On this episode of Sunshine Travelers, we're taking you off the beaten path in London. We visited the city multiple times, so this trip was all about finding something new. From visiting the fictional home of Ted Lasso in Richmond to catching an unforgettable sunset view from the top of the Shard, we're sharing a different side of London, beyond the usual tourist spots. If you're looking for a fresh take on one of the world's most iconic cities, this is the episode for you.
I'm Scott.
And I'm Melissa.
And we are the Sunshine Travelers. Our passion is travel and sharing our experiences with those who enjoy it as much as we do, or those who want to learn more about travel, or even those who just want to live vicariously through our travel stories. No matter where you fall along that journey, get ready to hear about our firsthand experiences as we visit some of the most interesting and amazing places on Earth.
London is one of the cities we love to visit, and we've visited it many times. Melissa, I think your total is around seven now. I'm at least 10. And we've mentioned on the show that there is so much to do in London, and it's easy to find new things to do on every single trip.
Yeah, we've said that, I mean, you could live there and not ever go and see everything and do everything. And I think you would come up with your favorites, but even if you just... you know, look at some Instagram accounts, like there's whole Instagram accounts about London and some of them are featured on like speakeasies and hidden bars. And some of them are focused on kids. And I mean, so there's just a million things that you could do.
But on this trip, we had set out to explore a different side of the city, the spots you might miss if you're just following the usual tourist trail.
Yeah. So if you've been to London before, chances are that you've seen Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, probably things like the Tower and Westminster Abbey. And some of those things that we would say are like iconic, like you need to go see those things on a first trip.
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Yes, we discovered it a few years ago before we moved to Florida. There's a bar called Sky Bar, I think it's called. Savage.
Savage. Savage Rooftop Bar. Oh,
okay. Okay. And it's in the Double Tree Hotel or at the top of the Double Tree Hotel near the Tower of London. And it's in the elevator. And maybe once you get to the top and stuff, but I know it's in the elevator. And thankfully, I had snapped a picture of it. We just we really loved it. And so once we moved, we started doing some research like with reverse. Google searches and come to find out it's actually made by the same company that does the monkey 47 gin, a company out of Germany. And they do the gin and then they sell this wallpaper, which is all kinds of monkeys doing very debonair. dressing and things and having their tea, but then it's like they're in the jungle. So, but literally everybody who is on a call with us is like, Oh, that wallpaper. Or if we have a contractor or somebody who's never been to our house, they're like, wow, that wallpaper. So if you are listening, you might have to go check this out then on YouTube to check that out. I probably need to do a little thing. That'd be fun to do something on, you know, on social media or something. I don't know if I've ever posted that there. So go check that out. It always, of course, then makes us think of London as well, you know, being in here and. having this wallpaper.
Well, the first thing that we want to talk about, though, is jet lag. So we've talked about jet lag. We even have episodes about jet lag. But since we posted our last episode on jet lag, we have found a true game changer when it comes to jet lag. And so let's talk a little bit about FlyKit for a minute.
Yeah. So there's a kit that you... buy that's called a fly kit. It's put out by a company called Fount Bio. And it's really a neat innovation. And I know they've done a lot of research. You got a chance to try it out when you went to India for the first time. We wanted it when we were going to our safari and we just didn't order it in time. And so you got to use it when you went to India. And so that was what a week, a less than a week trip to India. So I had no jet lag.
had no jet lag. whatsoever so this was our first time trying it so basically it's this kit that you order and then you have an app and you put your flight details and a few other things into the app and it tells you basically it's got some supplements in it it's got some blue light
this was our first time trying it so basically it's this kit that you order and then you have an app and you put your flight details and a few other things into the app and it tells you basically it's got some supplements in it it's got some blue light blocking glasses. And then it tells you when you need to eat and when you need to try to sleep. And you basically started on your first day of travel. And then it goes a couple of days into your first day and you do it on the way there and on the way back. So this was my first time using it. And so I really thought, you know, when we got there, we had actually planned, which we're going to talk about in a second, we'd actually planned to do the view from the shard. And I had a feeling that Scott was not going to be tired. And then that... that I was just going to be exhausted, but followed that process. We got to the hotel. We got to check in early, get a shower, change clothes. I did not feel the need to lay down at all. It was incredible to land in a place and feel like nothing has changed.
And just hit the ground running. And hit the ground running.
And hit the ground running. I was so impressed. Not going to want to ever do a trip without just like it.
We're going to talk more about FlyKit later. Maybe we can get somebody from FlyKit to come on the show. But we just wanted to mention this because it absolutely is changing the way that we travel internationally and how we feel once we get there. Yes, I still believe that the app that you use with the pressure points, I think that that works. But I don't think it works as well as this other thing. So we'll talk more about it later. But, you know, when we arrived at Heathrow. One of the things that we wanted was the fastest path to get from the airport into the city. So we decided to take the Heathrow Express, something that we commonly do when we go into London. And literally, we were in downtown at Paddington Station within about 15 minutes. And, you know, that's just amazing because if you took a cab or an Uber from the airport, you're not going to get there in 15 minutes.
No.
No, it's going to take a lot longer than that. You can take the Queen Elizabeth line. directly from the airport into Paddington. But once again, you're not going to get there in 15 minutes.
I think the Queen Elizabeth and maybe the Piccadilly or something like that, but they're not express. Like they're going to stop at all the places. So you take this Heathrow Express and it literally has you at Paddington Station. In 15 minutes. It was incredible. That is the fastest that we have ever done. All the gates were electronic. And let me remind you that if you go to London, the UK, and you were landing and going through immigration, you're going to need that UK travel authorization.
