Searching for Hugh Grant in Notting Hill
And no, he doesn’t live there!! Oh well.
Ever since Michael and I found out we were having a baby, we were in agreement that our lives were yes, going to be different, but traveling would be one thing we continued to do. I had my eye on some Virgin Atlantic tickets for a while and when they hovered around $300 per person, I decided to pounce. It was also a day flight from Boston, which I assumed would be easier with a then 11 month old—WRONG! Either way, we made it there in one piece and we all got to use our Global Entry for the first time on our way out! Wahoo!
Late that evening, we arrived at the St. Ermins Hotel, which was very conveniently located in Westminster—a very short walk to a metro station and within walking distance to many attractions (Imperial War Museum, Westminster Abby, The London Eye, etc.). On our first day (of four) we ventured out and did all things “touristy”—Ryann and Michael had never been, so it felt right to let them have a tourist’s perspective.
On our second day, we were picked up bright and early by our driver Nigel, who whisked us away on our prearranged private tour to the Cotswolds. On our way, we made a stop in Stratford Upon Avon, which is most famous for being Shakespeare’s birthplace. While a beautiful little city, I would recommend spending an hour, tops. From there, we ventured to a few small little villages in the Cotswolds, my favorite being Bourton on the Water. It’s an adorable, stone housed, ivy growing little fairytale village straight out of a book. It has this adorable little river running right through it and the cutest little shops and cafes along the side. This is definitely somewhere I would revisit and recommend to anyone stopping through the countryside.
On our third full day, we decided to just walk around and do some strolling/people watching. We stopped by Harrods, as everyone has to do in London, walked through some of the many parks and by Buckingham Palace at night. On our fourth and final day, we ventured by metro out to Notting Hill, which was super cute and a lot of fun. The sun was shining and all of the shops on Portobello Road had their tables set up on the sidewalk for the famous Portobello Road Market. We then concluded our final day with lunch in Regents Park and a brief stop to feed the ducks.
All in all, I really, really enjoyed London. I fully expected to be underwhelmed (as I was the first time I went) but it really stole my heart. Maybe it was the magic of being there with my kiddo or the city itself, but I can say for sure that we will all be back.