Let the adventure begin!
Below are the highlights of our pre-tour days in London.
We like to maximize our flight over so we usually add pre or post tour days.
On this trip it was very easy to start in London before heading over to the Emerald Isle.
Scroll down to see our adventures each day.
We took Rick's London tour in 2012 so we were experts (sort of) at exploring London on our own!
We like to maximize our flight over so we usually add pre or post tour days.
On this trip it was very easy to start in London before heading over to the Emerald Isle.
Scroll down to see our adventures each day.
We took Rick's London tour in 2012 so we were experts (sort of) at exploring London on our own!
The FAB Five!Our trip began by meeting my sister and her wife at the Philadelphia airport. Then we all flew to London on the same flight. We enjoyed four days in London with our family before the three of us set off for Ireland. My sister, Lori, and sister-in-law, Lesley, stayed in London and took Rick's Best of London in 7 Days tour!
Check Out Lori and Lesley's London Adventure17 JuneRick is Right!
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Welcome to London!This same beefeater has welcomed us for three years in a row to London! Aren't we lucky girls!
From Heathrow to London
The Royal MewsWhat are the Royal Mews you might be asking? It is the Queen's stables. The horses are kept here, as well as many carriages and cars. Since Buckingham Palace is only open for tours in August and September, this is as close to the Royals as you might get! I've heard that the Queen does visit her horses often. We however, only saw a horse, no Queen. You get an audio guide with admission which made it all very interesting.
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18 JuneOur Itinerary for the Day:
Madame Tussauds
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Greenwich
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19 June |
Our Itinerary for the Day:
Once, the MusicalGoing to the theatre is always one of our favorite things to do when in London. We got back to London with enough time to contemplate the many choices of shows at the TKTS booth in Leicester Square. We decided to see Once. It was the perfect choice before our tour of Ireland, as the musical is set in Dublin.
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Harry Potter Movie Studios
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20 JuneOur Itinerary for the Day:
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Dinner with FriendsA highlight for Donna was getting a chance to visit with friends. She had met them over 16 years ago in Denmark. They live outside of Oxford and were gracious enough to travel into London to join us for dinner. What fun to connect with old friends who are locals!
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Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge had been on our list of things to do since our first trip to London! The views were lovely and there were several videos that give interesting information about how the bridge operates. The tour even includes going down into the engine rooms. Not to sound too much like a tourist, but the gift shop located underneath the tower next to the engine rooms had really interesting and unusual souvenirs. (You can visit the gift shop without taking the tour.)
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Royal Albert Hall |
Afternoon Tea |
I love going behind the scenes at historical places! The tour at Royal Albert Hall was very enjoyable. While not as in depth as some theatre tours we have taken, it gave a perfect overview of a beautiful theatre. We even got to see the Royal Ballet rehearse.
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We couldn't travel to England without indulging in Afternoon Tea! We decided to book the special Afternoon Tea package with our Royal Albert Hall tour. With our pinkies up, we sipped tea and enjoyed our tiny sandwiches. My sister-in-law has a gluten allergy, and with a few emails when I booked the tour, they were able to provide gluten free treats for her.
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