It was
you're going to need that UK travel authorization. Go to UK ETA and look that up. It should be like about $12. So don't pay a lot for it. But we didn't ever talk to anybody. It was automatically on your stuff. We scanned it. We went. Our luggage was there, a baggage claim. We did check. a couple of things because we were also going to Iceland and we had more stuff than we could just carry on. But literally I couldn't believe how quickly that we were at Paddington. So I highly recommend this. It's like what? $25, $30 a person, something like that. You can also do the round trip. And if you book, they've changed it a little bit. It used to be, if you book kind of in advance, it would be a lot cheaper. And now I think you have to look. So if you're going in, you kind of know what you're, travel plans are. Um, I think it's like 60 or something days in advance. You can get it for like 10 or $12. Um,
person, something like that.
but it's just going to save you so much time after you've done that flight. I mean, you're just so ready to get there. So easy. They have a place for luggage on their smooth ride. Fantastic.
Yeah. And I think for 25 bucks, I mean, it's just worth the, um, avoidance of the hassle and, you know, you get to Paddington station. Paddington is very centrally located. You can go from Paddington. to anywhere in the city. So we highly recommend that for anyone going into London. And if you get there and you don't want to take the tube or the underground from there with all your luggage,
if you get there and you don't want to take the tube or the underground from there with all your luggage, there are taxi stations just right outside. So if you want to like, just not have to worry about that and, you know, get to your hotel, it's super easy to then get a cab from there, but I wouldn't do it from the airport. It's just going to take you a long time and be way more expensive.
As a matter of fact, we took a cab. On the way back.
the way back.
Because we... No, we took the cab when we got to Paddington. Yes. So we took a cab because the hotel we're about to tell you about, we were like, we didn't want to be, you know, rolling our stuff up out of the underground tunnel when going to this hotel.
took the cab when we got to Paddington. Yes.
Yeah. And like I said, we just had, we had more stuff than normal just because of the trip to Iceland. I feel like a little bit more, you know, warm clothes and stuff like that. But yeah, we opted to take the cab. Yeah.
So our... Our trip into London, Melissa had arranged a place for us to stay, and she wouldn't tell me what it was, but it was at a hotel called the Lanesboro. So you want to talk a little bit about... About this hotel?
Yeah. So we have talked about this several times, but it's been a while. But there's a TV show that we actually found, I think, watching episodes on an airplane one time. It's a BBC show called Amazing Hotels. And we just absolutely fell in love with it and came home and figured out how we could watch more of it. So the premise of the show is there is a chef from London and a British food critic. And they go to, quote unquote, work at some. of the most amazing hotels across the world. So basically they go to like shadow some of the people who do different kinds of jobs. So sometimes since she's the chef, she's in the kitchen, but they learn about the concierge. They learn about, I don't know, butler, cleaning people, just all kinds of different, different jobs, just depending on what the show is. And so they do this all across the world and then they share their experience. But then of course they put them up in the room too. So they get a little bit of the guest experience too. It's a great show.
don't know,
But do beware, it's going to put some pretty expensive places on your bucket list. We actually looked at one in, there's one in Iceland too, and it just didn't work out with our itinerary. And again, they do go to some really, really nice places. So we actually had the opportunity to stay at one of the hotels from the show called the Lanesboro. In London. I kept this as a surprise from Scott. And I think I told you when we were on the Heathrow Express and you were like, I'll have my glasses on. Oh, my gosh.
Oh, my gosh. She shows me her phone and I didn't have my glasses on. I'd taken my contacts out for the flight. And so I couldn't see what she was trying to show me.
she was trying to show me. This was one of the things that I just was like, oh, if we can ever figure out how to stay here. It's right on the edge of Hyde Park. So it's a Hyde Park corner. It's like a five to 10 a walk from Buckingham Palace. And it's what's so interesting is we were watching it. They make a comment about you wouldn't know that it's a hotel, that it's kind of hidden in plain sight. As a matter of fact, on the side, it says St. George's Hospital because it was used as a hospital for a while. When it was a hospital, they put an extra story on it. And then it closed and it's only been a hotel for. I don't know, maybe 20, 25 years, something like that. But I have been looking at some different things where people talk about, you know, a good use of your travel credit cards and your travel points and miles and things like that. And I saw one thing where they were like, don't forget if you have the Platinum American Express that you can book some, there's hotels in a couple of categories and you get some really great benefits. So not only do you get some preferred rates, but you get breakfast for two, you can do early check -in, you can get upgrades. it can be a really great way if you don't have status to stay at some of these hotels that maybe are not part of big chains and things like that. So there's a ton of these in London. And when I saw the lanes were on there, I just had to go on and see, you know, what kind of what the deal was or what we could book it for. And I'm not going to say that this wasn't a splurge. And if you're not going to spend any time at the hotel, then... You know, it's not going to be worth it. But this was a great way for us to have this experience. They let us check in early. We got to have the whole day. And so, but just from the moment that you walk in, it was really everything that they talked about on the show. It was the most top level service that I've ever had at a hotel. The way that they. Just whisk away your stuff. And then you sit there with and I think just immediately everybody was just so warm and welcoming. It was sunny that day. So we talked about how we had brought the sunshine and we happened to mention that we're the sunshine travelers. But we talked to and then and then one of the managers came by and she talked to us and we talked to, you know, a couple of the girls who were in charge of checking people in. So it was just I mean, you already felt very welcome.
