Scott Barronton (00:00)
London is one of those cities that keeps bringing us back. We've been to London together about eight times now, more than anywhere else that we've traveled. And there's something about the city that keeps drawing us back each time. It's easy to get around. There's a sense of amazement that comes from visiting places that existed before the United States was even a country. And the sheer number of attractions means you could visit a dozen times and still find something new.
This trip was a little different though. We brought my dad and stepmom along because visiting London was one of his bucket list items. So we became the tour guides. And throughout this episode, we're gonna weave in some recorded content that we captured during our time there. So you can experience a bit of what we did along the way and hear it firsthand from them.
Speaker 2 (00:55)
We're Scott and Melissa, The Sunshine Travelers.
Speaker 1 (00:58)
We're all about exploring the world and sharing the journey with you. Whether you're a seasoned traveler, dreaming of your next adventure, or just here for the stories.
Speaker 2 (01:05)
No matter where you are on your travel journey, we've got first-hand experiences, tips, and plenty of inspiration from some of the most amazing places on Earth.
Speaker 1 (01:14)
So buckle up and get ready to travel with us.
speaker-0 (01:22)
I'm blown away. Blown away. All that and more. Cannot wait for the rest of the day.
speaker-1 (01:26)
What was your favorite thing yesterday?
speaker-2 (01:29)
Yesterday
I enjoyed the tour through
speaker-0 (01:34)
tower. Yes, love that.
speaker-1 (01:37)
So
it's worth it to join the Beefeater Tour.
speaker-0 (01:40)
Yes,
yes, good stories, good commentators still want the hat.
speaker-1 (01:46)
What's
your favorite thing you ate?
speaker-0 (01:47)
My strawberries, the Burrow Market chocolate covered strawberries.
speaker-1 (01:51)
And so then what are you guys looking forward to the most?
speaker-0 (01:54)
Today,
⁓ I knew that for Papa, just seeing the city of London, old London, and walking through everywhere and our Sunday roast and just exploring and seeing anything I haven't seen yet, which is anything. Yay!
speaker-2 (01:55)
Biggest corner.
Scott Barronton (02:12)
Well, let's start with where we stayed because this time it was somewhere new for us.
We stayed in Southark and for those of you who have never been there, it's pronounced like S-U-T-H-A-R-K, but it's spelled Southwork. And we stayed at the Hoxton Southark Hotel.
Yeah, and Scott, actually stayed at a Hoxton on our last visit to Barcelona and absolutely fell in love with the property. And so we were really excited to try their London location. And here's a pro tip for some of you who have the Amex Platinum card. We use the hotel credits to book the rooms and it made it actually a really great value. And so that's how we originally found it in Barcelona as well, because when you use these credits, sometimes you
may not want to stay at a hotel where you have status because you can't get both. But with the Amex and some of these other hotel programs, they do give you other things like the possibility of upgrades and early check-in and some hotel credits and things like that. So it actually makes it a really good value. Scott used his credit for one of the rooms and I used my credit for the other room. So it's really a smart way to maximize those Amex platinum benefits if you're traveling with family and friends.
So this location in Southwark actually turned out to be one of our favorites. In the past we have stayed in lots of different places near Hyde Park, near Green Park, near the Wellington Arch in Russell Square, which is near Comet Garden and the British Museum. Lots of times we've stayed near the Tower of London, but being in Southwark actually puts us more in the middle so it's convenient to go in either direction.
So for example, it's really close to the city of London. It's walkable to the Borough Market. It is close to the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, but it's also really convenient to go to the London Eye and Westminster and that area as well. It's also a really short walk to both the Southwark and the Black Friars Tube stations. So overall, like we really said, we would stay in this location again. We absolutely loved it.
The rooms are small, but almost every room in London is small unless you go somewhere that's just really, really expensive or rent a flat or an apartment. But we felt like it was a really great value for the price. We were there in late March, early April and booked this about three months in advance.
Well, let's talk a little bit about some of the things that we did because when we go to London, we typically try to find new activities that we've never done before. And like I said, having gone there together eight times, you would think it's really hard to find some of those.
