London.  A wonderful city indeed! And I was thrilled to explore and experience it for the first time last week.  Big Ben (<- which actually isn’t really called that) was just as impressive in real life, the Tower of London’s history was more captivating than I imagined and the red telephone booths were just cool to see in person.

However despite an overall tip-top experience, I decided that if I could do this first trip over again I would…with a few improvements. Perhaps you can learn from my rookie mistakes.

1) I stayed near Hyde Park

I know what you are thinking, “Hyde Park, that is a lovely part of London!” And you are absolutely right. In fact, lovely is an understatement (as a note, I found there wasn’t much the Brits didn’t refer to as “lovely.” Most. Used. Word. Ever.). The whitewashed buildings were elegant and calming. The neighborhoods were quiet, and in the evenings I appreciated coming back to such calm after the clamor of a busy, full day. BUT frankly, for a first time visit, it was too far off the path I needed to beat. The location is ideal for a second or third visit to London, but for the sparse time I had during this first visit I should have stayed closer to the Tower of London or Parliament.

 2) I thought the underground in London was like the metro in Paris.

London is a big city…I mean really big. I did not have a good sense of its sprawl before my visit so I constantly underestimated the amount of time it would take me to reach my destination points via the underground.  In Paris most everything is about a 30 minute metro ride so I used that poor assumption to set my schedule in London. *Insert a harsh buzzer sound to indicate my blatant wrongness* And it did cost me. The biggest disappointment was that I missed an evening walking tour about Jack the Ripper led by one of the foremost experts on the unsolved murders. Zut alors! (although I did hear the tour can be quite scary!). Dinner at the pub, Ten Bells – said to have been where The Ripper stocked some of his victims – was the only way I could make it up to myself.

A starter plate of eels paired with an Italian red at Ten Bells.

3) I stayed only 2 nights.

First time visit should really be minimum 3 nights. I stayed 2.  You may press that buzzer again.

4) I didn’t see Buckingham Palace.

Embarrassing, I know.  I went to London and didn’t see the official residence of the Queen of England. God save the Queen…just don’t shun me.

Some cool things I did see…

 Parliament

Westminster Abbey – I also saw the boys choir sing during Evensong.  Angelic.

Tower of London

Fierce guard in front of building where the Crown Jewels are kept.

Tower Bridge

The Eye of London

 All Hallows-by-the-Tower – the oldest church in London

Interesting fact about this church, John Quincy Adam (our 6th President) married his wife in this church!  To this day, he is still the only President to have married a woman not born in the USA.

5) I bought French food at Harrods.

I went to the most famous English department store in the world and ended up eating French food :).  Actually the little restaurant, Galvin Demoiselle, in the striking fruit, vegetable and pantry food hall on the ground floor of Harrods was a perfect resting spot after exploring the bountiful accessory and apparel departments….

View of food hall from Galvin Demoiselle.

…and its cuisine was superb! This I would repeat.

Okay, so I made a few mistakes…and while my first trip to London wasn’t perfectly executed (no gasping allowed), I did succeed at something – whetting my appetite for a return visit!  Afterall it is absolutely necessary…for heaven’s sake, I still have a certain palace to see.

P.S. Something I did do right was discover an EXCELLENT walking tour company called London Walks. The tour subjects are plentiful, thoughtfully chosen and I have never had better guides anywhere…ever. The cost is only 9 Euro per 2 hour tour. Really.