I want to share my passion for travel and empower you to see the world. I've traveled in more than 25+ countries, flown millions of miles and lived in China. A professional at both business and leisure travel, I can coach you to spread your wings and experience the best of what the world has to offer. I hope my videos help inspire you to take that first step and start planning your next adventure but, if you need more personalized help, please contact me directly.
All Rome visitors should visit the Trevi Fountain, featured in movies, a popular backdrop for photos and truly spectacular in every way. Plus, if you throw a coin in (using the right hand over the left shoulder according to legends) you will surely return to Rome. Reason enough to visit! An estimated 3,000-euro coins are thrown in the fountain daily, raising money for Rome nonprofits to assist the needy. Don’t try to harvest euros from the fountain to pay for your vacation though because it’s against the law. See, my handy tips will save you from a visit to an Italian jail AND you will get good photos (see the one I took below with my phone!) but only if you behave!
Just a little Trevi Fountain history for you-the fountain is from the 18th-century and marks the terminal point of an ancient aqueduct. The name “Trevi” is from the Latin word Trivium meaning the intersection of three streets as it is located in the center of De ‘Crocicchi Street, Poli Street and Delle Muratte Street. Entire books are written about this iconic historical fountain so read up before you go if that’s your jam.
Spanish Steps: Walkable from the Trevi Fountain, this staircase has 135 steps between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti and is a major tourist magnet, though I was underwhelmed. It’s a staircase (see middle photo below). Meh. However, the Trinità dei Monti church at the top is a nice background to the steps and there is a lovely fountain at the base to feature as a backdrop for picture taking. Just like the Trevi Fountain, this site has been in many movies shot in Rome. Depending on when you visit, in the spring there are flowerpots with pink azaleas and petunias on the steps which make for even better pictures. It’s all about the pictures and this is the spot! Again, go early for less crowds in your shots-we were there around 9:30 am and it was already filling up.
Visiting Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps: Since these are outside sites, there is no entrance fee. Just show up very early in the morning to get some great pictures and soak in all the unique features of the fountain façade before the crowds show up and you can’t even get close enough to throw a coin in and guarantee your return trip to Rome. We arrived at 8:30 am and joined a few Instagram influencers who were taking their “money” shots in front of the fountain. I proceeded to also pose for Thom to take some memorable photos. It is lovely and I would highly recommend you take an early morning stroll to see it and then walk about 8 minutes to also see the Spanish Steps while you are in the neighborhood. Then, it will be time to enjoy the Rome café life with an aperitif. Cheers!
One of my favorite Rome experiences was wandering the Trastevere neighborhood. Meaning “beyond the Tiber”, Trastevere is located on the south side of the river away from the normal Rome tourist sites. While there are definitely tourists here, there are also locals eating and enjoying the social life. So be adventurous and immerse yourself in this pocket of charm, entertainment, shopping and food when you visit Rome. Take the back streets, admire the faded Renaissance buildings, towering Roman pines, and enjoy an aperitif at a café on the piazza while the music flows from street entertainers.
I had done some research on this area and found THE coolest shop, Elvis Lives. Two graphic designers create and stock Elvis Lives with kitschy merch featuring Elvis and branded items featuring the Italian term “Daje” (meaning Come On!). We bought lots of unique souvenirs to bring home, especially for an Elvis-loving friend. We also happened upon a pop-up gallery of artists selling jewelry, prints, etc. in a loft space. You just never know what you will find! My travel advice is to not over plan your itinerary and to leave time daily for walking around and absorbing the local culture.
We ended up stumbling upon a fabulous restaurant that had an open table. Nannarella: Nannarella – Locanda in Trastevere – Dal 1930 (nannarellaroma.it) has a great outside patio. The pasta was amazing, and we enjoyed the people watching while we ate. Probably best to make a reservation so you can enjoy Nannarella-we got lucky as it seemed very popular. After dinner, we walked a few miles back to the hotel enjoying the evening and happy that we got to explore the unforgettable Trastevere neighborhood.