This time we decided to do a couple of guided tours, but mainly because they were included in the Go City Pass, which we had purchased. And they were both operated by See the Sights London, and we had some terrific guides. Just a quick note on that is when you're, and we'll talk more about this later, but when you're looking and planning your trip, one of the things you're gonna want to do is look at
how much does it cost to buy the Go City Pass for the number of days that you want to use it? Or how much would it cost to buy tickets directly? And we found, for the most part, that it seems to be cheaper to buy the Go City Pass unless you're just wanting to do one, maybe two things a day. And then there might be some opportunities to...
to say, I'm just gonna buy these tickets directly. But our first tour was the City of London walking tour and our guide's name was Mike. And this isn't just London, this is the city of London. It's the square mile that covers the original city near what is now the financial district. And there's so much history packed into that one square mile. And I have to say, it's some brutal history too.
I did learn something fascinating on this tour. Did you know that the concept of what we know as a multi-tiered wedding cake came from a baker in the city of London?
Yeah, I thought that that was really interesting. He stopped us at the area where there was a church and the bakery would have been close by.
And so he talked about how this younger boy who had started working for the bakery, he wanted to marry the owner's daughter and got to looking at that church. And he wanted to do something special, didn't have a lot of money and just took that concept. He was actually started out trying to do it as the story goes on his own in his spare time.
And then the owner was like, what are you doing? Why are you like I need you to be working, know We need to make money that kind of thing. Well when he learned he was doing that for his daughter He actually helped him and they figured out how to make that well, it turns out that that multi-tiered wedding cake Was a hit. Yeah, it's inspired by the bell tower
like the tiered wedding cake. That's what the bell tower remind looks like. And so he was inspired by that and he wanted to do something different for his bride. Now I should say that it's probably a very different cake than what we know today because Mike said it probably would have been savory. Well, it was also interesting. And I thought about you too, because we've talked about how
Wedding cake is very important, like not having dessert bars or whatever, that was important for our daughter's wedding. But somebody on the tour asked, well, what would they have had? And he said, oh, it would just been a pie. They would have just had pies at weddings. Yeah, but think what a pie is in London. So a pie isn't like a sweet dessert. A pie would have been like a savory steak and potato type pie or something like that. Or a fish pie. Right. That's true. Anyhow.
It was just very interesting and you learn all kinds of really odd facts on some of these tours and So I thought Mike did a really good job Yeah, one of the things I wanted to point out about the tour in particular is
We had actually done like an audio tour one time of downloaded a free audio tour and tried to walk the city of London and listen to it. And that's fantastic, except for it's just a whole lot more effort on your part. Like you've got to figure out, know, it'll say, it'll tell you the things and then walk to the here. So you then have to go find the new next location, right? And listen to it. But you also can't ask questions.
So what a value this is, is that he would tell us stuff and then he would say, okay, now we're going to walk and you just have to follow him. But the fact that I think a lot of the questions and the answers that you got like means so much because then you get your questions answers. And there was one thing that he didn't know. And he just, you know, he looked it up real quick. And so that I feel like that is just such a valuable thing. And it's not anything that that you even want technology or
looking something up or AI to replace that because you don't have that human element of him learning this history, passing along these stories and then being able to ask the questions. One of the things that I thought was so interesting is that there's a distinction between the mayor of the city of London and the Lord Mayor of the city of London. They have their...
like appointed and elected to those positions in very different ways, their jobs are very different. So I just thought that that was just that was super interesting and he also dispelled a myth, something that we had heard years ago is that and you and this was something again that you asked him is that does the king have to be invited into the city of London?
Or can he just come on his own? Because we had heard that he had to be invited. He couldn't just come to the city of London. And he said that no, that that was a myth, is that he can come. But usually he's met, right? It's a production. meets him at the gates to the city of London and then escorts him through. And so I think there's a misconception that he has to be invited because of that.
But I think we learned that the king actually signs off on who is appointed as the Lord Mayor. And there's a new person every year. It's very rare that they are multi-term. So we stood outside the house that they get for that year. So they move into this, it looked like a huge, they call it mansion house. So if you've ever seen that, I think there's a stop.
on the underground called Mansion House. Well, that is where the Lord Mayor lives and they have that for a year. But it was pretty neat because they have like a driver and stuff like that. There's some perks that they get. I don't think they get paid for this job. I think that was one thing he said. Yeah, they don't get paid, but they have a lot of perks, including that Mansion House.
