During our time in London we stayed in Croydon, a suburb halfway between Gatwick airport and London itself. It had been a long day (Casablanca, Madrid and now London) and I wanted nothing more than to just lie down and not move for a while. We got out at the train station that was only a few minutes walk from where we were staying, although this soon turned into about half an hour when Dad got us lost and we ended up walking 20 minutes in the wrong direction. Fortunately I took over and I actually managed to get us to our destination. I know, I was as surprised as you!
I cannot describe the complete and utter relief I felt arriving in London. After six long months of travelling, it felt almost like I was arriving home; we were in an English-speaking country for the first time since we’d left, and the streets were orderly and clean, a far cry from Morocco. We didn’t have to worry about shopkeepers chasing us down the street or being woken up at 6am by the call to prayer. Everything was much more familiar and easy, and although I enjoyed our time in Morocco, I was so happy to finally be in England.
London was a fabulous whirlwind. Here are the highlights:
1. Visiting Australia House where I voted for the first time in an Australian election, something I had been excited to do for years. I was a bit disillusioned though since my guys lost. Typical. Fun fact: Gringotts bank in the Harry Potter films is modelled on Australia House. The layout, chandeliers, marble floors and columns are all strikingly similar.
2. Twinings, their historic 300 year old shop, where were able to sample some teas. The woodwork inside is quite lovely, whatsmore the walls are lined with their huge selection of teas.
3. I now look at my life in two parts; before and after I discovered the love of my life: Tesco meal deals. We were looking for a cheap meal, difficult to do in London, and went to the Tesco (supermarket). They have this wonderful deal, three pounds for a main meal (pasta, sandwich or wrap), a snack and a drink. We often availed ourselves of these while we were in the UK and I talked about my love of them so much I think I should be their spokesperson. Gosh I missed convenience food in Morocco.
4. Mum and I went to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour- the Making of Harry Potter while Dad met up with an old friend, named Dave. My parents had shared a flat with him when they lived in London in the late 80’s. Mum thought it would be a rip off, as the tickets are a bit pricey ($90), but I was adamant that I wanted to go, so she grudgingly agreed to go along. Little did she know just a few hours later she would agree it was one of the best things we’d done on our holiday so far, if not the best.
You start by entering a cinema, watch a short video about the tour starring some of the original cast, then a curtain unveils the front door to Hogwarts at the front of the room. The huge doors open, and you file into the Great Hall, the exact one they used in the movie. They have many of the original sets you can walk through (Gringotts, Forbidden Forest, Night Bus, Grimald Place, Diagon Alley, Harry’s Cupboard etc.), which they have kept in absolutely amazing condition. The details are just incredible, and makes you think how much time and effort went into just a single frame of any of the eight movies. There are also many of the costumes, items and behind the scenes stuff to enjoy, such as the animatronics (eg. Buckbeak), the rigs they used (flying car, Quidditch etc.). The shops are very high quality, and the items beautifully displayed. You name it, they’ve got it! Butterbeer, wands, cloaks, Honeydukes sweets, Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes… It’s a Harry Potter lovers’ paradise.
We met up with Dad, Dave and his wife later and told them all about it. I think in the end Dad was a bit sorry he’d missed out, but we had given him the opportunity to go, and he’d turned it down. Dave and his wife were absolutely lovely, and we made plans to see them again later in the week.
5. The Museum of London walks you through the history of the city, from before the Romans until the modern day. I was quite excited to see a pair of Doc Martens, much like the ones I was wearing, on display.
6. I had hoped by going to the Tate Modern I would finally understand the allure of modern art, since it is considered one of the best modern art museums in the world. Alas even this great monument failed me. It seems the world of modern art will forevermore remain a mystery to me. There is a great view from the top though, overlooking the city and the Thames.
7. Seeing a play at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre is something we’d been wanting to do since eight years before, when we’d done a tour. The show was selected by the audience on the night, out of a choice of Twelfth Night, Pericles and A Comedy of Errors, of which the latter was chosen. The play was wonderful, the costumes fabulous, the actors engaging, and all the jokes well-timed. Although the Shakespearean English was at times hard to understand, everything was always well communicated, and very entertaining. What I will say though is we were standing in the ‘pit’ with the other ‘groundlings’ (five pound tickets) and after standing on concrete for three hours, we were SORE.
8. Buckingham Palace is not as exciting to see as one might think, but iconic and therefore a must do nonetheless. You just look through the gates, very ornate and pretty gates I will say, at the big, grey stone building. We weren’t even invited in for tea.
9. The Victoria and Albert Museum is FANTASTIC. We were running around trying to see everything, from one huge gallery to the next. Statues, Chinese artefacts, fashion, European history, metal work… You name it, they have it. We decided we needed more time to see everything, so we came back the next day, which was a great idea, as we had barely scratched the surface after the first visit. If anyone’s short on time and visiting, I’d recommend having a look at the royal jewellery room. There’s a tiara that was owned by Queen Victoria which is pretty spectacular.
10. I had been waiting to see Avengers: Endgame for months, but since we were in Morocco I hadn’t been able to. Avoiding spoilers online was a nightmare, I found myself having to try and delete things from my brain, with some success. I loved the movie, cried, laughed, the whole shebang. For anyone who hasn’t yet seen it all I’m gonna say is ‘cheeseburger’.
11. One night we went for dinner and stayed over at Dave and his wife’s place. We met their son James who has ADHD and is autistic, and he was a larger than life character. Extermely enthusiastic and exuberant, he would repeat a phrase and we would answer, “Amy,” and this made him very happy. I wish it was as easy to entertain others as it was him. This is not something I’m putting on this list as a recommendation for others, as I doubt they want a load of strangers in their house.
11. Covent Garden and Camden markets, both of which are quite expensive and upmarket, the latter of which surprised my parents, as when they lived here they knew it as the edgy part of town where punks went.
12. We stopped in at the British Museum for 20 minutes, ie. nowhere near enough time to see everything. Learn from our mistakes.
13. Mum and I went to see Matilda the musical. I had been wanting to see a musical while we were in London, but Hamilton and the Cursed Child tickets were elusive. I loved the movie Matilda and had re-watched it over and over again in my youth, and thought I would also be a fan of the musical. It was okay, although it was missing something the movie had, and fell a bit flat for me.
13. Liberty; a historic multi-level upmarket fabric and homewares store that is my Mum’s favourite shop in the world. Great place to explore, where window shopping is key for the likes of us.
14. We did a quick stop off at Tower Bridge (often mistaken for London Bridge), before we met up with the infamous three Daves. For context, Dave (who I spoke of earlier), visited my parents in Australia in the 90’s with his two other friends, both called Dave. That night we ate some curry at a Pakistani restaurant, which was far too spicy for the likes of my feeble tongue, but which the others thoroughly enjoyed.
15. With our 7 day travel cards expired, on our final day we drove (hire car, you’ll hear much about it later) to Sevenoaks, a woodland not too far away. It was very picturesque, and I saw a rabbit which I was very excited about. I made the mistake of not keeping my thoughts inside my head and screamed, “Rabbit,” which of course was not the best stealth technique.
I was sad to leave London, it had been my favourite place so far on the trip, even if my feet felt bruised from all the walking. But alas there were more adventures to be had, so continue we must. Next stop, Somerset.
Anna Fay On Holiday 