Holiday in London Town

4 stellar, adventure-filled days in London for under 200 pounds? Yes please. Matt and debated about taking the trek down over and over. "There is so much Scotland you can see for the amount you would spend for London." I think we were underestimating the fun we would have and over estimating the cost though. I will say we cheated a bit as I my ever-lovin' friend Ruth got us the "hook-ups" for a place to stay, as her parents live in South Kensington. They are at the centre of everything! Well, that is not true, they are at the centre of lots of things. The thing is, it turns out that London is so so enormous and dense that it is really impossible to be at the centre of everything. Still, being a stone's throw from Hyde Park, the Victoria and Albert Museum (we sounded like proper locals and were calling it the "V&A" by the end:) and just a few blocks more from the most incredibly life-changing French bakery as "Paul" (the sell those delectable macaroons!), and Harrod's! Oh Harrod's! I get ahead of myself though. Let me get oriented here. Always the best thing to do when exploring a new place.

Here is London:

Here is the area where we stayed:

Yep. London is so so big. There is no way to wrap your mind around it. You really have to think of it as something like multiple cities all pushed together. As overwhelming as it can be initially, the Tube is slick and efficient and there is just loads to do there.

So what did we choose to do with just the 3 1/2 days we had? After a leisurely 5 hour train ride along the West Coast of England, stopping in idyllic places like "Berwick Upon Tweed" and the historic York, we found our way from King's Cross Station to South Kensington. Our gracious host mum, as I will call her, got us oriented and turned over all of her maps, Rick Steve's travel guides, and membership passes for us to use over the next few days (she had her hosting down to a science!) then led us in the direction of Hyde Park to start our exploring.

Hyde Park was marvelous in spite of the cold, windy greeting it gave us (still warmer than Edinburgh afterall - it was snowy sleet when we left). Highlights included the intriguing sculpture they had by the Serpentine Pond,

and a crazy fast and nimble skateboarder who was showing off his mad skills with cones he wove in and out of in the centre bicycle path. It was mind bending.

With the wee bit of exploring time we had left, Matt and I headed over to this "Harrod's" we kept hearing about. Afterall, it seems that everything in the UK, aside from Boots pharmacy, supermarkets, and apparently Harrod's are closed by 6pm. What to say about Harrod's?

That's marzipan, mind you, not real fruit!

But these are all dates.

Luckily, taking pictures at Harrod's is free, because everything else is like a billion pounds. Turns out I could afford a cupcake with some tip money I made from housekeeping though!

The next day brought an interview for Matt at the Lincoln's Inn library.

He looked smart. I was proud of him in spite of the fact that he doesn't think he will get it. What will be will be. In the meantime, they "reimbursed" him for his 80pound train ticket - like I said, we kinda cheated on keeping our funds unbelievably low for the holiday. PS If you want an explanation on what the Lincoln's Inn is, you will have to go to Matt, I don't understand the difference between a barister and a solicitor in the rest of the law system in the UK. Apparently you do need to understand what all of these are because I have had things explained to me like 5 times and I still don't get it.

Onward we go! Lunch gave me the opportunity to change Matt's life with his first taste of a French macaroon, pistachio flavoured. We made the mistake of only buying one and we kinda fought over it a bit. Next time we were sure to buy 2.

Then a quick stop and the nerdy-fun museum on 221b Baker's Street.

Not sure what was more fun, Matt trying on a bowler in the gift shop

or seeing all the campy set-ups in the museum.

Who needs Madame Tussaud's when you have waxy re-enactments of Sherlock Holme's stories?

And somewhere in there we found our way to the Tower of London.

The next day brought a much anticipated trip for me to the Tate Modern gallery.

It was everything I hoped for too! Matt was a sport and let me share all of my "insights" and wandering thoughts about any of the pieces that struck me in there. A couple of times he even would add, "is that a Georges Braque over there?" or "This must be an earlier Pollock, don't you think?" And to think he told me "I am pretty dense when it comes to art" when we first started dating. Visiting this museum may have been just about my favourite thing of the whole trip. Such a playful collection of modern and contemporary pieces, no snobbery needed to appreciate it.

My favourite piece? Could have been the blocks of wood carved into trees and then place in the gallery space. Clever concept, don't you think?

Then it was lunch in Borough's magnificent Market. Oh the wonder!

Hot Raclette cheese sandwhiches anyone?

I am still amazed I was able to make a decision in time to catch our ferry around the River Thames. Do you see the remarkable selection of Turkish Delight? Can you believe those billowy magnificent meringues?

Indeed our boat ride kept us on track with our time. A good thing too because there was much to see while cruising around the Thames. Thank goodness the weather was a wee bit more forgiving that day. Such fun using our new camera on the sites too.

Our big splurge of the trip was forgoing the 16 pound entrance fee to Westminster Abbey. Afterall, the outside was cool and the gift shop is free to wander and filled with loads of "William and Kate" paraphanelia to keep the tourist crowd occupied. Instead we opted for a go up the London Eye with some Austin friends of yore, who are now proper London, UK folk. We all agreed it was a great way for us Sweeneys to end the London adventures.

So yeah, if you have the notion that somehow London shouldn't make it on the travel itinerary whilst living in the UK, you would be wrong indeed. In spite of the 8pounds a day for the Tube (just traveling in Zones 1&2 of the 5!) and the fact that many ticket kiosks say prominently and unappologetically says "THIS MACHINE DOES NOT ACCEPT SCOTTISH POUNDS", London is one swell place indeed. In fact it is like a dozen swell places, all in one. It is so huge! I already said that I know but I thought I should drive the point home. Huge and perfect for a March holiday, it turns out.