On Tuesday, June 28, we left Toronto to head to London for a few days! Our flight left at 5pm, but we wanted to make sure to leave plenty of time for difficulty at the airport after the reports we had read. We go to the airport about 4 hours before our flight and were able to check our bags to London and get through security relatively easily. We flew KLM (YYZ-AMS, AMS-LHR), with our first flight being a 6 hour red eye to Amsterdam. We hung out in the AirFrance lounge and got a snack before boarding the plane. Brennan was able to book these flights for back in March for $1300 roundtrip (we used cash back points to book it) and we were excited to try a new (to us) airline's business class! KLM was excellent-the food was good, flight attendants were friendly and attentive, and the seat was comfortable. Unfortunately, I only got an hour or two of sleep and Brennan didn't sleep at all. One of the most unique parts of a KLM business class flight is the gift. Every passenger is given a Blue Deft house, which matches a real building in Amsterdam. These are only available in flight, so they are special! We started our collection with number 32 and 41 (seen in the slideshow below). We had a quick 2 hour layover in Amsterdam, where we hung out in the KLM lounge, which was great. The lounge was beautifully decorated and had tons of options for seating. Our flight out of Amsterdam had some delays, but we made it to London Heathrow without incident and were able to take the new Elizabeth Underground line from the airport to our hotel. We stayed at The Andaz London Liverpool Street. They were able to check us in right away, which was good because we needed a nap! We broke the rule of international travel-stay awake until nighttime! But, I'm glad we did, because we were way too tired to enjoy London without sleeping for a bit first. We went to London in 2018 as part of a trip around the UK and Ireland. While we were there, we had fish & chips on a food tour that Brennan has been talking about since then. They were really good in 2018 and just as good when we found the same place this time! We found Poppies Fish & Chips and took our food to Spitalfields Market to sit and people watch while we ate a late lunch. When we finished eating, we walked around the east end of London. We found a beautiful market, full of people enjoying a pint after work in their fancy business suits and a church that fell into disrepair and was converted into a park. Walking around a city exploring is one of my favorite things in the world and London is one of our favorite cities we've visited. This was a great way to spend our first afternoon back in London. On Thursday, we spent the day walking around again. When we spent a week in London in 2018, we stayed near Hyde Park and it was one of the places we wanted to go back and see again. We walked past Buckingham Palace on our way to see the newly renovated Big Ben. The tower was completely covered due to construction when we were there last time, so it was fun to see something for the first time! The tower was more ornate than I was expecting, which made it even more stunning. We walked across Westminster Bridge and made a plan for the night. When we walked through Hyde Park the first time, we had seen a huge festival (the BST Festival), but did not go in. We decided to go check it out and see if we could find dinner there. Most of the food tents were closed, but we got fries and sat in the park and watched Wimbledon matches on a giant screen while eating. The stage you see in the picture is where Adele performed the next night (I wish we could have been there!!). We also found a booth that sold Aperol Spritzes and had a merry go round. It was very silly and the drink had far too much Aperol, but it was a fun experience.
We went to a very busy pub to try and get dinner, but unfortunately, got caught in the rain and could not get food. Thankfully, Brennan had watched a Youtube video about London recently and remembered there was a food market (Mercato Mayfair) nearby. We ducked in there and it was incredible! The market is located in an old church, with booths selling different types of cuisine on the main level and in the balcony. Brennan had pork belly and a bao bun and I had Pad Thai. So delicious and such a perfect way to end our time in London.
Michelle Detrick
7/4/2022 02:09:22 pm
Love all the photos and your explanation of what you saw. <3
Jon Joyce Anderson
7/4/2022 04:17:19 pm
Keep up the great pics and explaining. You guys are super. Most of all stay safe, we love you.
Becky Cochrun
7/4/2022 04:19:20 pm
Enjoying the pictures and it’s like traveling along with you. Continue to have fun and make lots of memories.
Aunt Sur
7/4/2022 04:34:54 pm
What a wonderful experience. Your blog is well written and just a little 💚💚. Stay safe and well.
Pam Wilson
7/4/2022 11:25:03 pm
I am enjoying reading your post. Love your explanations and your pictures. Thanks for sharing! Love you!
Connie Richardson
7/7/2022 10:05:27 am
I feel like I’m traveling with you!! Beautiful pictures and commentary. Have so much fun!!!! Thank you for sharing! Comments are closed.
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We're Brennan & MeganSince June 2022, we have been traveling to learn more about ourselves and the world around us. Categories
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