London Recap

Sitting here waiting for the movers, I have a little bit of time to reflect on my past 9-1/2 months in London. I heard a great line, I think from a radio advertisement yesterday, “When does a place become a part of you ? … When you walk in the steps of history? …”

I think that is true for me for any city. Once I’ve seen some of the history, I feel like I understand everything better – the conditions people had to live in, how far things were, how the city expanded, the class struggles, etc. I can do without the shopping in any city, and when I go to a place, I don’t hunt out “the” restaurants or night clubs (unless it’s Cincinnati and it’s Greater’s for ice cream ; Price Hill Chili for goetta ; etc.). I want to see the museums, the historic sites and such. I want to know what the city used to be like and how it got to be in its current state.

So, as I say goodbye to London (so sad!), below is my recap, for what it’s worth :

Megan’s Top 5 Things to do in London
0) Whitechapel Bell Foundry
I put this as “zero”, above the top 5, because for me it was the absolute best thing I saw/did here, but for those of you who have only a passing appreciation for handbells as music or works of art (i.e. you only like them at Christmas) this doesn’t apply to you. Plus, you have to book months in advance for a spot in a tour, so it’s not likely to be on most tourist’s agendas.

1) Westminster Abbey

2) Tower of London
Get here when it opens and take your time – see everything, read everything. You learn about London / England from the beginning. What “The City” was, the early royalty, really the birth of the nation.

3) Buckingham Palace Tour (summer months)
Just because it is what it is! And, it’s summer, so you can tack on a walk through one of the nearby parks.

4) National Portrait Gallery
If you take the time to read the descriptive plaques next to each photo, you really learn a lot about British history.

5) British Library
Magna Carta. Handwritten drafts by Handel, Mozart, Austen, Beatles, and the like (musicians and writers). And just a heck of a lot more great historic stuff. Plus, the King’s library.

--If you have 2 extra days – Greenwich is a MUST for GMT, Maritime Museum, and more. And for a day trip outside the city – I thoroughly enjoyed Bath.

--If I had done the Parliament Tour (summer months) I am sure that would’ve made the list!


Parks
1) Regent’s Park
And the Open Air Theatre in summer months.

2) Kew Gardens
Winter obviously not the most beautiful time (when I went), but quieter. I imagine spring and summer are just breathtaking. You could make this a day trip and either explore Richmond and the pubs that overlook the quieter, more serene, parts of the Thames. Or take the Tube back toward the city and stop in Chiswick or somewhere to see a neighborhood.

3) The rest of the parks are all fabulously wonderful, but didn’t strike me as those two did


Walks
1) South side : Get off Tube at London Bridge (Jubilee Line) and walk through Borough Market (Thurs-Sat) and then wind up to the Globe Theatre, admire the views across the Thames, go to the Tate Modern ; take the footbridge across the Thames and go to St. Paul’s

2) Royal Albert Hall : Start at Trafalgar Square and then walk down the Mall to Buckingham, through St. James’s Park. Then you can either walk through Knightsbridge (Harrod’s and more shopping) or continue up to Hyde Park and the Serpentine and the wonderful café on the edge of it (stopping between St. James and Hyde Park to go to Hard Rock for merchandise if you must ; also Apsley House is there and supposedly nice to visit). Then, you can go to a show at Royal Albert Hall ; or, tours are available.
-Note, RAH could be the end destination for a walk starting east over in Notting Hill

3) Not a walk, but take a regular bus and see what you want to see – 15 goes east/west past everything cool.


Honorable Mention
1) London Transport Museum
You have to pay for this, but a great place for kids. If you’re not interested in transportation or how London grew/expanded, this wouldn’t be for you. But since it is in the old Flower Market in Covent Garden, when you are visiting the latter, at least check out the gift shop.

2) Sir John Soane
Just because it is kooky how much stuff this guy collected! Centrally located and free.

3) Tate Britain
Although “out of the way”, in the SE area (Belgravia), it is smaller so manageable and not overwhelming. I really enjoyed the art here. Because of the smaller size, you could spend your time and appreciate the progression of artistic styles. And M16 is across the river for a good photo op.

4) Cabinet War Rooms / Churchill Museum
You have to pay for this, but worth it if you are interested in WW2 history. The War Rooms are a bit kitschy, but the Churchill Museum part gives you a ton of detail about him, and you can really learn more about the war.

5) Canary Wharf
It’s “new” and has a US-style shopping mall, green space, a tons of restaurants/bars on the Thames and the waterways that flow in. Plus, you can get a good view of the O2 Arena (aka Millennium Dome)


What I could do without – i.e. see it once and that’s it
1) Covent Garden – too many people

2) Piccadilly – too many people, nothing to do but stare at the lights and shop at chain stores

3) Borough Market – too many people

4) Kensington Palace (unless they do something more with the royal dress exhibit)


To Do
1) Tour of Parliament (summer months)

2) More time in The City – tour Bank of England ; Barbican ; City of London museum ; Royal Courts of Justice ; etc.

Now I ask you …

If you found out you had to move away from your current city, not to return, what would you want to see or do? And, of course I know you’ll say “spend times with friends and family”, I get that, everyone does. But if you had to name your top 5 favorite ‘hang outs’ (restaurants, bars, coffee shops, parks, etc.) or your top 5 cultural places to visit (even if you’ve never been but have always said ‘I’ll go next year’) or your top 5 places just to walk and meander in your city, what would they be? (Basically, this could also be the “must do/see” list you would give to someone visiting your city for five days.)

So, what would you do?