London, Oxford, Cotswolds — May 2014
Lori and Anna (age 15)
These are just notes—haven’t written out a true narration yet.
May 7 Wednesday
Arrive Heathrow 4:00p.m., no problem or wait going through Border Control, driver ready and waiting (justairports.com), one hour to Chesterfield Hotel. Very nice smallish boutique hotel in Mayfair neighborhood.
Check in, freshen up, venture back out, passing by Buckingham Palace on our stroll around the neighborhood 😊
Dinner at Beiteddine: Lebanese, $, yummy
May 8
Quick breakfast at Benuto: banana, muffin, tea (decaf English Breakfast), $, yummy
Tube to Westminster Abbey
Trafalgar Square (bought a sweatshirt)
Churchill War Rooms (very interesting—loved it)
St. Martin’s for free afternoon concert (small choral ensemble, beautiful sacred music)
National Gallery (Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Monet…)
Lunch at Pret a Manger: chicken broccoli wild rice soup (delicious!), ham and cheese croissant, Earl Grey, $, yummy
Back to hotel to rest for an hour, then tube to Maxwell’s for pre-theatre dinner (American-style food: steak for me, salmon for Anna. I had a “no-jito”: all the flavors but no rum)
Walked from dinner to Lyceum Theatre to see Lion King (spectacular!), then hailed a cab (my first time! 😊) to take us back to hotel. I was hungry so ventured out to the little Lebanese place for take-away.
May 9
Quick breakfast at Crussh (smoothie place, very good)
Tower of London (Yeoman tour)
Globe Theatre
Walk along Thames, cross over on bridge
Tate Modern (walk by)
Golden Hinde (Francis Drake ship reconstruction)
St. Paul’s Cathedral
Lunch at Paul (shared a coppa ham and cheese on fresh-baked bread, choc. éclair)
Borough Market just to browse (would have loved to spend more time here, but wanted to get to the British Library before closing)
British Library (Magna Carta!)
Dinner at El Pirata (Spanish tapas, Sangría)
May 10
Check out
Quick breakfast (yogurt-muesli and tea) at Café Nero
Bus to Marble Arch (15 minutes)
Bus to Oxford (1.5 hrs.)
Walk with luggage to Bell House B&B
Walk to Café Bonjour for lunch (breezy and rainy): ciabatta sandwiches—$, mediocre
Walk to Risinghurst (next borough) to see The Kilns (reserved tour); walk to Holy Trinity Church, C.S. Lewis’ parish church and gravesite—beautiful!
Rest in hotel room
Walk ½ mile to Black Boy (upscale pub—$$$, yummy): Fish and chips, chocolate ganache brownie with fresh mint chip ice cream; my drink: “English Garden” (mint, lime, elderflower, fresh-pressed apple juice and gin)
Back to B&B by 8:00 (Cold and windy but sunny)
Serendipitous event today: on our walk back to B&B after dinner we passed a home with a plaque that said “Former home of Joy Davidman”
May 11, Sunday
Full English breakfast at B&B, chatted with an English couple on holiday from the coast.
Took bus to Oxford (city centre)
Attended Anglican service (boys choir, candles—beautiful) — Magdalen College at Oxford University
Walked around Oxford, ate at Pret a Manger: cold pea & mint soup, langostino salad, tea, $, yummy—love this chain!
Strolled some more and stopped in at Waterstone’s, a huge multi-level bookstore, spent almost 2 hours browsing and reading
Stopped at Café Nero for hot tea and chocolate cake before catching bus back to B&B around 5 p.m. We’re tired!
Hungry around 7 (just me, not Anna) so I walked to town (5 minutes) to a small Turkish restaurant (tzaziki, falafel, kuskus, fresh pita—$$, very good)
May 12, Monday
Muesli and fruit for breakfast at B&B
Said good-bye to our hostess Sue, walked a few steps to the bus stop, caught bus to Hertz (30 min.)
Rented car (Nissan Note, manual transmission): driver sits on right, stick shift on left!
Drove about an hour to Chipping Campden in the Cotswolds (Anna helped much with navigation); love our B&B (Taplins). Weather high 50s F., partly cloudy
Walked a few minutes into town, had a mid-afternoon bowl of soup at Huxley’s: tomato-lentil, with artisan bread—absolutely delicious!
Walked around the town—amazing, some buildings built in 14th century! Loved browsing in the charming used book shop (bought an early-edition Dickens, c. 1880); sat and read for an hour in the little library (I read about Mary Tudor).
Dinner at Eight Bells, upscale and yummy! Me: Beef and olive salad, Anna: fish cakes and roasted root vegetables, dessert: sticky toffee pudding—yum!
May 13, Tuesday
Full English breakfast, stopped in at Tourist Office for walking map and advice—very helpful
Walked up to Dover’s Hill, about 4 miles round-trip, slight incline so we were tired. Alternately drizzly, sunny—perfect! The views were magnificent. We walked among the sheep with their lambs on rolling green hills. Loved it!
Walked to St. James church for 1-hour concert: young German baritone w/ pianist: sang Shubert’s “The Wandering Miller”. He was very good and the venue was gorgeous.
Full English Tea at Badger’s Hall—lovely and yummy.
Stopped at grocer for an apple for dinner later (along with the scones and cake we brought back from Tea). We don’t plan on going out again tonight. Back at B&B around 4:30, tired and happy.
May 14, Wednesday
Today we started off right after a full breakfast for Cardiff (2 hours each way) to see The Doctor Who Experience. I was a bit nervous driving through the towns, but the motorways (freeways) and empty country roads were very pleasant. We parked in a parking garage and wandered around lost for a minute before a nice man stopped to help us. We walked about 15 minutes to the Experience. I enjoyed seeing Anna enjoy the Experience! After a couple of hours there, we found a nice café and had lunch (fresh goat cheese on toast)
May 15, Thursday
Traveling Day: checked out of Taplins around 10:30, drove to Hertz in Oxford (1 hour) to turn in car. Taxi to bus station. Bus to London Heathrow (1 hour).
Another (local) bus to Premier Inn, walking two blocks or so with our luggage. We were tired and I was ready to not be “in charge” any more!
This chain hotel is great: clean, friendly, a nice coffee café and a restaurant—everything we need for a good night’s stay. (There’s not much within walking distance, but that’s no problem—we are here to rest). I would definitely stay here again. And it’s affordable!
We settled into our room (after dinner in the hotel restaurant: chicken-bacon salad, served by a friendly young waiter from…Australia?). Watched a couple of cop shows (CSI-NY and Body of Proof) then went to bed and slept well.
May 16, 2014
Late check-out was lovely. Full breakfast in the hotel restaurant, then relaxed in the room until about noon. Caught a bus to Heathrow Terminal 5.