London Day Two: Westminister, Two Parks and a Pub in the Alley

Dulles Lounges and United Washington Dulles - London Heathrow
London Day One
London Day Two
London Day Three
London Day Four
Overnight Ferry London - Amsterdam
Amsterdam Day One
Amsterdam Day Two
Lufthansa Amsterdam-Frankfurt/Senator's Lounge Frankfurt/Lufthansa Frankfurt - Dulles



On our second day in London we woke up much less jet lagged and ready to take on the city. We headed out of our hotel in search of breakfast and popped into Pret  which is a grab-and-go style breakfast and lunch eatery that is all over London (and lots of places in the US as well). It is an awesome place to stop for breakfast because you can pick up a hot croissant with ham, cheese and tomato along with a coffee for around 5 pounds.

After eating our breakfast we went to the Tube, our Oyster Cards in hand, and headed to the Westminister stop and exited to this beautiful site:

Can't beat this..

 After admiring the beautiful intricate work that the Palace of Westminister has to offer we walked around to look at the other side of the building which has some of the main entrances to the building along with statues of Richard I and Oliver Cromwell.

Richard I Statue 

Sovereign's Entrance

 We then headed past Westminister down Whitehall which is the home of most of the government ministries as well as 10 Downing Street, the home of the Prime Minister. Then we walked down to the Horse Guards Parade where the Royal Horse Guards were holding guard. We then walked behind the parade to the start of St. James Park until we reached Buckingham Palace right around the time of the Changing the Guard Ceremony, which is a must do when you visit London. The Changing the Guard consists of the new guard going on duty parading down from their barracks along with a fife and drum corps and a full dress band. They then come into the grounds of Buckingham Palace and lead the old guard who was on duty back to the barracks.

Buckingham Palace

Fife and Drum Corps

New Guard Moving In

 After the ceremony was over we headed through Green Park to catch the number 9 bus to the west end. We got off in Kensington right across the street from Hyde Park to visit the house that I lived in when I studied abroad in London. It was great to see the old building and also see the beautiful neighborhood I was lucky enough to spend a semester in. I really had to take a step back at this point because this neighborhood and the experience of studying abroad in London really solidified my love of travel, as well as the curiosity to see as many places around the world as I can.

Old Stomping Grounds 

Flat that I Lived in While Studying Abroad 

Fourth Floor Was My Flat 

After walking down memory lane we headed down to my favorite pub in the whole world....and to get there you have to walk down an alley to find it. The Queen's Arms is located at 30 Queens Gate Mews, Kensington, London and is a classically wood paneled pub with delicious British hand-pulled traditional ales (read warm beer...or delicious) and my favorite Aspall cider. It was also lunch time so we decided to order some food. The pub has a large set of small plates along with a full menu of sandwiches and burgers. Kelsey ordered a chicken sandwich and I ordered a classic club, both of which, were delicious.

I could, and have, spent hours in The Queen's Arms and if you are looking for a REAL pub experience in London you have to go here. Other pubs in the city are owned by larger companies and are all the same in menu and offerings. This pub is not owned by a larger company, serves delicious and unique food and drink and provides a cozy place to people watch for hours on end.

Aspall Cider...so good

Bar at Queen's Arms 

Fixed Price Menu

Lunch Menu

Outside the Queen's Arms 

The Pub In the Mews 

In My Happy Place

 After walking out of the pub full and happy we returned to the hotel and decided that it would be a great evening to go to the theatre. We asked the hotel desk if they could help us get tickets, but they said that this late in the day we could only get full price tickets....around 85 pounds for the major shows. That price was a bit of a shock, but the concierge suggested that we go to the box office of some of the shows and see if they had any returned or last minute tickets available. We were lucky enough to score tickets to the original production of The Phantom of the Opera for 20 pounds. We had a pole in a tiny bit of our view, but we could see all of the stage no problem. The show was amazing and the cast was brilliant. If you like theatre, a West End show cannot be missed!