2016 was a big year for me, especially in the travel realm. Fittingly, I wrapped up the year on a trip across the pond and spent a week in London. The trip was originally intended to be a girls trip with Kellie and I, but due to some unforeseen circumstances, she could no longer go and Aubrey was on deck for his first overseas adventure!
After spending a few wonderful days celebrating Christmas with both his family and mine (so much driving across Texas!), we boarded a plane the evening after Christmas, bound for the UK!
We arrive at our AirBNB apartment around 3pm and quickly departed to go explore our neighborhood and find something yummy to eat. This was our way of making sure we stayed up late enough to help stave off the jet-lag. We had dinner at White Hart on Drury Lane, which proudly claims to be the "oldest licensed premises in London." The food was delicious and totally hit the spot after being subject to airplane food for our previous meal. When we made it back to the apartment, we crashed hard and slept really well!
Later that evening was Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Part I. We got cleaned up, had dinner and drinks near the Palace Theatre and headed to our seats. Unfortunately with small theatres and tall Aubrey, there was a slight leg room issue, but he was a trooper and didn't complain about being squished in behind a balcony wall.
We made breakfast at the apartment on Thursday morning- it was a fun challenge trying to figure out the appliances. We spent the morning exploring Soho and grabbed some tasty treats from a bakery in Chinatown. We found a neat little pub close to the theatre where we had drinks and played chess before the second part of the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play.
Friday was our random hodge-podge day where we did a little big of everything. First stop was Old Spitalfields Market where I picked up a few scarves to keep my neck warm. You can never have too many scarves really. ;)
Then we tracked down a place Aubrey had found online - Junk Yard Golf Club. It was undoubtedly the most random thing we did on our trip, but also one of the most fun! We played putt putt golf in this ridiculously themed course... it was great!
Then, we had Indian food on Brick Lane (I'm still having dreams about how good the meal was) and checked out Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland where we had mulled wine and I took this ridiculous picture with a giant carved wooden Olaf!
We wrapped up the evening with a few drinks at a near bar called Apple and Pears on Brick Lane and then departed for our Jack the Ripper tour, which was really good! I enjoyed learning about the history and research that has been done for over 100 years to identify the infamous killer. The tour guide did a great job bringing the victims to life and explaining what life was like in the 1880s.
The first half of the trip was phenomenal and we had an amazing time! Thankfully the weather (while cold) wasn't too wet as we didn't get any rain until January 1st. Stay tuned for fabulous tales and pictures from the second part of our trip!
After spending a few wonderful days celebrating Christmas with both his family and mine (so much driving across Texas!), we boarded a plane the evening after Christmas, bound for the UK!
We arrive at our AirBNB apartment around 3pm and quickly departed to go explore our neighborhood and find something yummy to eat. This was our way of making sure we stayed up late enough to help stave off the jet-lag. We had dinner at White Hart on Drury Lane, which proudly claims to be the "oldest licensed premises in London." The food was delicious and totally hit the spot after being subject to airplane food for our previous meal. When we made it back to the apartment, we crashed hard and slept really well!
On Wednesday, after an awesome breakfast at a nearby cafe, we did a lot of walking. I mean a LOT of walking. We visited Borough's Market and then made our way down to Big Ben just soaking up the beautiful day and all of the sights.
We made breakfast at the apartment on Thursday morning- it was a fun challenge trying to figure out the appliances. We spent the morning exploring Soho and grabbed some tasty treats from a bakery in Chinatown. We found a neat little pub close to the theatre where we had drinks and played chess before the second part of the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play.
Then we tracked down a place Aubrey had found online - Junk Yard Golf Club. It was undoubtedly the most random thing we did on our trip, but also one of the most fun! We played putt putt golf in this ridiculously themed course... it was great!
Then, we had Indian food on Brick Lane (I'm still having dreams about how good the meal was) and checked out Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland where we had mulled wine and I took this ridiculous picture with a giant carved wooden Olaf!
We wrapped up the evening with a few drinks at a near bar called Apple and Pears on Brick Lane and then departed for our Jack the Ripper tour, which was really good! I enjoyed learning about the history and research that has been done for over 100 years to identify the infamous killer. The tour guide did a great job bringing the victims to life and explaining what life was like in the 1880s.
The first half of the trip was phenomenal and we had an amazing time! Thankfully the weather (while cold) wasn't too wet as we didn't get any rain until January 1st. Stay tuned for fabulous tales and pictures from the second part of our trip!