Our second tour was Changing of the Guard's tour, and our guide's name was Colin. Now, about 95 % of people that go to see the Changing of the Guard, Colin told us that they get it just absolutely wrong, because they crowd into...
Buckingham Palace and they're trying to see the changing of the guard take place in front of the palace and there's so many people you're back so far up that there's just no way to see it and we learn that that's just a small piece of the ceremonies
So our guide Colin actually took us to the strategic viewing locations along the route and he got us to those specific locations early enough to where we really had upfront views and then we would pause and he would explain all the different aspects.
of what was going to happen during the ceremony and why it was going to happen. We would get there early enough to like hear the music playing and he would talk a lot about the history and the uniforms. So that was really fascinating. So it really is the best way to see the changing of the guard and understand what is actually happening and hear about that. It's about
Would you say it was about a two and a half hour tour, I believe, and you walk all the way, I think we met near the Victoria station, and then you walk to the different locations that actually end at St. James Palace, right? I think the final part of that ceremony is at St. James Palace. so 100 % recommend this. And I was unaware of this.
And I was honestly kind of nervous because Papa and Sassy was something that was on their list to see. And I was just kind of like, are we going to get this right? And so when you saw that change in of the guard tour on that Go City and were able to just make a reservation for it, didn't cost anything extra. I was actually I was excited about it because we would then again kind of just have a hands off, right? We just show up and it just made a great
for the pictures and then also just so much, so many things that we learned. Yeah, and I think we learned also that like there's several regiments that are involved in this changing the guard and the first band that we heard were the, red coats with the bearskin hats, but then the second band and they traded off halfway through
was the Scottish Guard and they were playing the bagpipes leading the guards in to change there at St. James Palace. and boy, he put us right in front of St. James Palace. So we got to see them marching all the way in there. Now it's important to know that.
once the changing of the guard happens, the new guard goes in and gets their orders for the day and gets a briefing. So like you don't really see all of that anyway. And that's why he was saying standing out in front of Buckingham Palace to see changing of the guard, you're just missing so much. And so you can plan your London itinerary. The changing of the guard typically occurs on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays at 11 a.m.
And during the summer months from April to July, it usually happens daily, but always make sure to check the official schedule on the Royal Household website because it can change due to weather or state events that are happening. And also Scott, we should point out that once you purchase that London Pass, City Pass, and you want to do that at least a few weeks to a month in advance of your trip, then you can go in at certain intervals and make reservations for some of the things on there.
Now, not everything, some of the things you can just go in, but these tours specifically a few weeks before you went and made a reservation Well, let's hear a little bit from Papa and Sassy about this.
speaker-2 (14:56)
Alright, We are at beginning of day three. So how are doing guys? great.
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Papa
survived 7,000 no 13,000 how many how many miles
speaker-2 (15:07)
I think it was, Scott said like 6.8 miles roughly yesterday.
speaker-0 (15:11)
opposite of more like 12.
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So favorite things about yesterday.
speaker-1 (15:16)
Gosh, I don't know where to start. I like the changing of the guard.
speaker-0 (15:20)
How about you? I loved the tour itself and the sneak spots the guy took us to where we actually saw the horses and we saw the bands and we heard the music and it wasn't just from far away we were on the front row so that was book the tour do what they say and get all the good shots. I loved touring the church. ⁓
That to me was just precious, classic, so much history. London Eye, of course, I loved. going through the horses, the horse guard. What was the area where they were setting?
speaker-2 (16:04)
Royal Muse.
The Horse Guards Parade.
speaker-0 (16:11)
That was
pretty cool too because we watched a ton of those. So now to see where they actually do it.
speaker-2 (16:18)
And I think just learning the history of the guards and if you just go try to try to watch the changing of the guards he did tell us that 95 % of people do it wrong ⁓ and so even though the tour is like two two and a half hours you would spend that much time just like waiting and not seeing what you need to see so I think learning that history.
speaker-0 (16:36)
Like
seven o'clock in the morning and then they just saw the back of somebody's head because they just stood there and couldn't see anything but on the tour they took us through the side roads around the corner to and where they actually went into St. James.
speaker-2 (16:50)
so we highly recommend See the Sight's tours here in London. They've done a really great job. We've done two tours with them. yeah, Mike and Connor were both amazing.
