"Before we start this blog entry…I have to say- we had the best weather while on this vacation. Although it was rather warm! We had NO RAIN! AMAZING!
We arrived in London on Friday morning. Ashley and I were a bit nervous about the plane ride…it ended up being okay and we arrived safely. We met Anne at Heathrow and made our way to the tube. Finally arriving to their flat, and climbing the 4 flights of extremely narrow stairs, we showered and ate lunch. Anne was going to work for the afternoon. So once we were ready to start the day, we jumped back on the tube and went into town.
Ashley and I started our adventure at the Tower of London. We spent about 3 hours or so walking around and learning about the history of Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress. Since the Tower of London is near the London Bridge…we decided to be tourists and take some pics! From there we made our way to St. Paul’s Cathedral. This was our first experience in a while using actual maps! NO GPS…just plain paper maps. After touring St. Paul’s….we found a little Champagne/Wine bar. It was 430 or so…and time for Happy Hour!!! It was really fun just sitting on the patio and people watching.
On Saturday morning (7:30am, early!) all 4 of us flew to Dublin, Ireland. We decided to spend the weekend there touring the city and drinking beer! We dropped off our luggage at the hotel and hit the road. Our first stop was the Kilmainham Gaol Jail. The jail was built in 1776. Many leaders of Irish rebellions were imprisoned and executed here. The jail has also been use as a set for several films. It was time for lunch and we decided to go to Brazenhead, Ireland’s oldest pub! We all enjoyed a beer and some traditional Irish food. From there we walked all over town. Ashley and Eric went to the Jameson Distillery while the 2 Anne’s ventured back to the hotel and took naps! Before dinner we walked a bit north from our hotel through St. Stephen’s Green…which is a pretty huge park. We made our way to Grafton Street…which has a lot of shops/restaurants/pubs/etc. After dinner we walked all over checking out the different pubs. We found Foley’s…which is sort of a local pub and stayed there for a while. It was great…and managed to run into a few fellow Americans! Anneban managed to find some Captain…for Capt and Coke (her fave).
Sunday morning we got up and took the bus to the train station in town. We decided to visit a town north of Dublin called Malahide. It was a little town with shops, cute streets, Starbucks, and a castle. We walked all over the castle grounds and town. It was great and without doubt a real highlight of the trip. We made it back to Dublin and headed to the Guinness Brewery Tour. The tour was more like a museum than an actual brewery, and on one of the floors you learn to pour your own pint. While at Guinness we managed to run into a guy that went to KU! (small world) After Guinness we had to book it back to the hotel to get our luggage and head to the airport.
[Ashley/Anne went to for Paris 2 days; Anne/Eric went home to work :( ]
We took the train from Paris to London on Tuesday night. The train goes under water, right under the English Chunnel. This train ride was probably my favorite thing. It felt very European and definitely different than the US. On Wednesday we ran around London…seeing Big Ben, Parliament, Traffalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street, the London Eye, etc. Super touristy but a lot of fun! It was nice to take our time and walk around without a true schedule, since we had been on the go for the past 4 days. For dinner we met Anne at the grocery store so we could make ‘Annechiladas’, YUMMY!
Thursday we took the early train to Windsor to see the Queen’s other residence. It was pretty amazing and such a cute town. While we were touring the castle…we over heard one of the employees say that the Queen was on her way! We left Windsor around 3 and grabbed a chocolate croissant for the train ride home. AMAZING. This was another highlight to the trip! We made dinner at home and later that night we went for PIMMS (google it) and then headed home.
Friday morning we decided to have a traditional English breakfast. This was definitely not my favorite but I am really glad we tried it. We made our way to Kennsington Park, Hyde Park, Harrods, Notting Hill (cute shops and Hummingbird Bakery) and we got our first CREPE of the trip. It was amazing and HUGE! Friday afternoon Anneban signed us up to visit the Fuller’s Brewery. This was pretty cool. I think it may even be better than the Boulvard tour in KC. Our host for the tour was pretty amazing and of course the 1-1/2 hours of taste testing after the tour wasn’t too shabby!!! Ashley was in beer heaven! Anne and Eric took us to one of their favorite restaurants and then we hit the town for some fun.
Saturday had finally arrived…our last day in London, and guess where we went??? WIMBLEDON!!! It was amazing and thanks to Eric we had amazing seats! Eric had gotten up super early to queue (get in line) and get seats. We definitely appreciated his enthusiasm because this was a HIGHLIGHT of the trip. We were able to watch the Williams sisters play for the final, and then we purchased ‘Center Court’ tickets to see the Bryan brothers (from KC) play in the Men’s Double final. It was seriously amazing!
Later that night we met up with Anne and Eric’s friends at an EX-Pat party…hence it was the 4th of July! They are so lucky to have such a great group of friends. They were so welcoming and friendly! It was great to meet all of them! We made it somewhat of an early night because we had to get up early and catch our flight.
Anne & Eric- We can’t thank you enough for you hospitality and generosity. It takes a lot of patience to have people stay with you several days in a row, all while you’re dealing with your daily lives. You’re amazing friends…and we’re thrilled that we had the opportunity to visit! THANK YOU! Love ya- Anne & Ashley."
More pictures:
Out in London
Dublin
Malahide
Wimbledon
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