{"id":17687,"date":"2018-03-02T21:30:47","date_gmt":"2018-03-02T21:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/?p=17687"},"modified":"2018-03-07T20:36:23","modified_gmt":"2018-03-07T20:36:23","slug":"introducing-favourite-cities-a-few-days-in-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thesojournseries.com\/bavaria\/introducing-favourite-cities-a-few-days-in-london\/","title":{"rendered":"Introducing Favourite Cities – a few days in London"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"London<\/a><\/p>\n

We began our few days in London with my brother and sister in law in Kennington, with a visit to the ever brilliant Vauxhall City Farm<\/a> (I have always been a fan.\u00a0 When you consider that some inner city kids haven’t ever seen a cow, places like this are vital!), followed by a fabulous Portuguese lunch, and obligatory custard tarts back at theirs afterwards.\u00a0 \u00a0Bidding them a fond farewell, we then set off to find our hotel for the next couple of days…<\/p>\n

As someone whose husband once studied at Brunel University, taking a wrong turning and ending up in one of Isambard’s creations – The Rotherhithe Tunnel was something of a novelty.\u00a0 Built in 1845, and at almost 400 metres long, it lies deep beneath the Thames connecting North And South banks to allow horse drawn traffic (back then obvs.!) to go to and from the city’s ever expanding docks.\u00a0 Taking everything in to consideration it’s quite a feat of engineering given the time…<\/p>\n

The second time we drove back through the tunnel (even more lost than the previous time) we began to think how it might have been a slightly nicer experience (especially in terms of lung health) back in the horse drawn days, as we noticed the thick layer of grime on the once shiny white tiles, and the 13 year old began to worry about the amount of Thames above our heads…<\/p>\n

Happy at the thought we had finally left the tunnel behind, we successfully navigated our way to the Hilton we were staying in (as a base for an introduction to London for the Toddler, and a reintroduction for his siblings<\/a>).\u00a0 We made our way with cases and various other paraphernalia to the reception, to be told they had no record of our booking.\u00a0 Eventually, with the help of the friendly receptionist, we managed to deduce that we probably did have a booking, just not at that particular hotel.<\/p>\n

The third time we drove back through the Rotherhithe Tunnel, most of us held our breath, hoping it would be the very last time we would see the inside of it for a few days at least.\u00a0 \u00a0I was probably still holding my breath at the reception of the Hilton Canary Wharf, until they confirmed they did indeed have our reservation and everything was thankfully ready for us.<\/p>\n

\"canary<\/a><\/p>\n

Canary Wharf might seem like a strange choice for a base when visiting Central London, but I wouldn’t hesitate to stay at this particular hotel again.\u00a0 \u00a0The level of service was pretty immaculate, as were our great rooms on the 9th floor (with interconnecting doors – perfect!).\u00a0 Nothing was too much trouble (from our slightly awkward Eggs Benedict breakfast requests (not my idea!), to gracefully dealing with my ridiculous phone call a few hours after checking out in search of the the toddler’s new and highly prized London Bus and taxi toys left somewhere in our room).\u00a0 There’s a lot to see around this area too, and plenty to keep you happy in terms of eating and shopping options.<\/p>\n

\"canary<\/a><\/p>\n

\"canary<\/a><\/p>\n

The Canary Wharf Hilton doesn’t have plentiful parking, but we were able to find a good solution close by, and given that we had secured a good last minute hotel rate it’s something we could forgive them for.\u00a0 It’s already somewhere we are planning on staying again.\u00a0 \u00a0Best of all, if the weather gods are smiling upon you (as they were for us) The Thames Clipper<\/a> is a short walk up the road for the quick boat ride in to central London.\u00a0 \u00a0This really does give you some of the best views of this beautiful ancient city (and can be paid for on your Oyster card too!)…<\/p>\n