Scott Barronton (17:01)
So real quick before we kind of move on to some other new activities and different tips and things that we wanted to share, wanted to talk just a little bit more about our experience with the City Pass. And then also, if you want even more information, we talked a lot about it in episode 162 just recently. And so I'll link that in the show notes. One of the big things is that
some of them, like you could just go into Kensington Palace and spend a little bit of time because it was part of the pass So for example, we went over to Hyde Park Corner on the Sunday to experience that Kensington Palace is nearby and so then we also were able to use the pass to do that. And the reason I'm pointing that out is because some of the things actually individually can kind of be a little bit expensive or you might say, I don't want to spend that much.
So that made it really nice. A couple of other ones were the Cutty Sark. We had a little bit of time when we got down to Greenwich. So that was one where we had never actually done the Cutty Sark. And so we were able to just go on and enjoy that. The Royal Muse. Now that was definitely on our list. I think a lot of people miss and skip the Royal Muse, but we've been a couple of times now and it's actually one of our favorites. Now especially I think that we've had things like
coronation and you're able to see that coronation carriage there The other huge benefit that we had this particular time, so we didn't think about the fact that it would be the week of Easter when we were there and so the Westminster Abbey tickets were a little bit like some different times and closures because of different things they were having for Holy Week.
And with the London Pass, the City Pass, you can go into Westminster Abbey at any time and not have to have a reservation. And so they were like, there's no tickets. But I specifically said, but we have the Go City London Pass. And he was like, show me and then let us in. And so that would have been a little bit frustrating. And I had actually heard somebody earlier that morning said, we were planning to go to Westminster Abbey, but because of the tickets. So that was a huge advantage for us, because that would have really thrown a little bit of a wrench
into our plans. So also, and this is kind of a new development I want to say within the past year, is that there is another level that includes the London Eye and the Shard because a couple of things, they are a bit more expensive and you do have to have a reservation for those. So we actually did purchase that level of the pass because the London Eye was on our itinerary for them to do and so that is another.
thing so just be aware if you want to do the London Eye in the shard. We probably should have made reservations for the shard, we probably could have fit that in, but that's again one that you do have to do in advance and so we weren't able to get those last minute.
So Scott, let's talk a bit about the London weather on this trip. It was different from our previous visits to London, but not because of the rain, like you would say, because we're always talking about it's always so sunny. It wasn't really because of the rain, but it was actually the coldest weather that we had ever experienced there. And I was actually a little bit surprised because it was the very, very end of March. But I would say, and we always say this though, no matter what the key to enjoying London.
is just to be prepared. Layers are essential. And so you can't really overpack when it comes to layers for London travel, but I would definitely say even if you don't think it's going to rain, some kind of warm jacket that would be waterproof. Hat, gloves, scarf, shoes that would be waterproof, know, thicker socks because you just never know, and umbrella maybe, and actually carry those things with you. Now, if you don't have them,
You can always pop into a shop or a kiosk or whatever, probably a million places. You see them in Piccadilly. You see them in Covent Garden. see them, shops around most places. You'll be able to get, at least a touristy one and be able to find those kind of things. But if you don't want to have to purchase those, just bring them now. They said we talked to a couple of people and they said this was just seasonal spring weather. It'll get cold. It'll get warm. mean, we do have that at home. And it was I think it was much warmer.
couple of days but there were some times that we were like what is this weather it's cold yeah it was definitely some of the coldest weather that we've ever experienced there with the exception of that one time that we were out in Windsor doing the long walk and we had like all four seasons in that walk so we were sweating and had to take layers off we got rained on we got snowed on
We had the blustery winds and then we just had some beautiful weather on that one same walk we had all of that. That's true and I think that's why you just need to be prepared because if you do have the sun it helps so much and honestly there was times where you could cross from one side of the street to the other because of the wind through the buildings. Funny enough the gloves I had on this trip are the ones I bought in Windsor that last time.
We also tried something else new this time, which was the IFS Cloud Cable Car in Greenwich. We've known that they were there, but never had the chance on any of previous trips to ride them. And the Greenwich Cable Car takes you across the Thames River at Greenwich Peninsula to the Royal Docks. And from there, you can turn around and come back, or you can do like we did.