The Vatican Museums that are part of Vatican City are among the most crowded in the world, sometimes having as many as 20,000 visitors in a day and recently I was one of them! Go early and don’t plan any other activities the day of your visit except aperitifs and dinner afterward. You will end your day tired and hungry but appreciative of all the beautiful art and history you have experienced. Vatican City is definitely a “must see” when in Rome.
Our early morning tour began on the street nearest the main entrance to the Vatican Museums. Our tour guide Fabi was so knowledgeable and fun. She really brought the history of the Vatican to life. I would highly suggest taking the first tour of the day even though it is an early call at 8 am to meet the group. Don’t be late or you will be left behind. Trust me, it gets crazy crowded later. While it’s busy in the morning hours with booked tours getting in early, it’s still manageable. Fabi guided us through the various museum galleries including the Room of the Candelabra, Hall of Tapestries, and Gallery of the Maps. It was nice for Fabi to offer to take pictures of us. We don’t have many pictures of us together other than selfies.
Before reaching the Sistine Chapel, you will receive a reference map you can use once inside, which is a useful resource since visitors to the chapel are expected to be silent as they observe Michelangelo’s masterpieces. Do NOT take pictures in the Sistine Chapel. And don’t use your wife (talking to you Thom!) to screen your efforts to try to take a picture without alerting the very visible security guards who are monitoring everyone’s movements.
After exiting the Sistine Chapel from a side door, we headed straight to the St. Peter’s Basilica, skipping the lines. Fabi took us to see the baroque Baldacchino, La Pieta, and other masterworks. You can go underneath the main floor of the basilica, where hundreds of Popes are buried. We finished our tour in front of the Basilica.
It’s huge-Vatican City consists of :
1) St. Peter’s Basilica – the massive cathedral
2) St. Peter’s Square – the large plaza open space in front of the Basilica. This is where the Pope will come out on Wednesdays and ride around in his Pope cart around the temporary seats that they set up. I wish we had taken the time to experience this, but we were just too tired after our Tuesday tour and our tour guide told us you had to get there very early in the morning to grab a seat. Next time!
3) Vatican Museums – a very large museum complex with many galleries hence called ” museums “. At the very furthest end of Vatican Museums is the Sistine Chapel, the interior of which represents the pinnacle of the Renaissance. The Sistine Chapel is part of Vatican Museums.
4) Vatican Gardens – the vast green park behind the Basilica which makes up the remainder of Vatican City. These green spaces covers the largest area of the city. You may be too tired to walk the gardens. We were.
Take time to check out the Vatican Post Office-Anyone can walk in and mail a post card here. It’s on the left side of St. Peter’s Square. This is also where the public bathrooms are located. Be prepared for a line.
VISIT TIPS: Bring water and snacks! Wear comfortable shoes as you will walk miles. There are hardly any places to sit down and rest. By the end of our tour, I was tired, dehydrated and ended up squatting along a wall in St. Peter’s Basilica and the security guard asked me to move, which we did directly to the nearest place that sold water.
One of my favorite experiences in Rome was our day spent exploring the Borghese Gallery and Gardens. Located in the middle of Villa Borghese Park (the third largest public park in Rome with 198 acres), the Gallery is relatively small compared to the other Italian museums we saw on our trip and two hours or so is enough to take it all. Then, take the rest of your day to discover the gardens. We got a combo pass to get into the museum and then took a guided golf cart ride around the huge park. What fun! The views of Rome are impressive (the gardens are high up on a hill) and the Roman pines are stunning.
Just because the Gallery is small doesn’t mean it’s not worth your time. Their collection is well curated and features many paintings and sculptures from Gian Lorenzo Bernini including his intrepretation of David. There are small intimate rooms, some even have benches (!) where you can sit and reflect on the beautiful art by Raphael, Botticelli, Caravaggio, and Rubens. Most museums don’t have anywhere to sit so I really appreciated this convenience at the Borghese Gallery. While I love all the “famous” art, I also appreciated the little unknown art that seemed to pop up everywhere in the quirky rooms-over doorways, on the ceilings, etc.
