Saturday was dedicated to sight seeing. It was hard to pick which ones to see, since I've been to most of them and John to none. We decided to start with Westminster Abbey, one of my favorites.
No pictures inside, but we did the whole tour and I supplemented with what I remembered. John found Sir Isaac Newton's gravesite, but noticed they didn't mention him on the audio guide. They did have time for a section on the Bronte sisters, who aren't actually buried there.
We loved going at our own pace and not being interrupted. We spent most of the morning there, then continued John's London-in-a-day tour.
Big Ben clock tower was not as impressive at the moment.
The Thames and London Eye
Tower Bridge in the background. I refrained from quoting the Waste Land, but every time I saw the river I thought of studying T.S. Eliot with my friends and favorite professor.
We went to a Sicilian restaurant, Pane Cunzato, for lunch and it was adorable.
And delicious.
Then we walked down the street to the British Museum.
We only hit the highlights and it still took a few hours. John with the Rosetta Stone.
We walked past the Globe and went to the British Library.
Then we were ready for some pub food. A burger for me and bangers and mash for John.
We tried a chocolate place for dessert
We had two desserts and a hot chocolate and they were all amazing. We picked up some treats there for our babysitters.
Then walked back the long way to the hotel to see more of the city.
There were church bells ringing for at least an hour straight and it added to the ambiance.
We crossed the bridge and walked around the Tower of London. I gave a brief description and decided John needed to read Richard III and we'd come back and do the whole tour while they were open.
We both love efficient public transit and I knew John would love the tube. He did. He also loved stopping at Tesco for breakfast or at Sainsbury for a snack. I wanted him to love everything like I do so we can move there.
On our last full day we walked through Kensington Gardens.
I hadn't slept much so I was looking a little haggard by this point and worried about staying awake for a long play sitting in the dark.
We saw the Peter Pan statue and Queen Victoria's memorial for Albert.
Then we went to Poppie's for fish and chips before our show.
The time had finally come! Harry Potter and the Cursed Child part I.
In-between acts we went to MinaLima, who designs and creates all of the graphics for the movies.
It was a whimsical, artistic display and had endless prints that I loved.
John was glad we couldn't fit any in our carry-ons because they were pricey. Fear not, John, they have a website that ships.
We had a quick dinner and grabbed a Dr. Pepper to keep us awake for Part II.
Bought our house shirts with the redesigned logos and enjoyed the second half.
It was SO amazing. They were able to capture magic on stage. The music added so much to the play, the characters were more engaging in person, it was the best play I've been to by far.
I mean we sat for 6 hours and I didn't get sleepy and would've stayed for more.
It was definitely the highlight of our trip and worth all the time, energy, money, and stress to come see.
First thing the next morning we headed home. John's biometric scanners from his old job were in the Gatwick airport, which was cool to see. We were ready to be back with the boys, but we both wanted to stay another month or twelve in England. We absorbed all the Harry Potter we could in one weekend and it was the best birthday.
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