And we just hung out over at the Royal Docks for a little bit, popped into a little pub, enjoyed a pint, and then came back. It's about a 15 minute journey and it has some spectacular views of London along the way. It's super convenient,
Located right at the North Greenwich Underground Station and so you can take the underground there You can take the Thames Riverboat the uber boat You've got a couple of options of how to get there really easy to do on the Royal Dock side It's just a short walk to the o2 So if you wanted to go over to the o2 and see that or you're gonna catch a concert or something like that You're just right there
Yeah, and those tickets are separate. So that's not something that we could do with. can't. I don't believe you can tap in, tap out. I think you have to actually buy tickets. It's not anything that's on the city pass but you can just go up and get tickets for that. And we did the a return so that we could we could come back. But you can, like Scott said, just take it one way as well.
So Scott, let's share some essential London travel tips that we've learned over multiple visits. And I think just having some of these things fresh in our mind too, is first to definitely have an idea of what you want to do, and then plan an itinerary that groups the activities based on location. You definitely don't want to spend all your time going back and forth.
It's already big enough and you already have to walk enough from either bus stops or tube stops. So regardless, you're gonna have a lot of walking. So you don't wanna let's say go from Kensington all the way to the cable car to back and forth, back and forth for sure. Yeah, and were very intentional about limiting how much back and forth and how much walking we would have.
to do, but we would still get somewhere like eight miles a day walking in on our tour days. Yeah, somewhere from like, yeah, six to eight miles, I guess, depending on whose stride, but it's still a lot of walking and a lot of standing. So I think you definitely want to think about that.
I would also say pay very close attention to London attraction opening days and times and last entry times. This is critical when you're planning out your daily activities in London. So if you're planning to take guided tours in London, make sure to know when and what time these tours are offered so that you can schedule the rest of your itinerary accordingly. Same thing like if you have the London Eye
reservation or the shard You want to make sure that even inside your just little small territory that you're working that day, you don't want to bounce too much back and forth on that. always try to keep it moving in kind of a circle. if you will, that may be too much planning for some people, but the good news is that you could just borrow our itinerary that we use for this and, and make it your own.
Yeah, we will definitely share our detailed London itinerary for this time because we did think through those things very carefully and we will post that in a blog post which I can link here at sunshinetravelers.com and just know that it was specifically crafted for Scott's dad and stepmom, we've referred to them here as Papa and Sassy, based on their priorities.
for the trip. So we were there tour guides. We did cover a lot of the sites that we think most first time visitors would like to see. And Scott, I felt like that you did a great job on the pace because I was honestly worried that we were going to feel, we got to go, we got to go. And I mean, sometimes we, kind of were like, okay, we need to be out of here at a certain time and you also have to think about transit time as well.
But I also want to mention one thing that I think helped us that maybe you and I aren't always good about if we don't have a tour. The tour times got us going by a certain time up for breakfast at a certain time. And then we needed to leave to make that by a certain time, which I really think was a kind of a good way to start to get those things going. And then we could, layer in those other activities out after that.
And most of those tours started at like 10 o'clock. our meeting time was 10 o'clock and we needed to be there 10 minutes early. So it meant that you could get up, meet for breakfast around nine o'clock and then head off because none of them were very far from where we were staying. but make sure you're factoring in that transit time. Lucky for us. And I think it's part of staying there at that Southwark
location is one of the tours literally met across the street and then the other one was not very far away to get there via transit.
We, we've definitely got to talk about the Borough market experience. One of the things that we say is we really like Borough market. However, it is overwhelming because there's always so many people there. And it's one of those things where. If you want to just sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee or, sit down for a bite of lunch and it's hard to do inside of Borough market. It's possible.
but it's not very easy to do. And there's just so many people, if you guys have seen this viral strawberry thing that happens there at Borough Market where you get the cup of strawberries that's covered in chocolate, that just seems to totally foul up that whole section of the market with people.