Yeah, it was funny because the young lady who was trying to check us in, she was trying to go through the process to check us in. But everybody wanted to come and talk to us. And everybody just wanted to come by and say hello. And then after they found out about the podcast, they really wanted to hear more. And the young lady was like... okay, well, we need to come back to the check -in process and finish that. And so.
Like, let you do your job. So that was fantastic. And then, of course, they walk you through. They want to show you, you know, here's the lounge area. They have a famous cat called Lilibet. And so it's actually named after the queen's nickname, Lilibet. And she has, they've adopted her when she was a little kitten. Really. for marketing purposes. And so we got to see her snuggled up in there. What would you call that?
The library. Yeah,
Yeah, the library room. You know, and they showed us, OK, here's where you can come and get drinks. And we have a lot of music. And they were having this big event going on. But then they personally walk you to your room. And we say it's kind of like they probably have like microphones. OK, we're on the way. We're coming because then there's a person standing at our door then with welcome drinks. And then they show you through everything about your room, which sometimes if you've ever been to that, it's kind of so annoying. It's like, OK, I'm just tired. want to get here and whatever but they had artwork that raised up over the tv and they showed you all the electronic stuff and they've taken this really old building and um while it's definitely very historic looking it has like all the modern conveniences they go through all that with you and so you do have a butler who is on call 24 7 um or a rotating you know of butlers that you can always call. And it's, of course, the place where you would have turndown service and they would have the robes and they'd put your slippers by your bed. And so if you want to have a phenomenal experience, this is a place to book in London.
know
is a place to book in London. Oh, and we got upgraded. And that was part of the booking it through Amex.
And that was part of the booking it through Amex.
It was. You get, yeah, if there's upgrades available, you can possibly get upgraded. Like I mentioned, you know, the breakfast for two, early check -in, late check -out. You just tell them what time. that you wanted and they handled all the details.
Cause I think the room that you originally booked was not a butler room.
No, I think every single room in the hotel has a butler. It was just a smaller room. So for example, I think it was a smaller room with like, just like a double bed and it didn't have, so like we had like a foyer and then we had almost like a room that had a desk where you could either work or get ready. So like a second foyer and then the bedroom. So I think it was just like a much smaller room. So yeah, I would just highly recommend that if you're interested in hotels and things like that, to go check out that, the Lanesboro on the amazing hotels to see about it. But literally the people, I think it's the people who make the experience. Like it changes the game. I think that will be the standard. Well, everything else is going to be. This isn't the Lanesboro. But you could also go for tea. Like they have a Michelin rated restaurant. They have tea. You could go and have a drink, you know, listen to their music. So you could go and enjoy some of those things, too, if you wanted to go check that out.
So one of the things that was really special is because we had talked to them about the podcast and the Sunshine Travelers and that we had brought the sunshine with us, they brought to our room one evening when we came back in.
It was actually the first night. That was what was so incredible about it.
what was so incredible about it. Yeah, so the first night, they brought us this canvas bag, which had a little piece of artwork about the Lanesboro Hotel on there and stuff like that. But then they had embroidered onto the bag Sunshine Travelers. And so it was just a great little touch, really, that they were paying attention and that extra level of service that you're going to get from a hotel like Lanesboro.
Yeah, so now we have that as just like a memento. And then, like I said, everything else is going to be judged by that standard from now on.
That is correct. We stayed somewhere this weekend that was not to Lanesboro. All right, well, that was our first place that we stayed in London. Unfortunately, we're not going to be able to stay there the whole time. I had to move on to another place that was closer to where the office I was working at is. But we did have, what, three nights there at the Lanesboro, and it was absolutely amazing. Now let's talk a little bit about some of the off -the -beaten -path experiences that we did.
So we are, have become big fans, I should say, of the Apple TV series, Ted Lasso. So we weren't like early adopters of this. So we were able to like binge the whole thing. And obviously many of you are too, because they just announced that it will be a season four of the show. So we're really excited about that. That's just a, it's just a really fun kind of heartwarming show. So you can take the underground down to Richmond and Richmond is actually kind of considered part of London. It's not very far. It's like from where we were, it's like a 25 minute route. If you were closer to like the Tower of London, it would probably be closer to an hour. But still, it's really easy to get to. And so that's the location of the TV show where Ted coaches the fictional Premier League football, the AFC Richmond team.
were closer
League football, the AFC Richmond team.
Yeah, soccer for the rest of us here in the U .S. But, you know, their football club. There's not an official Ted Lasso tour, or at least we didn't see one out there. However, we went on ChatGPT and asked it to help us create a walking tour so that we could see some of the locations that are used in the show. So Melissa got on there and she asked it to come up with some locations that are used in the filming of the show, some of the key points, and then to put that into a walking tour. And so it gave us a good little itinerary that we could use then to go and try to find some of these places from the show.
Yeah, at least the places that were right there in Richmond. So some of the football scenes are a little bit further out. So you would either need to take a bus or if you had a car or something like that. So we just stayed in that area right outside of downtown Richmond, which is all walkable from the train station. And it was a gorgeous day again. And they were so happy. And it was a Sunday as well. And so a lot of people then were off work. And so we took advantage of the day. and enjoyed it like a local. So in addition to then going to, if you follow the Ted Lasso, going to the kind of the main street where the pub is and where his door supposedly was, there's actually a Ted Lasso store there now too. Unfortunately, the pub was under scaffolding. It does have a different name and then they had already or had painted that door. a different color. Um, but it's kind of fun. And what's also was fun is that you think, Oh gosh, these, it's going to be just these Americans, but there was a lot of people, locals, right. Who were like, Oh, Ted Lasso, this and that. So that's, that was fun too. Right. So it's not just, you know, Americans go in, um, to see that.
