Honeymoon
August/September 2018
We then make it to London. We have both been to the city and love it, but have never been there together. Julia in fact studied in England for a semester so it was a great time for her returning to our roots. We’re staying at the citizenM Tower of London. It’s a phenomenal hotel with great rates and beautiful views. Would highly recommend it. Apparently their others are the same so if you comes across a citizenM, try it out. Here’s a view from our room.
We dropped off our bags and then headed to brunch at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant Breadstreet Kitchen. It was a delicious brunch with one of Julia’s bridesmaids.
After brunch Julia and I were a bit jet lagged so we took a quick nap and then headed out to Julia’s favorite, Wagamama.
After dinner we strolled around the riverside and came across a really pretty section called St. Katherine’s Docks. It’s a part of the Thames that’s been section off by a lock and so it has a water at street level.
The next day was a bank holiday and the second day of the Notting Hill Carnivale. It is the largest Carnival outside of the Carribean and boy is it a party. First the tube stations are packed all around London.
Then you get to Notting Hill itself and it’s a mad house.
The carnival itself is a big parade winding through the beautiful homes that make up Notting Hill. The dancers are in costume and dancing to the music being blasted by the big trucks that pass in between them.
Of course we wanted to fit in so we got glittered up.
We did regret that later but it was fun being a part of it all. We left the carnival a bit early to take a stroll through Kensington Gardens. It’s a beautiful park with two big lakes.
We then left the park and visited Prince Albert. He was Queen Victoria’s husband but was a big part of bringing the arts to the masses. Royal Albert Music Hall is England’s version of Carnegie Hall in NYC. If you play there, you’ve made it.
We then headed off to dinner. We went to Dishoom. It’s a great Indian restaurant and has quite a few locations across the UK. Their drinks are amazing as well.
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The next day we got up early and headed to the Tower of London. Neither of us had been before and took advantage of being right next to it.
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If you ever go, go early as the lines queues can get quite long. We first came across a raven. Those things are massive and everywhere around the Tower. Apparently if they ever leave, the kingdom will fall.
Next up was White Tower. This is in the center of the complex, the oldest, and Julia White Berg’s favorite.
We then went to see the Crown Jewels. Really pretty and really interesting history. Some of the diamonds are made from the largest raw diamond ever found and are also the largest, highest quality finished diamonds. Sadly no pics are allowed so you’ll have to see them for yourself (or find them online).
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We ended the tour with a tour of the “dungeons.” I put that in quotes because these were just holding cells for wealthy people who had committed crimes and were just apartments they couldn’t leave.
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Once we were done, we left to grab our last lunch with Hannah at the Chandos and then went off to see the National Portrait Gallery. The gallery is really fascinating because as Lonely Planet puts it “its a lot of paintings of famous people by unknown artists or unknown people by famous artists.” The paintings span quite a few centuries so you get everything from 12th century royalty to Ed Sheeran to good 'ole Charles Darwin.
We enjoyed a last few moments in London and then left to catch our flight to Cape Town!
The day has finally come. Julia and I are off on our honeymoon! There’s going to be a lot to post so I’m splitting the post up for each city we visited. So, first up is London!
We start our trip in Miami. We were lucky and got upgraded to business for our overnight flight to London. A first for both of us. Lay flat seats and lots of champagne.