Yeah, trying to get in the line, trying to get out the line. They actually do a really good job of they've built this queue that they funnel people through. They ask you how many they take your money or you can tap your card like way in the line. They just are constantly they have like flats of strawberries and so it's it's very efficient the way they do it. But a lot of people are there for that. I'll be honest with you. It's not probably something that you and I
particularly because we just are like, don't have the need to do that for like the super crowds, but we definitely wanted, that was something that was high on their list. So we definitely wanted to do that. The other thing I would tell and say about Borough Market specifically about you or any market or any festival is you don't like to like walk around and eat. Like you want to sit down and order. Now there's lots of places in Borough Market that you can do that and that's the good thing and you found a place.
Sassy and I went off and found something and brought it back to the table and you so if you don't necessarily like to walk around and do food like that you may struggle with it But the other thing about Borough Market is you can also like purchase food There's like produce stands and other things like that So let's say for example if you had a kitchen or the weather was nice and you wanted to kind of do a picnic Borough Market would be a place where you could also do that. There's just so many people in Borough Market and
trying to meander through and find the different places to eat amongst the market stands where you can just buy cheese or you can just buy fruit or whatever, it is. I just find that incredibly hard to do. Yeah. One thing I would say is Borough Market is not open for dinner. So you need to go earlier in the day, check the times. And then I believe that it was, it's Monday that it's closed completely.
So just definitely pay attention to that and work that into your plans. We actually did this on our arrival day just because that was when it was going to work best and I think that's probably part of the overwhelm.
Another tip for food is to aim to have a variety of cuisine in London. And you don't have to do really expensive Michelin star restaurants to eat at. There's a bunch of them. So if that's your thing and you love chasing the Michelin stars, there's a ton to choose from. We did book a reservation for Sunday roast at a pub near the Borough Market. We booked
an afternoon tea in Greenwich. We went for fish and chips in Soho at a place called Hobson's. And then we went to Chinatown to a restaurant called Four Seasons. And it's funny because we had gone into Fortnum and Mason. My dad made a beeline to like the counter where they had looked like fudge or pralines or something like that.
And while they were there, the guy was from Kentucky and they asked about, dinner recommendations. And he had recommended this Four Seasons in Chinatown, which was really good, by the way. We usually like to do, you know, an Indian or a Mediterranean cuisine.
We did eat at a Mediterranean restaurant in Southark called MAM It's always convenient when you're inside the museums and churches, they usually have pretty good little cafes attached to them where you can have a pretty decent meal or maybe even a cream tea or sometimes even high tea inside there. Or you can just grab a quick cup of coffee.
and sit there for a few minutes and just rest. But all around you have the Pret Mangers the M&S food stations, or the kiosk and parks where you can make a quick food stop as well. Yeah, I think we, and we've mentioned this before, but you really won't go hungry in London.
you'll find plenty of things that stay open fairly late. I probably wouldn't try to eat maybe past nine o'clock. But I think before that you'll be fine. And during the day you'll find, like I mentioned, all these places, unlike Scott said, like in the different museums and things like that and in the parks. In the city you're pretty safe. Outside the city of London, you better watch the time.
and don't wait too late. They are not late eaters. And we've talked about this before. So like if you want to go to a pub and grab a fish and chips or a pie, don't go late at night and expect to get one because the pub will be open, but it's only serving drinks. the kitchen will close and you will go hungry.
So when we left this time, actually flew to Spain. And so we flew out of London from a new airport called London South End. Well, London South End Airport is probably. Southern maybe, so you'll have to let us know. But here was the thing. This was an easy. It's easy to get to. you can take the tube to this station.
that then where you take the train and lots of I think there was even a place on the new Elizabeth line where you could pick up the train. I will say that a lot of times you'll see like the kiosk once you get off the tube and then you go into where the section that's trained you'll see a kiosk like buy your tickets. That's what I was planning on. Well we get all the way to the platform. By the way I had looked up on using Google Maps like what
This train was gonna be on and it told me exactly we knew the time but exactly what the platform was But I was expecting to see a kiosk we get all the way the platform haven't found one and there was lots of people who worked for that particular train I just went up and asked the guy and Said I'm sorry. I missed the kiosk. I need to buy tickets and he said absolutely no problem He had his little handheld device there. The very interesting thing was is he was like how many people
He actually wanted to fund us the best deal. So single tickets were actually the most expensive, but you got a discount if you were buying two tickets and he was able to do that because he also did tell me and I didn't realize that this at this particular train station, he said there is a place to tap further down the platform that we hadn't gotten to yet, but he said that's going to be the full price fare. So he was like, just get them from me and you'll get the best price. So I just thought that was very interesting.
