We split up for the day, with Doug heading off to meet a work contact for lunch in Milton Keynes while the rest of us tackled the touristy sights. We kicked things off at the London Dungeon (still as scary as ever!), before heading into Chinatown for lunch. We ordered an absolute spread I think we had all been missing some decent Asian food! Afterwards, we managed to get completely lost across all four floors of M&M's World before grabbing a well deserved hot chocolate. I then met up with Doug and his client for dinner at a pub, while the rest of the crew went to see The Producers.
The next morning, I took the opportunity to sleep in and try to shake off a cold that was brewing. The rest of the team wandered through Kensington and Hyde Park en route to the Natural History Museum. They walked back through Mayfair Arcade, marvelling at the chandeliers, before we all reunited for a late, quintessential Sunday pub lunch at The Windmill. I ordered the BIGGEST Sunday roast in the world, followed by an exceptional crumble, of course. I also managed to steal a taste of Doug’s pie, which was huge and seriously tasty. Later, we caught the train to go see ABBA... okay, not live, but their holographic ABBA Voyage show. It genuinely felt like they were right there in the room with us, and we danced the night away to hit after hit.
Finally, the day we had all been waiting for arrived: Harry Potter Studios! We all piled into the car and drove out to the 'burbs to experience some REAL movie magic. We spent a solid three hours wandering around the sets, taking it all in, and, naturally, drinking Butterbeer! Afterwards, the kids headed over to Covent Garden and stumbled upon a pre-theatre gem called Bancone (I had the truffle cacio e pepe and it was absolutely heavenly). We then all met up to see Hercules the musical in the oldest continuous theatre in London, having hosted its first show back in 1663! The "Muses" were a definite highlight, and we even got Rob up and dancing.
Our final day in London kicked off with an early-access private tour of the Churchill War Rooms. Even though Doug and I had been before, we got so much out of it this time around. It is just so fascinating being down in the very rooms where such massive decisions about WWII were made. We then bid farewell to Russ, who was flying out in the arvo, before taking a stroll through St James's Park to pick up our rental car. We were off to the Cotswolds!
Rob drove us through the winding country roads (perhaps a little too fast for my liking!), and we finally arrived at Diddly Squat Farm, better known as Clarkson's Farm. We walked around the perimeter before heading inside to sample some of the farm shop's delights, including "Cow Juice" milkshakes and caramel fudge. From there, it was another twenty-minute drive over to Jeremy Clarkson's pub, The Farmer's Dog. We enjoyed an incredible three-course meal where ALL the components were sourced directly from British farms (meaning no tomato sauce or Coca-Cola in sight!). We called it an early night, resting up before a big day of travel for Doug and myself to Jamaica!
No comments:
Post a Comment