But like Melissa said, you know, after we finished the Ted Lasso tour, we wanted to just kind of hang out. Um, and it was a lovely day and. just really experience it the way that the locals do. And so we went to their local market. And at this local market, they have all kinds of food items and crafted goods and stuff like that that they sell inside the market. And we loved it because first, right when you walked in, there was this coffee shop. But it was like no coffee shop that you've ever seen before. It was a Land Rover Defender. that they had taken out one of the sides. They had put a coffee, an espresso, what would you call it? It's an espresso machine, but it's like Starbucks quality style or whatever. The big espresso machines. They had put that into the side of the Defender. And so you could walk up and get your coffee right there.
The big espresso machines.
Absolutely amazing. I love Land Rover Defenders. I've talked about going over and buying one and bringing it back before. And then to see how they turn that beautiful vehicle into a mobile coffee shop was really cool. And it's something that if you're local there, you actually can rent and have them come and set it up for your event or whatever.
Yeah. And I'll tag, I'll tag them or I'll put them in the show notes, at least their Instagram. And then you could contact them from there or, and see where they're going to be because they do different events and she does different markets like this. And she said she just combined two of the things that she loved into that coffee shop. And there was quite a line for it too. So it was, it was neat. And then I had also seen, and the way I found out about this market was actually from social media. I think like. on the way over or right before. And I had seen, I guess it's a cream brulee donut. that has become quite popular. And I happened to see that they were going to be at that market. So we thankfully got there in time to grab one of those because I think he sells out. As a matter of fact, when we were getting our coffee, he brought the proprietor of the coffee, one of those. And he was like, hey, I'm almost out. So I wanted you to have one. So I just thought that was really neat. And then they had some different local goods and stuff like that. And then we kind of made our way back. So part of the town of Richmond is... is situated on the River Thames, but it's a lot smaller and narrower at that point than you see in downtown London. So there was the kind of this big stair, grassy area. There's a boat on it that you can, you know, that's just docked there that you can eat, ice cream everywhere. And there's also a very famous pub that, well, I guess we should mention too. So the Thames is a tidal river, right? So because of where London is situated, the tides vary greatly. And so there are times that you would be in Richmond where part of this, like the walking path and everything is completely covered with water. Right. So you couldn't walk by there. As a matter of fact, I have had met a friend of ours in Richmond before. And we had just wanted me to show around after we had lunch and we walked back around. She's like, oh, we can't go that way because the tide's coming in and that kind of thing. Well, anyway, there is this pub that basically you can be sitting out there. You can be in the rest inside. And then the tide will come up so high that they have wellies that you can borrow then to get out. That's kind of their thing. So that's that's kind of a neat. You know, there were people everywhere there, you know, spilling out onto the sidewalk, had gotten a drink there. So anyway, we walked back down the river a little ways. I think that's called the White Cross.
I think that's called the White Cross.
I think so. I'll put that, I'll put that too. And kind of a link to that mini. Ted Lasso tour and kind of how to find a few of those things. Cause that was a lot of fun as well. And then, and then that pub, and then we walked through the park a little bit and then we came back around. So what we did mention is, so the Richmond green is in the film and they are in the, in the TV series. And then of course the pub. And then if you watch it, then there's two. There's two red phone booths there that are kind of iconic. That's kind of what they always show. So we made our way back there and it was time for us to grab a pint at that pub. And it was pretty crowded by this time. And so we hung out outside and we met this guy who had his dog and stood there and talked to him for the longest time. Really made you feel like a local. We actually met some Americans who had a Bernadoodle like our Bernadoodle. And so chatting with her about, you know, moving to the UK with. their Bernadoodle. And so it was just really neat to just really just have some time to just hang out.
Yeah. I thought what was neat is we actually met this guy and he was formerly one of the Queens guard and also a world champion rugby player. And so he was standing there talking to us as well while we were talking to the guy with the dog and, you know, just. chatting with locals and doing what we love to do when we travel yeah the other thing about the man's dog was it was actually from the people who have the dogs some of the dogs at windsor castle he said kind of in the and he had to finagle for years to like get one of the get one of the puppies so it was just it was neat to just kind of hang out and not really have a you know a long agenda or hurry hurry hurry to you know get to to different things
the other thing about the man's dog was it was actually from the people who have the dogs some of the dogs at windsor castle he said kind of in the and he had to finagle for years to like get one of the get one of the puppies so it was just it was neat to just kind of hang out and not really have a you know a long agenda or hurry hurry hurry to you know get to to different things
Well, you know, something else that we did that's maybe not quite as off the beaten path as Richmond, but something that I think a lot of people miss when they travel to London.
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Yeah, because it's a little bit further. We actually did this on our very first trip, but we haven't been back since. So why would people go to Greenwich?
Well, the one thing that I knew that was there was the prime meridian. So you can actually go and stand on both sides of the eastern and western hemisphere. So you can have one foot in each and get your picture made and stuff like that, which we did. But we used our London City Pass from GoCity, and we actually did some of the tours that were located there at the Royal Naval College.