We've talked here recently several times on the podcast about if you're not sure, just ask, just ask, just ask, actually worked out definitely in our favor this time. Southern Airport is a small regional airport and it's so much easier to navigate than London Heathrow. So if we had to go back through London Heathrow, we would have had to allow ourselves an extra hour or two to make that happen. And we'd had to take the
the Heathrow Express or that Elizabeth Line all the way into Heathrow. So we just found that it's a much easier airport to navigate. And if you're flying onward to a European destination from London, we would really suggest that you look at Southern Airport as an alternative to the major London airports. It's.
Also very easy to get to using that underground and the train system.
Well, let's hear one more time from Papa and Sassy As they share their experience in London.
Scott Barronton (34:40)
you guys, we are headed to Spain today so let's talk about London day four.
Amazing. We were gone. Well, sorry. I mean, interrupt you, but we we went from morning to night. So anyway, go ahead. 20,000 steps later, it was awesome and Papa did every single step. Papa did every single step. Papa, what did you think about climbing up to the Prime Meridian at Greenwich Park? That was a tough walk for me.
I didn't think I'd make it, I did. I'm proud of the walk. Yeah, it's a beautiful park. It's neat to see everybody enjoying. What else? I love the High Tea That was good. I love to go into Chinatown. again, I can't tell you what my favorite thing is. I love the tower bridge. I all of it. I'm still processing all the things in all the days. And like I said in my I posted on Facebook, I said, if you're not traveling with Sunshine Travelers, you're missing and doing all
of things will not get them done. But if you go with them, you got to see the things and do the things. So yeah, we started at St. Paul's. We went over. I forgot all about that. We started there. went over the tower bridge, which you do need a reservation for, but that was nice because we didn't have to wait in line long because we were a few minutes late, but it was good. We also did the cable cars for the first time. So the all the way out to North Greenwich. And so that was a first for myself and Scott. We also popped into the Cutty Sark.
Which was really cool. Yeah, which was really neat. And so that was another great feature of having the London Pass because that was included so you didn't feel like you have to spend a lot of time there. come and go. That was neat too. Yeah, so as we wrap up this London part, what would you say is your biggest takeaway? That's hard to say. We've seen so much stuff and it's just been awesome. And I looked at it, know, kind of, know, it's like...
the of the founding of our country that we live in. The history is incredible. the history is there. And it makes you think. mean, you think where they are, where we are, it's just the history is awesome. The churches are awesome. I'm still processing everything, but traveling with Scott and Melissa has been incredible because they've done it enough that they know the places and they know the things that we need to see. And we're not spending time going in circles.
going around the block to get somewhere. So I like that part too. Yeah, and it was nice in Chinatown. We had gotten a tip from a guy who helped us in Fortnum and Mason. He said, oh, in Chinatown, go eat at this restaurant. And so it's nice to kind of have those recommendations because otherwise it is overwhelming to say, OK, which one am I going to pick? What would you say? And just because there's so many things to do in London, you obviously can't do it all. But what would you come back to do? a second time? Yeah, if you came back again, like what like that we missed that you would you would like to do.
the shard. I would like to do that. What else have we missed? If we could do
Buckingham Palace tour. ⁓ okay. Yeah. When that would be open, that would be a certain time of the year. Sure. Yeah. I haven't done that. Yeah. I Fort of a Mason at Easter time just because it was just all things Easter. But then as we walk, everything's Easter. I mean, even the little coffee carts decorate Easter. They go all out. So that was impressive to see. For sure. All right. We're headed to Spain.
Scott Barronton (38:08)
Well, London continues to be one of our favorite cities to visit. And even after eight trips, we're still finding new London the Greenwich Cable Car, the Southern Airport option, and these guided tours that gave us perspectives we hadn't had before. The key to planning a successful London trip is being intentional with your planning, grouping the attractions by location,
paying attention to those opening and closing times and building in some flexibility. And remember, layers. Always pack layers for the London weather. If you're planning a trip to London or have questions about how to make the most of your time there, reach out to us at sunshinetravelers.com. You can find our complete London travel guide, itinerary templates, and more London travel tips on our website.
And as always, the goal is to help you travel more and better.
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