Our hotel was within walking distance (at least for us-a mile or two away) and we enjoyed walking down the hill after our visit and exploring the Piazza del Popolo (People’s Square) and having an aperitif at one of the many cafes. If you have time check out the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, in the northeast corner of the Piazza. I can’t get enough of all the beautiful churches in Italy-each one no matter how big or small is spectacular and unique.
ENTRY TO GALLERY
There is timed and restricted entry to keep the Borghese Gallery free of crowds so enjoy wandering through the spectacular collection of Renaissance and Baroque artwork without the typical tourist crush.
Pitti Palace (Palazzo Pitti) is a fabulous Renaissance masterpiece situated on the south bank of the River Arno near the Ponte Vecchio Bridge in Florence. Named after a Florentine banker Luca Pitti, construction on the palace began in the mid-1400s and has become home to centuries of history and art. The lovely Boboli Gardens is directly behind Pitti Palace. I would recommend allowing a day for each of these Florence “must see” sites.
Purchased by the Medici’s in 1539, this palace served as the official residence of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany and other dignitaries as time went on. Eventually, the palace was donated to the Italian people and opened to the public. If you’re a fan of Versailles, then you will love Pitti Palace-lots of gold. However, it’s less crowded than Versailles! The palace is filled with amazing art and décor divided into five museums: the Treasury of the Grand Dukes and the Museum of Russian Icons (with the Palatine Chapel), the Palatine Gallery and the Imperial and Royal Apartments, the Gallery of Modern Art (1700s and 1800s) and the Museum of Costume and Fashion. The stunner for me was the amazing ceiling art. Always look up! Not just frescoes but also ceiling sculptures adding texture and interest.
Warning don’t get too close to the precious artwork! My husband was explaining his interpretation of a large sweeping piece and his hand moved within inches of the canvas, setting off alarms and subsequent yelling by the security guard in the room to step away. Thom regularly gets into trouble at museums for this type of behavior and never learns his lesson. High fiving sculptures and walking into “no access” designated areas are also his hallmark.
Take your time, meander through the rooms, listen to an audio tour if that’s your jam and appreciate all the beautiful art. I enjoyed the Pitti Palace more than the crowded Uffizi Gallery. The location was also better for me as the palace is in the Oltrarno neighborhood where we were staying and close to lots of cafes and artisan shops to explore after our palace visit.
ENTRY DETAILS
Official ticketing page | Uffizi Galleries check online before you go because opening hours change with the seasons. You can get a daily ticket for $10 euros. We got the 5-day pass for $38 euros each where you have to get your timed entry to Uffizi first and then you have 5 days to also go to Boboli Garden and Pitti Palace and Archaeology Museum. You have one paper ticket to hold on to and show at these places to get in and skip ticket buying line. It’s very convenient and they way to go if you want to visit all these places, which I highly recommend.
Venice is a one-of-a-kind experience that takes you to a place where water and walking dominate. No room for cars on those narrow alleyways and bridges-pedestrians rule and believe me, there are a lot of tourists visiting this beautiful place no matter what time of year you go!
We left our ARBNB in Florence for a quick weekend trip to Venice in late September, taking a two-hour train ride through the lovely Italian countryside and arriving right on the Grand Canal at the Venice train station. Grab a Vaporetto, which is Venice’s water bus system, and ride around the canals to get to your hotel if you don’t want to walk or want a fun way to get acquainted with Venice.
You really only need two days in Venice unless you want to see it all-Doge Palace, museums and side trips to Burano (colorful houses and lace-making shops) and Murano (glass blowing) islands nearby. Our favorite thing to do in Venice, however, was just wandering around the less crowded back alleys and traversing the 150+ little bridges over the canals. Stunning views everywhere you look and charming shops to peer into as you walk by.
For us, Venice was all about walking here, there and everywhere. Luckily, though rain was forecast, it was lovely, and we were able to walk nine miles on Saturday and six miles the second day before boarding the train back to Florence. We went down alleyways and tried to stay away from the busy paths by the Grand Canal. Not knowing if the weather was going to turn on us, one of our first priorities was to experience a gondola ride so we found one with no wait just for the two of us (later we saw lines of people waiting later in the day). It’s a “must do” experience in Venice!
