Well, here I am in the dreaded Heathrow airport for a longer than anticipated stay since our original fight was canceled.
We have been on a group trip that began in the north of England to perform a show. We have been in London for four nights. I hadn’t been to London since 2016. August is of course the busiest month to visit London, but our agenda means we had to be here at this time. I have only been to London in August once before, so I would try to come in the off seasons otherwise. It is wall to wall people everywhere …just compare it to to Times Square area when the theaters empty out.
So here are some updates…..the most convenient way to pay for anything is to put your credit cards in an Apple wallet. Almost everyone we observed paid this way and we did too. Many places do not accept cash.
Theatre tickets are much much cheaper than on Broadway. We prebooked tickets see Abba Voyage-and it was fantastic.
We had already seen many of the shows on Broadway, so not repeating was a challenge. So we booked Back to the Future one night anyway since we were tired and it was just a few doors down from the hotel. You can book online on the day or visit the theatre to buy tickets.
On recommendation from one of our fellow travelers, we saw Mnemonic at the National, our first time there, wonderful modern theater. The play was one of those thought provoking shows and featured the actor who played Dodi Fayed in the Crown. He was totally nude for about half the show.
A group of fifteen of us prebooked a guided tour of Highclere Castle…Downton Abbey. The bus collected us from the hotel with a guide who had worked on the Downton set, so he gave us lots of entertaining stories about the actors and show. Another movie is being made right now. We stopped off in the Cotswolds at Bampton village where many scenes were shot. It takes 90 mins to two hours to get there.
One day, we went to Hampton Court Palace. A long time since our last visit. It’s incredible to think you are walking right where Henry VIII once trod. The gardens there are stunning and if you love tennis, there is the original ‘ Real Tennis ‘. Court. At least three hours to do this site justice..
Another day, we went to Borough market for the atmosphere and lunch and looking at all the incredible fresh foods. I like the spices store there.
Always find time to just stroll around London, you can find hidden gems everywhere. There are restaurants everywhere and dress is tourist casual.
For any train/underground travel, we recommend buying an Oyster card which is so convenient when changing trains. Ubers and taxis are plentiful.
Meanwhile, here I am at Heathrow 😀