After a comfortable and quiet first night’s sleep, we decided to start off with a little trip down memory lane for me…\u00a0 \u00a0I started my working life in London many moons ago, working for my lovely (and much missed Uncle) just around the corner from Watling Street (one of the UK’s longest Roman roads incidentally!).\u00a0 \u00a0To think I would take the sight of St Paul’s Cathedral for granted every single day!\u00a0 \u00a0A decade or so later, I returned to work in Holborn for a Music Law Firm, where my lunch times would be spent wandering Leather Lane Market, Covent Garden, Fleet Street and beyond…<\/p>\n

\"Journalists<\/a>
Journalists Church Fleet Street<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That morning we started our walk at the bottom of Fleet Street, past Sir Christopher Wren’s beautiful “Journalists Church” and its wedding cake spire (inspiration for many a cake, and a building whose original foundations date back some 2000 years.\u00a0 According to my friend GingerandBread<\/a>, we should have gone inside to pay a visit to the historical crypt that predates any kind of religious building here with its Roman remains and charnel house.\u00a0 \u00a0There are organised tours which I will absolutely book next time).<\/p>\n

\"royal<\/a><\/p>\n

\"fire<\/a><\/p>\n

Walking down towards the Royal Courts of Justice (look out for the dragon statue outside – this is a boundary marker, pass this and you are now on The Strand!), and soaking in all the history, both London’s and my own, as I relived the many years treading those streets, pointing out little things such as the oldest building on The Strand to survive the fire of London and the tiny paper shop where after having to buy three bags of golden wonder cheese and onion crisps and one of those tiny chocolate spread filled hippos later one lunch break I first suspected I might be expecting the 13 Year Old…<\/p>\n

After a slight detour through Lincoln’s Inn Fields we found Red Lion Square so I could show my offspring where I used to work.\u00a0 \u00a0 On then through Russell Square, as we had been instructed by two of our party that we were absolutely going to be spending a few hours in the British Museum…<\/p>\n

\"british<\/a><\/p>\n

When my company moved from High Holborn to Tottenham Court Road, I would gaze out across this museums iconic glass ceiling every single day, but didn’t once step inside, so it was really lovely to explore the place together for the first time.\u00a0 \u00a0 The half term crowds didn’t hinder our enjoyment, and we were able to get up close and personal to plenty of Egyptian artefacts, as well as a few more local ones (there’s stacks of treasure on display from Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, found by farmers and metal detectorists alike.\u00a0 \u00a0We definitely need to visit Sutton Hoo before we move now too – incredible stuff!)…<\/p>\n

\"british<\/a><\/p>\n

Admittedly, the Small Toddler, wasn’t overly impressed with much of the museum, but he did enjoy exploring the outside, before setting off to Coram’s Fields<\/a>\u00a0not far away, which was much more his cup of tea…<\/p>\n

\"coram<\/a><\/p>\n

This 7 acre playground and football fields have been here for 80 years (you can only visit if you have a child with you!), but its history stretches far beyond that.\u00a0 It’s named after Thomas Coram who founded the Foundling Hospital in 1739 to look after London’s many abandoned and unwanted children.\u00a0 \u00a0The Foundling Museum (next door) looks fascinating, and we have a connection with it as a family friend once started life here, but sadly it will have to wait for another visit, as the Toddler had definitely had more than enough Museum for one day…<\/p>\n

\"covent<\/a><\/p>\n

Afterwards we had a wander around Covent Garden (where Mr R was able assistant to a street artist and her acrobatic show\u00a0 – cue much mortified older children, who couldn’t work out why I wasn’t embarrassed – simply because I am used to it as this kind of thing typically happens to him!), before a quick bite to eat and making our way to the Clipper to enjoy the light show on the way back to Canary Wharf again…<\/p>\n

\"london<\/a><\/p>\n

There’s something really nice and almost comforting about visiting a city that you know well enough to not get constantly lost in (apart from the tunnel!), and that you have a long history with.\u00a0 \u00a0Trips like this (with favourite family get togethers thrown in) definitely get added to the “things we are glad we moved back for” list…<\/p>\n

Tate Modern and Borough Market up next…<\/p>\n

\"MummyTravels\"<\/a><\/div>\n

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