Day 21 (July 12): London.
Day 21 (July 12): London.
We crashed pretty hard last night after a long, but fantastic, day at Wimbledon. Marc was told about a place with great pastries about a block from the hotel, so we went there to check it out. They definitely had some esoteric combinations. I went with a peanut butter and blackcurrant doughnut, which I was hoping was a more upscale take on PB&J and Marc went with, you guessed it, a couple of chocolate and coffee combinations. Very yummy.
Yummy selection of pastries to kick off the day.
I went over to the concierge to check in with them to thank them for all of the things they arranged for us, and I am glad I did. I had us doing the bike tour on Friday but it was really THIS AFTERNOON! Oops. OK then. We then walked down to get some pics of Big Ben and Parliament because the lighting looked good and walked through Leicester Square, Westminster, Trafalgar Square, etc. Very crowded, as you can imagine.
Look kids, Big Ben! Parliament! #nationallampoonseuropeanvacation
Lunch was at the Duck and Rice, where you can imagine we ate - duck and rice. Shocking. They also had some dim sum, which was tasty. It was all good, but we had to head back to the hotel to get ready for the bike tour. As someone who has been coming to London for 30+ years (I guess I am THAT old), I had never done a bike tour around the city. When the concierge proposed it to me, I thought it would be fun for us to do.
Our guide took us to places that I hadn’t really spent much time in such as Camden, Regents Park with the canal of houseboats, Kings Cross and St. Pancras. The latter 2 areas have changed by 180 degrees in terms of how built out and gentrified it all is now. When I lived in London in the late 90s, you would not be spending any more time than you needed to in those areas of London. Now? Completely different.
More cycling through Bloomsbury, Islington. Mayfair, Soho, and Marylebone. And yay, more non-Peloton cycling on actual city roads on the other side of the street!
The forecast was improving as the afternoon went on, which worked out as we had dinner reservations at a restaurant that was known for their 360 degree views of London and beyond. We had drinks first at the bar and walked around. It was a nice mix of sun and clouds, which we hoped boded well for a good sunset. They had a DJ going and it was fun experiencing it all.
Dinner was actually really good and the wine service was even better. In my experience, places with a great view generally do not deliver on a commensurate level with food, bev and service. We were pleasantly surprised. The sunset was really nice. The DJ was still at the bar and at night, it was still cool to take in the views of London and the River Thames.