes, that's 2 pm, which gave us 15 minutes after we cleared customs.

There is a large bright lounge with a buffet area.

There is an Elemis spa and you can sign up for a 15-minute facial or massage. It's first come, first served and we weren't able to get one.

2019 11 16