london layover 🇬🇧💂🕰

24 hours in London made for my first time in the UK. And I am in love. 

My flight from Chicago left on Thursday and arrived on Friday morning. I took the Heathrow Express to Paddington and walked to Wilde Aparthotels from there. While we booked the hotel for its author-inspired title, the ambience itself had little to do with Oscar. Nonetheless, it was modern and nice, with a kitchen in the room, as well as a stash of complimentary postcards to make my day. 

It was a beautiful sunny day! We took the tube to Trafalger Square, which held a nice Christmas market, then we walked to Leicester Square in pursuit of Cecil Court, a street that was said to be lined with bookshops. Unfortunately each bookshop held quite a limited number of books, but I will never complain about a book-dedicated road. While walking to Covent Gardens, we entered a Waterstone’s Bookstore, inspiring my new dream to sail off to London for two months to work in a bookstore. I suppose Waterstone’s can be analogized to London’s Barnes and Noble, and it had a classy simplicity that could have held me hostage for hours. I’ll call it fate that Wilde’s quote sat above my favorite book brand, “If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading at all.” At Covent Gardens, we saw amazing Christmas decorations consisting of giant bells and ribbon. There was live music accompanied by the hustle of tourists speaking too many languages to count. We ate brunch at Davy’s downstairs.

We walked from Covent Gardens along the Thames toward Big Ben. We did the entire audio tour of Westminster Abbey, though I was most excited for the Poets’ Corner, which was the last stop. Notable authors memorialized included Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, William Wordsworth, William Shakespeare, John Keates, Percy Shelley, C.S. Lewis, and many more. We walked from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace.

Around 5:00, we took the tube to Fortnum & Mason for high tea. With fifteen minutes to spare, we stopped into the Hatchard’s next-door, which seemed to be Waterstones’ sister company. Here, I gawked at their endless array of clothbound classics and ended up buying “The Lonely Londoners” and “Wuthering Heights.”

At Fortnum & Mason, we got the savory order. I got the royal tea, which along with the food, was good, but the slightest bit underwhelming. I have only been to tea once, in San Diego, where we tried five or six different teas. I was expecting that, but instead we each had one tea. I’m certain that’s the standard and accurate English way of teaing, but I don’t think I’ll feel a strong desire to do it again given the costs. Still appreciate the experience!

From there we raced to see the musical Tina at the Nederlander (Aldwych) Theatre. It was so so so good! Genuinely soooo good! I really love these musicals about the artists. MJ was one of my favorites, and while I am less familiar with Tina Turner’s music, I might have liked it even more. The acting and singing were both incredible and I cried at multiple points. Despite the sad aspects of her story, the musical kept the focus on her and her strength, and ended the show with an uplifting and crowd-engaging performance of “The Best.” I left the theatre with such appreciation and spirit. 

We got drinks at “The Freemason Arms,” followed by dinner at Dishoom, which was recommended to me last-minute by a classmate, and turned into one of my favorite meals of the whole trip! We got this yogurt with sweet potatoes that was so much better than expected, along with chicken ruby and naan. 

This was an incredibly long write-up for such a short trip, but I hope to look back on it in the future. I really had the most amazing day. By the end of it, I was already thinking about my hopes to return to London soon and explore new museums, landmarks, bookstores, and culture. I was blessed with sunny skies and the best company, and will cherish the memories made.