Charlotte in the City: London Round 1

Well, technically, I guess this is London Round 2, since I posted about my trip back in June. If we are really being technical, this is London Round 3, since I went back in 2007. I digress. I was so excited to see my family in LONDON! They had all flown across the ocean to see me. I'm pretty lucky. ;)

On Friday, we went to Harrod's (where I got some cute things for Easter baskets!!), and dinner at Senor Sassi's which has the most delicious fettuccine alfredo I've ever had! On Saturday we met Vivian (our same guide from this summer... love her) and made our way to St. Paul's. I loved walking across the Millennial Bridge... and interupting a commerical shoot in front of St. Paul's. I could have spent all day in there! I enjoyed seeing the Duke of Wellington's grave, the American monument, and the alter cloth embroidered by returned soliders. After a quick stop at Starbucks, we headed to another museum, which I truthfully don't remember the name of. We strolled through the financial district, which was extremely empty and peaceful. The coolest thing about the museum was that it had ruins of an old Roman theatre in its basement! Back when London was called Londonium, and the Romans occupied the city. We then rushed to Fortnum and Mason for a late lunch/tea/ice cream. We went back to the hotel to see EMILY and then had a quick turn-around before heading back out to drive to the Warner Brother's studios for the HARRY POTTER TOUR! It was great being the last group they admitted at 6:30, because the place was practically empty. We spent 3 hours exploring!

Sunday was a more low-key day! We spent the better part of the morning shopping at Fortnum and Mason, where I got an adorable teacup, as well as an oven mitt. I can't wait to use them!! I can't find the exact teacup I got online, but I really loved this one too. We had an early dinner at a French place in the West End before seeing a show: The Play That Goes Wrong. It was very funny. Amanda was insistent that we see it, having seen it and loved it in New York earlier this year.

Dinner before the show!

On Monday, we made our way to Windsor! Despite slightly depressing weather, I loved walking through the quaint towns of Windsor as well as Eton. Seeing all of the boys in their Eton uniforms was definitely a highlight! We had lunch/tea (do you notice a theme here?) in a hotel overlooking the Thames and then made our way to the gorgeous castle. My favorite parts were seeing the chapel where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be married in May, Queen Mary's dollhouse, and seeing the vast collection of royal dishes. They seriously have so many beautiful dishes and serving pieces, it's a wonder how they ever pick out which set to use! After taking the train back into London (during rush hour), we scurried back out for dinner at Nobu. I'm not a giant sushi fan, but the raw tuna tacos at Nobu (and the crispy-rice-spicy-tuna dish) are phenomenal. The next morning I was up bright and early on the train back to Edinburgh. I was sad to leave, but now I'm even more excited to go back with Matt and Brian Beazer in April.