Hoping in near the Rialto Bridge, we quickly went under the bridge and got great pictures from mid-canal. Our gondolier wasn’t chatty but did point out a few sites like the Bridge of Sighs that we floated under. It is truly amazing how all the boats, whether a gondola, water taxi, speedboat, or water bus, share the canals without incident, at least none that we saw. I only saw one gondolier who was female. Hmm. How does one become a gondier? Family legacy or is there a school? Are they union or need a license? They definitely need some diversity.
Some of our best moments are stopping to look around and just appreciate where we are at the moment and take it all in. We look up at the buildings and Thom usually finds a local leaning out their window to capture in a photo. “Always look up!” is his motto and has led to many lovely memories of what we saw when we did. I always notice the animals as we walk around. Lots of dogs in Venice! I only saw one cat roaming. Speaking of cats, I bet there are quite a few hanging out at the Rialto Fish Market. We didn’t make it there, but I hear that it is quite the experience if you get up early enough to watch the fisherman bring in the catch of the day. Do try seafood at the cafes in Venice as it is fresh from the market and delicious.
Of course, you have to check out St. Mark’s Basilica with the elaborate Byzantine exterior. If you have time, go inside and check out it out. Very ornate and gold. Also note – the Basilica is closed to visitors until 2pm on Sundays while mass is taking place. You can still access the Basilica Museum from where you access the second floor terrace. As you can imagine the views are wonderful.
Aspirationally, I wanted to go to the Venice Jazz Club one night. When we walked to find it in the daylight so we were prepared, we happened to run into an employee who was coming in and he said they were sold out that night. I had emailed them (email or phoning them is only way to make a reservation) but he seemed sure I wasn’t on the list after I told him my name. Walking back to the hotel, we decided it was good that we weren’t going because getting around Venice in the dark and in the rain wasn’t a great idea at least for us. The club later emailed us and verified we did indeed have reservations after all but it was too late by then to go. We had settled into resting up at the hotel with bakery items after walking nine miles. If you do want to run around Venice at night, you might want to bring a small flashlight if you don’t want to use your phone flashlight and kill the battery. A paper map of Venice is a good idea to have too in case the phone GPS isn’t working well. Next time we visit, I’m definitely going to the jazz club!
Shopping in Venice, other than the tourist stands, is fun. Lots of art galleries, vintage shops and jewelry stores. We even ran across a local garage sale in a church courtyard when we were on a remote canal. Everything from real fur coats to glass items and vinyl. We only do carry-on so I had no room for large items and shipping internationally can be difficult, as I found out last year when I tried shipping wine home from Italy. It took months and some bottles didn’t make it. The winery actually no longer ships to the US because they have had too many issues. So back to Venice, we had fun browsing and I got a lovely very small Murano glass plate that can hold jewelry on my bureau back home. Of course, I have bought several jewelry items so far on our trip to add to my extensive collection including cute Murano glass earrings. So little time, so much jewelry!
Lunch on the canal as gondola glides by with a saxophone playing passenger.
As we enjoyed our last meal in Venice by the canal, we heard a sax playing and then saw a guy with his family in a gondola floating by us. The guy was just belting it out on his sax playing a free water concert for us. I wonder how far he travelled with his saxophone just to have this experience of a lifetime in Venice on a gondola. Definitely living his best life. Shouldn’t we all do that too? If you could do anything anywhere what would it be?
We stayed at a Marriott propery, AC Hotel, which is new and not on a canal. However, it was reasonably priced by Venice standards, which are crazy expensive. I didn’t care about a canal view and we like a hotel with modern amenities like updated electrical from this century, comfy large beds and smart TVs. A roomy bathroom with a waterfall shower and great water pressure as well as an expansive breakfast buffet are always appreciated. So AC Hotel worked well for us and was two blocks from a canal, cafes and the train station. If you want that “historic” experience, look into one of the many little old hotels around Venice but make sure you understand how you will get there with luggage from wherever you land. Also, ask any hotels if they have elevators, as most don’t and you end up hauling your luggage up steep stone staircases. They don’t do it for you. Trust me.