Yeah, so at the old Royal Naval College, I had actually seen a lot of people post about the painted hall at the old Royal Naval College because they had a special Helios exhibit where they had this big... sun, um, hanging there. And so they had it where, you know, there was a mirror and, um, it just made a neat, like optical illusion. Um, so it was one thing we wanted to visit. We had never done that. Um, and so we actually, though, when we, they have a museum where you can learn all about, I didn't realize that there used to be a palace there. So, um, and that Henry, Henry VIII was born there.
Henry VIII was born there.
Yeah. Um, and I, I didn't realize that. that history. And then there was what Queen Anne had built. Anyway, it just has a fascinating history about how it was built and how it was added on to and what is still there and how it was constructed. So they have that museum, first of all. And so they had said, I guess when we came in, we're going to be doing, there's a free tour. We kind of have like a docent, I guess she would be called, that's going to... kind of walk people around. And so we were like, okay, yeah, you know, we've got time to do that. And guys, if you go to somewhere and it works out that you can do some of these free tours, it makes your experience so much better because literally we probably look around the museum and we looked at a few of the things and then she walked around and told us some stuff and we would have just gone to the painted hall and walked through it and been done and not really known everything that we were looking at. So she took us around the college. We got to go into some places. They're not open. to the public which was really neat was like a bowling area down up underneath we went in the is it called the chapel there um and she told us about that and it was really neat because she actually had it was like her grandfather
had been his name was up on the so she had like a vested you know family interest but it just reminded me of the the last time we did that was at the gardens the kirstenbock gardens in cape town how much we learn from taking a couple of hours and going so if you ever have time to do that and so we did that one tour and then she said like 30 minutes i'm gonna be having a tour of the painted hall if you're interested and they have a little cafe and so we're like yeah we'll go you know we'll grab a take a break and have tea time which we did. We had our tea and scones and, and joined her and we were the only people in the second one. And oh my gosh, what we would have missed like the history and the, what would you say? Like just the nuanced images that are in that painted hall. So they call it like, I guess the Sistine Chapel of.
Yeah. This thing's amazing.
Yeah.
You know, the time that they must've spent in painting this, these murals. Onto the wall. Matter of fact, I couldn't tell at first, like, was this, they had done kind of a, cause in some of the old places and the old palaces, instead of going back in and putting all the time and money into restoring like the columns and stuff like that, they're just kind of painting them onto the walls. Now we've seen that a few different places is cheaper to maintain, not as much cost in restoring it, but. come to find out all of this was original and it was all painted that way from the very beginning. And so that was just a really neat treat. And then, you know, some of the characters and the paintings, she told us the stories behind them and things like that. And so.
I mean, we would have missed, like we would have just not, you know, known really what we were looking at. So yeah, the Helios was neat. We got this cool pictures that everybody put on social media, but I think just.
missed, like we
taking the time to like really see it and understand what you were looking at. So in Greenwich, you can also do, of course, the Cuddy Sark, the boat. You can go to the observatory. And the cool thing about that city pass is all of those things then would be included. And the other thing we recommend that if you go down to Greenwich is to take the Uber boat down there. It's the Tim's Clippers. And now it's the Uber boat by Tim's Clippers. So it's just like sponsored by Uber. And it is on that pass, but you can also just use your phone or your credit card or whatever and pay as you go like you would on the underground. well but it's a neat way so if you take it from let's say the london eye or up that way it actually goes under the tower bridge and so that's it's a neat way to get up and down the river they have snacks on board bathrooms drinks you can grab a drink to have on the way back and so highly recommend that we've done that several times i think we've done that every time we've gone down to greenwich because it really is the probably I don't know, probably the fastest way to get there.
get there. It is the fastest. Well, one tip I think that we would give here is when you're visiting these museums, take the time and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea at the museum. We have found that they're really well -ran little coffee stations or tea places. You can get the scones and little sandwiches. So if you wanted to have, you know, afternoon tea, you could do that. And, you know, not very expensive. And, you know, it was just great because while we were sitting there, we ended up talking to her again. And that's when she was like, hey, I hope y 'all are going to come upstairs in just a little bit and, you know, go through the painted hall with me. Well, one of the things that I have had the opportunity to do before in one of our visits, but Melissa had never done, was going to the Shard. And so the Shard is this building. It's a glass building. Really tall. I think it's, I don't know, 70 stories or something like that tall. But up on the upper levels, they have an observation deck. And it's two levels of the observation deck. And you've got this great 360 -degree view of London from the Shard. And it sits right on the Thames River. So it is central to everything. You can see everything from up there. uh, on these observation decks.
And what I like to do, and this would be my tip for the shard, but also for the London eye is I like to book it for, so that you would be there like before the sun sets or for the London eye as the sun setting. And then of course hope for sun that day, which is always a question when you're in London. Um, but yeah, not for us, but we were very lucky and got to. Got to do that. We actually got there early and they let us in. The good thing, and I guess the different thing about the shard, is that you can spend as much time up there as you want. So then once you go up, they have a bar. They had a place where you could get ice cream. And then there's two levels. So make sure that you also go up the... the second level as well. And yeah, you can spend as much time as you want to. And so I wanted to see it like in the day and then see the sunset. And then also as the lights start to come on in London. So we probably spent what an hour and a half, maybe.
but yeah,
At least. Close to two hours.
to two hours. They are doing that.
