New birthday trip – this time for my best friend. We traveled to London for a four-day girls trip complete with potions, photos, tons of tea and all of the nerdy things. Our four-day stay would be at an Airbnb in the western part of London – Clapham South and the planned mode of transit was the tube and/or Uber.
If at all possible, use Uber instead of the taxi system from the airport. Our trip of 3 ended up being at least 100 pounds by taxi, yet no more than 85 pounds using Uber. Additionally our taxi driver felt the need to share his views on blacks, Irish and a “ginger” prince with three black women from the States who didn’t ask for an opinion. Whereas all of our Uber drivers were more than content to just play music during the ride or discuss our lack of an accent.
As an aside London reminds me of New York City so I actually felt like I was returning to a place I’d been rather than taking a new journey overseas. The zone layout of London strongly resembles the layout of NY boroughs. Additionally, while in my hometown we have alleys and garbage collection generally occurs from there; in London similar to New York it was common to see trash bags street side in front of buildings awaiting collection.
Day 1: What or should I say Doctor Who
Day 1 involved a Doctor Who walking tour as my best friend is a bona fide Doctor Who nerd and it was her birthday trip. As we traversed the City we ran into these large words, the first being “what.” So, I decided to name each section of this post with the first word I found each day. Note: It took 2 days before I figured out what the entire phrase was – I thought the words were intriguing but didn’t bother to read the placard on them until Day 2.
What does one see when on a Doctor Who tour? The tour started outside of the Shard which used to be Europe’s tallest building. Apparently in one of the Who episodes, the Doctor drives up the side of the Shard to go somewhere and thus it’s location is a key stop of the tour. Other tour stops encompassed locations that were used in various episodes. I have probably seen only a handful of episodes and I have a very limited Who knowledge base. Nevertheless, the walking tour was interesting even for me. While my friend got to nerd out on episode trivia and random Who facts, I got to take awesome pics of London sites including Tower Bridge, the London Eye, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Globe Shakespeare Theatre, and Trafalgar Square. I definitely recommend doing all of the walking tours that interest you.
A Magical Evening
We ended the day with a trip to the Cauldron, an immersive experience where you make drinkable potions (yes alcohol is involved). You get to don a cloak, receive a wand and start with getting a beverage straight from the head of a mythical creature.
Day 2: Meet
Day 2 involved yet another walking tour, this time for Harry Potter. I’m not a Potter aficionado but I have a greater knowledge base of that than of Doctor Who. Our tour started in London’s Theatre District near Piccadilly Circus. Since my friends and I were the only ones in the tour group, our guide was able to give us a more personalized experience. The meeting spot for our tour was pretty cool – they have statutes of famous figures in film and television in various places throughout Liecester Square. The figures included Mr. Bean, Mary Poppins, Bugs Bunny, and even Batman situated atop the movie theater.
Our Potter tour took us throughout the Theater district and ended at the official Store located in the same train station as Platform 9 3/4. If you’re looking for some nice Potter memorabilia you should check out the Harry Potter section at the Primark store in addition to the official store located in the train station.
Literary Chill
We spent the evening of Day 2 at Scarfes Bar listening to live music and enjoying themed cocktails.
Day 3: Are
Day 3 was a whirlwind of activity. It was the actual day of my best friend’s birthday and our schedule included a photo shoot, afternoon tea bus tour, and an evening of food and fun times involving a ball pit.
The photo shoot arranged through Airbnb, involved another walking tour throughout the city center, stopping to take photos in front of more London sites. Our photographer had a penchant for taking photos in the middle of traffic. While it was a little nerve wrecking, it did make for some great images. We started the photo shoot in front of Big Ben which unfortunately for photo purposes was under construction. Other sites included Parliament, the iconic red telephone booth, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and revisiting the London Eye and Tower Bridge.
Following the shoot we grabbed lunch at Vapianos and headed to the meeting location of our tea tour.
Our afternoon tea tour was conducted via a double-decker pink bus. Since we were celebrating a birthday, the tour we booked included not only tea and scones but also champagne and sweets. The tour route went past various landmarks including: the Marble Arch, Royal Albert Hall, New Scotland Yard, Buckingham Palace, and Harrods.
After a filling afternoon of tea and champagne, we returned to our Airbnb to change and head out for our evening birthday activity- Ballie Ballerson.
Ballie Ballerson is a ball pit/cocktail bar with multiple London locations. Upon entry you are given a neon wristband and access to two different size ball pits. There’s also a DJ, multiple bars and it’s an overall enjoyable time. We actually did the electric slide while waiting in line at the coat check just because of the vibe.
Day 4: Elementary
I didn’t see a word from our title phrase on Day 4, but we started the day with a Sherlock Holmes walking tour. So Day 4’s title is Elementary. Not only did we visit various “Holmes” spots seen in movies and television, but we also got to see the changing of the guard on their way to Buckingham Palace. Our tour guide was a definite Sherlock Holmes fanatic who also liked to talk, so this ended up being our longest walking tour of the trip.
Following our Sherlock Holmes tour we traveled to Hackney, London to check out the Last Tuesday Society and Museum of Curiosities. In addition, to sampling the absinthe cocktail selection, we got to see the Pablo Escobar’s gold plated hippo skull amongst a selection of other curiosities.
Our London adventure concluded with a 3-hour London’s Secret Bars walking tour also booked through Airbnb. Our tour guide Aisha was awesome and knew of some of the best secret locations in the city. The tour started by walking through a refrigerator, my cocktail was served in a popcorn container with fresh popcorn, and it only got better and more interesting from there.
So, what did I meet when I turned the corner – an awesome four-day London adventure.
Some key notes for this trip:
- Purchase an Oyster Card (key for riding public transport and used in all of the walking tours)
- If you’re not staying in city center, make sure your lodging is close to a public transport stop
- Your Airbnb may not have an elevator – pack accordingly
- Not all canned wines/cocktails are created equal but some of them are tasty
- When in doubt, get a meat pie for lunch
A Memory and a Conversation 
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