GETTING AROUND VENICE
Vaporetto aka water bus
While walking is the easiest way to get around Venice, taking the water bus is inexpensive and efficient. Buy your ticket at the various water stations where the bus stops or at tabacchi/newstands around town-look for the ACTV logo. A 75 minute ticket costs under 10 euros but you can buy multiple day passes starting at one day for 20 euros. Make sure to “validate” your ticket by swiping or tapping them on machines located at the water bus boarding entrance or on the boat. If you don’t validate and a security person checks your ticket, you will get a hefty fine due on the spot. It happens-I’ve seen it! Hours for the water bus run from 5 am to midnight with a few running all night because Venice does like to party. At high tide when Venice floods (plan your trip accordingly), there can be restricted service. Key routes include: #1 on the Grand Canal-good for a tour around to see the sites. Route 12 will take you to Murano and Burano islands.
Gondola
A “must do” in Venice, expect to pay 80 euros for a 30 minute Gondola ride, more in the evening. Take exact change in euros. You can get up to about 6 people in a Gondola to share the cost but we enjoyed our ride for two very much. Don’t expect your gondolier to speak English or sing to you, though it could happen. Our gondolier spoke a little English and said he would charge more to sing. We were cool with no singing and just wanted him to focus on navigating the narrow canals without incident. There are gondola stations all over Venice-if you see a line waiting just walk on by and find a gondolier that is ready to go.
Walking
Look for signs on the corners of buildings as you walk to get your bearings and get pointed in the right direction. These directional signs for the “big” sites like St. Mark’s Square are everywhere on main thoroughfares. On the smaller streets, you may wander down one way and dead end at a canal with no bridge and have to turn around-part of the experience. Be aware that there are very few benches on which to rest pretty much anywhere in Venice. In the larger squares, you just go to a cafe and pay for pricey drinks during off meal hours. If it is close to meal time, they won’t let you take up a table without ordering food too. The considerate way to get a seat at a café is to find a waiter or maitre d’ and ask to be seated. Sit down without permission at your own risk because you will get a good “talking to” by staff and perhaps even be asked to leave. Best to ask first and then, once they tell you it’s okay, order something and enjoy a rest.
Public bathrooms are scarce. Usually in almost any city I’m visiting, I walk into a hotel and use the lobby facilities as if I am a guest staying there but in Venice they are mostly tiny hotels so that was not an option as the lobbies are overseen closely by the front desk clerk. The train station is very centrally located so if you are nearby I’d use that as an option. It was very clean and cost 1 Euro coin. Or buy something at a café and use their facilities.
Accessibility is an after thought in Italy and especially Venice. We did see one bridge retrofited with ramps over the steps but all the rest had no ramps. Everywhere you go in Venice requires crossing one of the 150+ bridges over a canal. If you are physically challenged, plan ahead how to navigate Venice during your trip.
Seeing people struggle with their luggage all over Venice, plus navigating the many bridges and the dense crowds made me very happy that all we had was a light backpack for our weekend trip. If you arrive by train or air, you can take a water taxi which charges by the minute and is private so can take you right to your hotel if it’s on the canal. We also saw luggage porters you can hire who will take your luggage on a cart to your hotel. From what I have researched, this service can cost about 50 euros so it’s not cheap but if you need help, negotiate with the porters, which can usually be found outside the train station and major water bus landings waiting for clients with cash.
Getting to Venice
There is a Venice airport (you can take a water taxi from the airport to the city but it’s expensive) and, at least for now, the cruise ships stop there though there is talk that they might cut those back due to overcrowding issues. We took the train to Venice from Florence using the Trainline site to buy tickets: Trains in Italy | Buy Italy Train Tickets | Trainline (thetrainline.com). It’s just four hours from Rome to Venice by train. Of course, you can also catch a bus or drive a car but, if you drive, parking will have to be outside the city, so I don’t recommend it.