They are doing that. So different from the London Eye where, you know, you get on and then, you know, it goes around and you got to get off because it went around. So that's, and of course, this is your way further up. And there's also a different part. So if you're at the London Eye, you're closer to Big Ben and the Parliament. And here you're closer to the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge as well. So really enjoyable experience. Highly recommend that. And those would be really good things to do like on your arrival day too. right to kind of get a good overview and, you know, kind of have that booked. The other thing I wanted to mention about the Shard, there is a hotel at the Shard. I think it's the Shangri -La at the Shard. Maybe. It is also on amazing hotels. So what happened was during the pandemic, they had to do a few things like closer to home. And so that one is on there. So if you want to check that out, see what that would be like. I'd also noticed that that one is bookable through that Amex portal. So if you have one of those platinum Amex cards, that one also gives you the benefits as well. There's also a restaurant that you can book as well. You have that view. So a few different ways that you can experience that.
few different
Maybe in our next trip, we'll have to stay at the Shangri -La. Yeah. And maybe if anyone knows someone at the Shangri -La and you could tell them that if you want nice weather, invite the sunshine travelers. I swear, guys, we've probably over the trips that we've been there, we have probably spent somewhere in the neighborhood of three weeks total or four weeks total time there. you know, a number of days and maybe only had four days of rain. The rest of the time, bright blue skies and sunshine. And so if you want that sunshine, invite the sunshine travelers.
I remember the first time we went, I think you had been before, but the first time we went as a family, it was in July and it was so hot and you were like, where's the cool weather? It is so hot and so sunny, but it's so nice to see everybody out. outside to go get takeaway food drinks whatever and are in the parks and are on the side of the river and just everywhere if there's a patch of grass they are using it so the next thing that we're going to do is something that has been on my list for a while we've been around it before walked around the outside of it but we had never been inside which is shakespeare's globe theater and i was really excited about this because
and are on
there's a patch of grass they are using it so the next thing that we're going to do is something that has been on my list for a while we've been around it before walked around the outside of it but we had never been inside which is shakespeare's globe theater and i was really excited about this because I thought to myself, how neat is it that this theater has existed for all of that time with all the things that are going on in London, all of the building that's going on. And I was so disappointed.
I didn't know that he didn't know that it was a reproduction. Yeah.
This thing's only like 30, 40 years old.
But it's definitely worth the tour because, and we got really lucky. We ended up with what, there was like four other people in the tour and we saw these really big groups. We also used that city pass to book this or to... go and do this as well. Guided tour. He was so knowledgeable, obviously, of all the things. And I would say that if you ever want to go see a show there or before you go see a show there, unless you're just like an expert in Shakespeare, or you remember all the things about Shakespeare, to go and do this tour first, because he explains the different, like how much it costs to get in and what that meant and, you know, where people, you know, stood and. how and why these plays were created and just the thought process and how that was built. That's fascinating. I won't give all that stuff away, but highly recommend that. We really enjoyed it. It was probably what, maybe an hour tour. Then, so that you know, though, the shows only run from March through October due to the weather. So they were actually rehearsing that day. Unfortunately, we were kind of like in between the rehearsals, which meant that we could take pictures and videos, which was good. But then we didn't. actually get to see them rehearse. He was like, okay, we can't wait any longer. We got to finish up this tour. So March through October, they run different shows. They do have another indoor theater that they run during the winter that's run by the same company. So that would be neat. So I think that would be on the list. Now that we've done this, it would be neat to then go back and see something that was of interest to us, too. Yeah.
It was still neat, even though I was a little bit disappointed that this was not the... original Shakespeare's Globe Theater, it was definitely built as accurately as possible to what it would have looked like back in the time that these plays were occurring. So that was really neat. He did say that if you go to a show, he recommended getting a ticket on the floor. So, you know, they have these wooden benches in the semicircle that surrounds the stage. And in the boxes up above. But he recommended getting tickets to the floor where you're standing room and you're right up next to the stage. He said, number one, you're going to hear the best. But he was like, that is where just the normal people would have gone and experienced one of these plays.
Yeah. And yeah, that, that was really, that would be really neat. You know, obviously now you can leave and go to the bathroom. And he said something about that. We have award -winning bathrooms, but back then they used buckets. They passed a bucket. So it was just very interesting to, to kind of hear all of that. as well so another unique thing that we did and well i would say one of the things that we like to do in london is to go see a show so that's one of those things like i would say like if you go to new york a lot of people want to go see a show same thing in london right in west end and go see a show so we have gone to see things like we saw kinky boots yeah we saw kinky boots there we also saw hamilton i had seen it before
saw kinky boots yeah
we saw kinky boots there we also saw hamilton i had seen it before Scott hadn't had a chance to see it. We got last minute tickets one time. And oh my gosh, I never thought about how hilarious that would be to see King George III, you know, in London and hear from that crowd. Fantastic. You know, just really funny. So anyway, because it gives you a different perspective. I think Kinky Boots as well, just because the setting and stuff like that. Okay, so this time we wanted to do something different. And we found this through one of our listeners and it's an Agatha Christie play called Witness to the Prosecution. It's a long running show, but it is set up in an actual old courtroom in like a county building. I guess it would have been, that's what they said, right? It's like a county building. It's actually right near the London Eye. We took an Uber there and he dropped us off. It's like right by the London Eye. And we actually had tickets that were where we were in the jury box and actually got to play the part of the jurors.
