Look right! Look left! Of course there are beans served with your full English breakfast! Would you like tea with your breakfast this morning, ma’am ?
So began our trip to London and later Paris— another wonderful trip to Europe –“Tauck’s Week In London and Paris”. Once again, we hit a home run – from weather, location and entertainment perspectives. I imagined that we would have a really good time but the feedback from my clients proved that this was a trip par exceptional—better than my wildest expectations!
David and I arrived a few days early and did some things on our own. – The Tate Modern Museum, Boroughs Market, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Royal Portrait Gallery and seeing once again, “The Phantom of the Opera”–(one of his favorite shows) at “Her Majesty’s Theatre”. Even with already being familiar with London, having lived there before, we hoped we’d have a lot in store with our upcoming guided tour and we were not disappointed. There are just some places that lend themselves to exploring over and over again – London is definitely one of those places. Imagine the majesty of seeing “Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament’ for the first time!
Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament
Day One
After our welcome and dinner reception the previous evening, we arose early to venture out to Windsor Castle. Accompanying us was a guide who relished exploring with us the history of the British monarchy and telling us all about Windsor Castle, the official home of Her Majesty The Queen of England. Home to the British royal family for over 900 years, Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. Located about an hour and a half outside of London, the castle covers about 13 acres and is absolutely huge! Rather than dwell upon its grandeur, I’ll simply show you a few of the pictures taken by David and say that it’s absolutely worth you venturing out to if you’re ever in England.
Windsor Castle from a distance
Changing of the Guard inside Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle Entrance–Imagine driving up to this!
Upon returning to the city, we toured Westminster Abbey, steeped in more than 1000 years of history. As the most prominent church in England, the Who’s Who of British royalty and history are either buried or commemorated here–St. Edward the confessor, Richard the Lionhearted, Mary Queen of Scots, pretty much any significant British monarchy that you’ve ever heard of, Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Robert Browning, Margaret Thatcher, Noel Coward, Diana, Princess of Wales, Emily Brontë, Benjamin Disraeli – – all are part of the prestigious line of people recognized at Westminster Abbey. You may also remember that in 2011, Prince William and Kate Middleton were married here and unfortunately, it is also the place where the burial service for his mother, Diana, was held. Saying that this place has major historical significance is a vast understatement!
Westminster Abbey–main entrance
Our very full day was completed with dinner at super chef Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant, “Maze Grill”. We ate, and ate, and ate some more. The food was divine and we left totally stuffed.
Day Two
So, if Westminster Abby has the Who’s Who of burials, the Tower of London has the Who’s Who of executions. Centuries of bloody history surround this medieval castle which is now home to the crown jewels and the iconic Beefeaters – – the guards who live in and protect the castle. With Anne Boleyn, Sir Walter Raleigh, Guy Fawkes and others being executed here, you can imagine just how futile their efforts at escaping may have been in looking at the vast moat which surrounds the castle.
NOTE: You have not seen “real” bling bling until you’ve seen the crown jewels. Though Queen Elizabeth is no longer on the world’s 25 most wealthy women list, in looking at the Crown Jewels, it’s hard to imagine that anyone could have jewelry, more magnificent.
This same area of London has easy access to London Bridge and the London Eye, both iconic structures which are listed on many a postcard in London. See for yourself just how great these structures are. For sure, our group enjoyed traveling on the “Eye” and the splendid views it provided.
Tower Bridge
London Eye
After this full day of touring London’s great sites, we capped the evening off with dinner and a show. “War Horse”, which won the Tony for Best Play in 2011, was the show we were treated to this evening. Having seen this already, I was interested to see if the London production resembled the production in the US. The theater in London was much more intimate and our seats put us in close proximity to the stage. Once again, we were mesmerized with the beauty of this story and I found myself enjoying the play just as much as before.
Day Three
So how did we exceed our previous days’ adventures? We followed it up with a trip to the British Museum and afternoon tea at Fortnum and Mason.
The “British Museum” is the second most visited museum in the world – it follows the “Louvre” in Paris. Dedicated to human history and culture, its permanent collection contains approximately 8 million works–including the Rosetta Stone which is credited with providing the key to our modern understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphics.
During our visit, we concentrated on artifacts from Greece which are unparalleled. Some of these artifacts include the Parthenon sculptures and Greece is demanding their return. Factoid: the Greek government is being advised by Amal Alamuddin, new wife of George Clooney.
So our interesting trip to the museum generated more hunger – so what to do? Eat, and eat some more! We found ourselves quickly at Fortnum & Mason, famous for their high tea. Was it good? Well, as I looked around the room, I saw that everyone was focused on devouring the goodies laid before us. Little talking occurred—if you get my drift!
Anyone for “High Tea”?
Day Four
Goodbye London, hello Paris! We traveled by first-class Eurostar through the Chunnel to Paris; in other words, we left Saint Pancras station in London and traveled by train, under the English Channel and ended up at Paris Gare du Nord station. Open arrival, we took a well orchestrated city sightseeing tour in Paris and were ultimately deposited at our hotel. Our evening was capped off with dinner at Fouchon – a well-known Paris gourmet restaurant.
Day Five
Versailles and Montmartre–Two highlights of Paris! Versailles is located outside of Paris so the group traveled about an hour out to King Louis XIV’s extravagant 17th century palace, Chateau de Versailles. The tour of the palace was followed by lunch in the gardens which was a real treat.
Gardens of Versailles
Back in Paris, the group was treated to a stroll through the winding streets of Montmartre and a visit to the Sacre Coeur. Perched high above the hills of Paris, this area offers one of the best city views available. Coupled with the ability to see artists honing their skills, this is a section of Paris visited by most tourists .
The Sacre Couer
Day Six
A visit to the Louvre – the world’s most visited Museum – and a walk-through of the passages of Paris were the highlights of this day. No matter how many times one visits the Louvre, there’s always something new to see.
The Louvre
If you’ve never strolled through the passages of Paris you don’t realize that there are lots of hidden treasures behind the wonderful carved doors that you see from the street. If you ever have the opportunity to peek behind those doors, you’ll discover a treasure trove of small shops and different experiences.
Okay, so I said the highlight was the museum and/or the passages. Oops, I forgot to mention that our evening was capped off with a private dinner on the Seine river. Oh my goodness, how could I forget this? We were treated to not only a wonderful dinner but as we floated along the Seine, we arrived at the Eiffel Tower just as its lights twinkled, capping off a wonderful, wonderful evening. For five minutes the twinkling continued enabling us to capture picture after picture of the site. What’s more iconic for Paris than the Eiffel Tower? Its views during the day are only exceeded by its beautiful views at night.
The twinkling Eiffel Tower
After this magical night, we stayed on in Paris and did a little shopping, saw a couple of dear friends, visited a new museum (Fondation Louis Vuitton) and ate a little more. For sure, while there, we dined at one of my favorites, “Le Soufflé“. Their Grand Marnier soufflé is something I try to have each time in Paris. (It’s great that they put the bottle on the table–LOL)
That aside, we tried to make sure that we spent some time just strolling around as that’s one of the things we like most about this city…ie its walk ability and its opportunities for people watching.
David and me watching ourselves! Picture taken from reflection in a store window!
So many places to go, so many things to see and never enough time! I feel this way every time I’m in London and/or Paris. They’re two of my favorite cities in the world and I fall in love all over again each time I’m there. Sure hope you’re able to visit one or both – you’re sure to have a great time!
Until the next time—BTW—be sure to look at our upcoming group trips for 2016—“Cuba”,”England, Scotland, Wales” and “Tuscany and the Cinque Terre”.