Day 16 - Today we disembarked Brilliance of the Seas. We walked our luggage off the ship at 7:00am and were in front of the port waiting for a car by 7:!0. You literally just walk off the ship in Amsterdam. We had arranged a car pick up through Welcome Pickups and he arrived very promptly. We were at the airport by 8:15am. The Amsterdam airport is very busy and a little confusing, but signs and kind people are everywhere. Also, there are tulip shops inside the airport for you to pick up tulips for your trip home. For us, we weren't heading home. Our next stop is London. Our flight was delayed a bit, but we had a great ride on British Air to London City airport. We landed just after 1pm and had a taxi around 1:30.
For arriving in London around 1:30pm, we did pretty well. We grabbed a traditional black London cab and he got us to our South Kensington neighborhood. We checked into our lovely flat, which was a "basement" flat that had huge sundown windows, a full kitchen, dining room, large bedroom, and a perfect bathroom with a bathtub (my favorite thing!). It was a perfect AirBnB for us. We immediately headed out for a tube ride to Westminster and a walk along Whitehall. A big tip if you are traveling with kids and plan to use the tube (which you should). Buy your visitor Oyster pass online before you go. It allows you to top out at a lower rate than locals on the max you can spend on Tube rides per day (around 5 pounds). Once you arrive at your first Tube station, find an attendant and they can make the cards for your kids be identified as a young rider Oyster which reduces their rates by half. I really researched the best way to have Austin travel the tube and this was the best for not restricting hours of travel or zones.
Our walk along Whitehall started by Parliament and Big Ben, then past the Horseguard, and finally to Trafalgar Square. Austin had to climb the lions right away! We then headed to Southbank and the area around the London Eye. We met up with one of my childhood friends, Alissa Polkowski, for a drink and to explore the area a bit. It was wonderful to catch up with her and hear about how the locals of London live.
Next we loaded on the London Eye and took in the beautiful sights up and down the Thames. It was a smooth 30 minute ride and it was just as much fun as the first time I rode it. I think Austin would have been happy with second time around.
We then walked some of the bridges of London and made our way to Covent Garden. We watched some of the street performers, looked in a few shops, and found a delicious pub that had amazing bangers and mash. If you are in that area and hungry, go check out Nags Head.
We then had a quick nighttime stop in Piccadilly Circus and then back to South Ken for some rest. Today, I was happy to discover that I still really love London!
For arriving in London around 1:30pm, we did pretty well. We grabbed a traditional black London cab and he got us to our South Kensington neighborhood. We checked into our lovely flat, which was a "basement" flat that had huge sundown windows, a full kitchen, dining room, large bedroom, and a perfect bathroom with a bathtub (my favorite thing!). It was a perfect AirBnB for us. We immediately headed out for a tube ride to Westminster and a walk along Whitehall. A big tip if you are traveling with kids and plan to use the tube (which you should). Buy your visitor Oyster pass online before you go. It allows you to top out at a lower rate than locals on the max you can spend on Tube rides per day (around 5 pounds). Once you arrive at your first Tube station, find an attendant and they can make the cards for your kids be identified as a young rider Oyster which reduces their rates by half. I really researched the best way to have Austin travel the tube and this was the best for not restricting hours of travel or zones.
Our walk along Whitehall started by Parliament and Big Ben, then past the Horseguard, and finally to Trafalgar Square. Austin had to climb the lions right away! We then headed to Southbank and the area around the London Eye. We met up with one of my childhood friends, Alissa Polkowski, for a drink and to explore the area a bit. It was wonderful to catch up with her and hear about how the locals of London live.
Next we loaded on the London Eye and took in the beautiful sights up and down the Thames. It was a smooth 30 minute ride and it was just as much fun as the first time I rode it. I think Austin would have been happy with second time around.
We then walked some of the bridges of London and made our way to Covent Garden. We watched some of the street performers, looked in a few shops, and found a delicious pub that had amazing bangers and mash. If you are in that area and hungry, go check out Nags Head.
We then had a quick nighttime stop in Piccadilly Circus and then back to South Ken for some rest. Today, I was happy to discover that I still really love London!
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