Yeah, we had to be sworn in as jurors and promised to, you know, deliberate fairly and justly. you know, right up front. So at times the lights were actually on us as well, but it was an interesting perspective to watch this play. And, you know, it's unfolding kind of right in front of you down close by. I would say there's no bad seats in this theater. So no matter where you can get a ticket, I would recommend doing that. And then I had a funny story because, you know,
Scott wanted to be part of the production.
Yeah. That's what it was.
what it was.
Well, we were. We were jurors. And so I thought that there was a coat rack, you know, right outside the jury box. And that that was a place for us to hang our coats. Because, you know, the weather was really nice. But it was a little bit cool in the evenings. And so I had a coat. So I hung it up on the rack. And I noticed right before the show started, this lady had my coat. And she was like, whose coat is this? And so I was like, oh, I'm sorry. That's mine. She was like. The coat rack's part of the show. It's part of our props. So you can't hang your coat there.
Yeah. So that was, that was really neat. And I would echo what Scott said, if you can get tickets to this. So again, it's the witness to the prosecution. I'm sure you can look it up in London and this production company that does it fantastic. And again, no bad seats because it was kind of like in a, in a round. Not really, I guess, what you would think of in a courtroom in the U .S. And very elaborate. The building is very elaborate. So also something really neat to see as well. Most people go to the theater district, which we highly recommend. But this is something very different and very unique. So I would highly recommend looking that up.
And then finally, we just kind of want to end a little bit on the dining aspect. We've always enjoyed the dining scene in London. I don't know why I had in my mind many years ago that, you know, food and the UK in general was just kind of bland, not a lot of seasoning. I had heard that. I think a lot of people have that perspective. But we've had some of the best food ever while visiting London.
Yeah, and I actually enjoy eating at the pubs. If you're there on a Sunday, highly recommend. You probably need reservations, but go to a Sunday roast. As a matter of fact, the place in Richmond, we debated about like we weren't sure like what time we would be there until and they didn't have any tables available. So that's why we just got a pint and, you know, went and did somewhere else. But highly recommend or even just anytime lunch after. lunch or dinner just don't wait too late because a lot of times the kitchen closes like mid -afternoon and then it closes at like what six or whatever so just pay attention to that but you know fish and chips or you know a traditional pie or anything like that and then sunday rest on sunday as well but funny enough we actually did not have any traditional food on this trip traditional british food i guess i should say we didn't
british food i guess i should say we didn't
So there are other things that we like. We always like to seek out Indian, Pakistani food. We like to go have Chinese food in Chinatown as well. And the other thing, if you're worried about food allergies or intolerances in London, don't be because they're very sensitive to it. You can find lots of places that are vegan, dairy -free alternatives. I think they were the ones years ago. that started the, like it was no upcharge, like at a Starbucks even to get oat milk or coconut milk or all that. And they don't have an upcharge for that. So they're very sensitive to that.
Yeah. Matter of fact, we went to Dishoom, which is an Indian restaurant. And Melissa and I both have some intolerances or food allergies. And so it was funny because we had ordered. And one of the things that I'm allergic to is aubergine or eggplant. I had saw where it was on the menu, but that wasn't what I was ordering. I was staying away from it. But because we told her that I had this allergy, she went back and asked the chef. And then he came back with this whole list of things I couldn't have because it was cooked together.
It was like they fry the eggplant and so then they fry the other stuff in the same oil. Something that people who have like a shellfish allergy, like you have to think about and be careful of. Kind of the same thing, which is like odd, I guess, a little bit. Like there's not a lot of places who'd be like, oh, you can't have all this because it's... And I was trying to explain to them that it's only if I eat the eggplant that it becomes an issue.
I was trying to explain to them that it's only if I eat the eggplant that it becomes an issue. But they were adamant that I couldn't have that because... They couldn't guarantee that there was no eggplant in the dish that they were serving. And so it was interesting, but it just makes you feel good because they're very sensitive about it. And, you know, if you have an allergy, all you have to do is make sure that they know and they will definitely take care of it.
We also always enjoy going to Chinatown and just picking a place and getting the Peking duck when in London. I don't know why that's something in London for us other than that there is a Chinatown in London.
don't know why that's something in London for us other than that there is a Chinatown in London.
Well, and then they have because it's like a different process. Like it's the roasted duck and you pick out how much you want. As a matter of fact, did we try to order the whole one? Or we tried to order a half and he said it was too much. He was like, that's going to be too much. And he was right. But they serve them with these little.
He was like,
They call them pancakes, I guess, but it's just like flat. Almost like a little tortilla.
Almost like a little tortilla.
Yeah. Like a wrapper that you put them in and has the sauce. I think just because we don't have, we don't have something like that near us. And the Chinese restaurants that we do, like they don't, they don't have that. Right. It's just kind of like your traditional fare. So that's just something that we always, we. end up doing as well. And then we also had Chinese again. So if you visit Harrods, got to visit Harrods shopping, but for dining too, we've actually had some good meals. There's a, there's a pizza place that's good, like on the second or third floor, but in the, in the very bottom floors, there's a food hall where you can do like takeaway stuff, but then there's a place where you have a few restaurants where they have like a hot dog place and they had, I don't know what else, dim sum place for Chinese and then a few other places.
Ramen place.
A lot more, I would say, elevated. But that's just kind of a fun experience as well.
And one tip I think that we want to add here is go to the concierge at your hotel and ask them to recommend a restaurant that mostly only locals know about. And we had a great experience with that at the Lanesboro. It was one of those things where we were looking for some Indian. And he said, I know a place. It's not Indian. It's Pakistani, but very similar. And he's like, only the locals will go there. He's like, no one else knows that it even exists because it's kind of tucked away. And sure enough, when we got in there, there was like 10 tables and it was phenomenal.
