Exploring London and the Tower of London

After getting up around 7:00 a.m., I showered, shaved, and dressed. We decided to have breakfast at the Premier Inn (to avoid wasting a lot of time). I selected a “Continental Breakfast,” while Inna and Alex chose the full hot breakfast.

I mainly ate cold cereal and a few pastries with coffee, while Alex and Inna ate some scrambled eggs. The Wi-Fi for our iPhones did not work very well in Room 622 or in the breakfast café. It was annoying since I had only a 200MB international data plan with AT&T and was counting on using the hotel’s Wi-Fi for most of my significant downloads.

After breakfast, we walked to the nearby Waterloo Underground station (it took longer than expected) and purchased 3 Oyster cards for use on subways, trains, and buses. The Oyster card is like a mobile telephone card that debits the account for each trip but can be used on all forms of public transportation. Since Alex was under 18, he received a 50% discount on all fares (but this required the assistance of a manager working there). The usual London underground fare is $2.40 per trip. The main concern was to keep each Oyster card topped up.

We found the proper directions to the Tower of London and rode the tube. The walk to the Tower turned out to be longer than expected. Google Maps did not choose the most convenient path and next time I selected the tube stops myself. London’s double-decker buses work well (some run 24 hours/day) and can be even faster than the underground.

On arriving at the Tower of London, I purchased tickets (they were costly), and we decided to wait for the 10:30 a.m. talk with a resident, Beefeater. This was a great decision, as our Beefeater was funny, engaging, and quite entertaining when he explained the history of the Tower of London and talked about his life and the lives of other famous people there.

After his marvelous talk, we got into a short line to see the Crown Jewels (which were magnificent) and then followed up with another tower, where we saw an armory (storing all the Tower’s weapons).

After finishing the Tower, we were both tired and famished and decided to eat lunch at a nearby restaurant.

I found a highly-rated restaurant on Yelp  - Cote Brasserie on Katharine’s Way nearby - and we walked over.

Alex selected a steak with French fries (frites), Inna chose a salad, and I chose a burger with fries. The food was delicious and not overly expensive!

After lunch, we headed for 221B Baker Street to see the Sherlock Holmes museum. The wait was over one hour, and we were finally admitted at around 4:15 p.m. The museum is another tourist trap, but Alex wanted to see it (being a fan of Arthur Conan Doyle). I also wanted to see it.

Inside the museum were many knick-knacks about Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. There were also letters, magnifying glasses, and even bodies (from some of his more popular crime novels).

After visiting the museum, we stopped by for a quick bite at Francesca Cafe. There was hot tea and some delicious pastries to be had.

I had always wanted to see the 42nd Street Musical, and I was delighted that it was playing in London’s Drury Lane Theater (as it no longer plays on Broadway). I purchased 3 tickets ahead of time and was happy that my seats were not as bad as I expected.

The musical was fantastic, with excellent stage work (the best I’ve seen), excellent costumes, and great tap dancing. It never let up and was a lot of fun! I really enjoyed it. It did not have as much drama as “Fiddler on the Roof” or “Chicago,” but it was still quite enjoyable. I really loved the rendition of the “Lullaby of Broadway.” The finale was fantastic!

After the performance, we decided to stop by for dinner at the “Strada” Italian Restaurant. It was amazing how packed the streets were at 10:00 p.m. It was as crowded as if it were daylight.

Alex selected a “Doppio Margarita Pizza,” Inna selected “Chicken and Mushrooms,” and I chose “Chicken Cavatappi” pasta. We also enjoyed the delicious garlic bread and our San Pellegrino drinks. Strada had decent Italian entrees for a reasonable price.

We hoped to get gelato afterward, but it closed at 11:00 p.m. (as we were leaving). Alex just missed it by a few minutes.

We took the subway from Leicester Square to Westminster Station and returned to our Premier Inn over the bridge (seeing Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament at night). The London Eye was also well-lit.