One of the things I knew about traveling in a big city was that you don’t need a car to get to all the attractions. I had planned the trip around walking, the Underground train, and the local bus tours. I chose Big Bus Tours because the price was right for all the things I wanted to see.
Starting at the Tower of London, we hopped on the Red route bus. Our guide greeted everyone who got on warmly, smiling and chatting the whole way. A wealth of knowledge, he pointed out key historical places, providing anecdotes along the way. We headed first to Westminster, passing the London Eye, Big Ben, and Westminster Abby. We then headed to Buckingham Palace, where we passed the Queen’s Gallery and her royal guard stables. We then passed Victoria Station and headed up towards Hyde Park and the Marble Arch. After going past Piccadilly Circus and a few other sites, we changed over to the Green route to head over to Kings Cross Station so I could check out the Platform 9 3/4 – yes, I’m a Harry Potter fan. Just part of my geekiness.
Walking into Kings Cross for the first time, I inwardly squealed with delight walking through, taking in the sights and sounds of one of the largest transport hubs in all of London. Arriving at the main concourse and glancing up at the purple lighted ceiling, I looked around to find the Platform 9/34 attraction, wanting to get a picture of me running through the wall like in the movies. I was slightly disappointed to find that the line was extremely long, meaning it would be quite awhile before I would get to the cart. But, I wanted it bad enough, so I asked Ben if he was ok with waiting in line with me. He was a sport, patiently waiting, even though he’s not a fan. Almost 2 hours later, I was finally standing at the cart, ready for my 30 seconds of entertainment. As the attendant asked what house scarf I wanted and what wand I preferred, I happily posed, jumping when the photographer said “go!”
Once done, we headed into the store, where I purchased copies of the pictures and perused all the Harry Potter merchandise. I knew I still had another country to visit, as well as many other sites and attractions to see while in London. That, along with limited luggage space, I decided not to purchase anything else.
Dinner – St. Pancreas by Searcys
After the Harry Potter attraction, we then headed upstairs to find dinner. There were several choices, but we ended up at St. Pancreas Brasserie because they had a bar menu with finger foods. As we walked up to the bar, a couple of women were leaving the bar, and I chatted with them briefly. They mentioned that they were heading back to Paris on the Eurostar sitting right outside (which was calling for passengers to board), and I marveled at how quick and easy it is to get from England to France. After perusing the menu, we ordered the mini sausages and some sliders with a Merlot. Ben asked the bartender to recommend something, and instead of making something from the menu, he got creative and deposited a golden drink in front of Ben. It turned out to be amazing, though I never did decipher what it was.
We chatted with the bartender while we ate, finding out that he was from Italy and had been in London for a few years. After finishing our drinks, we wrapped up our evening and headed back to the apartment. We jumped on the Underground. We got a little turned around after getting back to the neighborhood, but finally made our way to the right street and headed up to bed so we could be rested for the next round of adventures.