Yeah. Family run. Yeah. Just. Just absolutely fantastic. But I would say the other thing is make sure that you like, like you understand and you ask if you're not quite sure because we ordered the tiki masala and then he was like, do you not want any curry? And so not realizing, right, that it wouldn't have the sauce. So just making sure little things like that, which of course, I mean, we could have ordered it later and brought it later, but that you understand the difference, but just fantastic, you know, just. Very good restaurant. Like I said, family run. And he was right. Like he kind of told us how to get there. And then it was tucked away in this alley. And then you kind of almost like in a neighborhood. And so you wouldn't have thought it was there. And so then two other things I wanted to mention. I thought about the restaurant that's at the Shard that has that view is called Duck and Waffle. I don't know why I can remember that. I just think it's unique. So Duck and Waffle. But then also, you know, having high tea anywhere all over London. So the Lanesboro is one that's like absolutely, you know, very. famous in addition to the Ritz. But the Lane's Bar also has a, right now, if you're listening to this, you know, around the time that we release it, they're doing a Bridgerton afternoon tea. So if you're a Bridgerton fan, you can book that as well. But I would say, yeah, I mean, so many of the hotels you could book, you know, a tea.
You don't even have to go to a hotel. You can do it in a bus.
Oh, yes, you can do it in a bus. And when we went before, they have adult ones and kids ones. We did the Peppa Pig tea bus. And our granddaughter still talks about that. She absolutely loved that. But yeah, then you can do other ones in the bus and have Bridget's, I think, is the company that does a lot of Bridget's Bakery. But I can put some links to those. But that's a lot of fun to do the tea. And then see like the main sites. But any of the hotels, especially if you're wanting to check out, you know, some of the hotels as well. That'd be a great way to spend some time in one of them.
Well, I've got to ask, what was your favorite thing on this trip?
My favorite thing on this trip was staying at the Lanesboro. Easy.
Yeah. I kind of thought that.
Anything that you would have done differently on this trip?
Not staying at the Lanesboro the whole time.
Yeah, that would have been a hard for you to commute all the way down to the.
Yeah, I probably could have gotten over that. But anyhow, well, let's talk a little bit. We always include on destinations is what do you need to pack for this trip?
So definitely good walking shoes. And most people wear, you know, some kind of sneakers or something like that. Even people who are, you know, walking to work and stuff like that. So definitely something that you feel comfortable. walking a lot in yeah i noticed even in the office like ladies would wear their sneakers in and then they would have their their shoes for the day in their bag and then before they got ready to go back they would change back into their sneakers or their trainers as they call them that's true um so yeah so whatever is feels comfortable to you um and then you know because i think
i noticed even in the office like ladies would wear their sneakers in and then they would have their their shoes for the day in their bag and then before they got ready to go back they would change back into their sneakers or their trainers as they call them that's
true um so yeah so whatever is feels comfortable to you um and then you know because i think I mean, pretty much everywhere you can wear jeans and slacks or whatever or wear your fancier pants with or slacks with trainers, you know, as the as the fashion goes.
Bring along a raincoat, umbrella, maybe rain shoes, and then maybe it won't rain because that's what we always do. Had my umbrella in my bag that never came out. I did wear my rain boots one day. I have a pair of like the low hunter boots and they're kind of heavy actually. And Scott laughed at me. He's like, where are you wearing those shoes? And I'm like, well, I brought them all this way. But yeah, but I think for there. The majority of the time you would need something like that. So you're not miserable in wet shoes or just be prepared for that.
We said definitely layers because during the day it was bright, sunny, warm, but then in the evenings it got kind of cool. You know, progression through the day, things that you can take on and put on and take off are really important. Depending on the time of year, you might need a hat and gloves or a scarf. Just check ahead and see what the weather is going to be like.
Yeah, because we've used that before, even as late as February, March as well, and some gloves for the colder days. I just tuck them in my jacket pockets, but to give you some options as well.
What would you say is the number one? packing tip that people need to know no big suitcases um for sure because even in i mean even if you're going to take a taxi right um you know you've got to have have room to you know put people especially if you have more than two people because then they've got to be able to fold those seats down but if you want to you know take them on the tube and and different things like that so trying to avoid that would probably be
big suitcases um for sure because even in i mean even if you're going to take a taxi right um you know you've got to have have room to you know put people especially if you have more than two people because then they've got to be able to fold those seats down but if you want to you know take them on the tube and and different things like that so trying to avoid that would probably be my biggest tip because any and even you've got to have it on the Heathrow Express even if you plan to take taxis you know or depending on where you're staying you know get it up to your room and small and a lot of other places have small elevators too even if or no elevators and you have to lug it up the stairs so yeah just stay away from the big suitcases when you're traveling to London
no elevators and you have to lug it up the stairs so yeah
you have to lug
stay away from the big suitcases when you're traveling to London
As much as we love the classic London experiences, this trip reminded us how much more the city has to offer when you slow down, explore the neighborhoods, and try something different. From sunsets at the Shard to pints with locals in Richmond, these experiences gave us a whole new appreciation for a city we visited again and again. We hope this episode inspired you to go beyond the familiar and find your own hidden gems wherever your travels take you. The world is full of sunshine and surprises. Make 2025 the year that you explore beyond the familiar. That's a wrap on this episode. We hope it gave you some inspiration for your next adventure.
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