Think of Boboli Gardens as Florence’s open-air museum with a view. Located directly behind Pitti Palace in the heart of this busy city, these gardens are an escape into 111 acres of fabulous landscaping and art. The Medicis created this Italian garden style oasis in the 16th century, which became a model for many European gardens. Open to the public since 1766, there are statues, grottos, fountains, pavilions, and even a Porcelain Museum to explore. So much to see! In between visiting all the fabulous Florence museums, Boboli Gardens is a much-needed nature break. Stroll the many paths and work your way up, up, up to experience 360 views of Florence and Tuscany.
Bring a compact blanket, picnic lunch and water and you’ll be all set to relax. Boboli Gardens could be an all-day outing depending on how much time you have in Florence. At the end, you can take the north exit to visit Fort Belvedere (see my blog post of the Fort here) or the southwest exit to visit La Specola which houses the Museum of Zoology and Natural History. Or maybe it’s time for an aperitif, in which case there are many cafes ready to serve you right outside Pitti Palace. If you leave through Pitti Palace, you will probably see Morgante, the court dwarf riding the back of a turtle. Give him a pat for me!
ENTRY DETAILS
Boboli Gardens Boboli Gardens Tickets & Tours 2022 | Florence Best Deals 8:15-6:30 daily but check online before you go because opening hours change with the seasons. You can get a daily ticket for $10 euros. We got the 5-day pass for $38 euros each where you have to get your timed entry to Uffizi first and then you have five days to also go to Boboli Garden, Pitti Palace and the Archaeology Museum. We went to them all! You have one paper ticket to hold on to and show at these places to get in and skip the ticket buying line. It’s very convenient and the way to go if you want to visit all these places, which I highly recommend.
Bee lovers, history buffs, dog lovers and those who appreciate over the top hotel service will love my favorite hotel in London-St. Ermin’s. I’ve travelled all over the world and this is my pick for best overall hotel. Hands down. A historic property set in a private courtyard, it exudes charm but most of all I love the consistently world class customer service I’ve received every time I stay there. Their staff is well trained, friendly and go out of their way to make you feel special. Another bonus is the location, which is easy walking distance to many sites such as Parliament, Westminster Cathedral, Big Ben, Hyde Park, St. James Park, Churchill War Rooms, 10 Downing Street, Buckingham Palace, etc.
The formal lobby serves as an elegant gathering place for the afternoon happy hour with free wine/nibbles most days and a fine place to have a cup of tea. Everyone but especially kids (who may never have seen such a relic let only used it) seem to be fascinated with the typewriter available with paper to type out a review of the hotel. Just off the lobby there is the Caxton bar and restaurant where the morning breakfast is served. Upstairs, there is a lovely room for Afternoon Tea that is served daily. Featuring sweet and savoury treats from the hotel’s rooftop garden and bee garden, you can’t ask for a more quintessential British tradition to enjoy during your trip to London. Make reservations here for Afternoon Tea well in advance of your visit. It’s popular! After taking your tea, go upstairs to the third floor and visit the St. Ermin’s bees. Safely behind glass, you can watch them go about their daily business of making honey.
While Thom and I have stayed at St. Ermin’s several times on both business and pleasure trips, I didn’t stay there on my Ladies Trip recently because we needed the added space of an ARBNB. However, we did visit after our Parliament trip to soak up the warmth of tea served in the bar and take advantage of the grand staircase to pose for pictures with a kind staff member serving as our photographer.
Perks that we loved at St. Ermin’s:
Free wine and canapes for happy hour Monday to Thursday 5:30-6:30
24 hour gym
Free water and candy in room minibar-handy to refuel after a long day of walking
International breakfast buffet free with made-to-order omelettes (with Marriott Platinum status)
Mailed my postcards to US for free
Typewriter in lobby that you can use to leave reviews of hotel-kids are fascinated by this device
Amazing front veranda where you can relax, eat takeway food or drinks or get lobby service from hotel bar
Concierge service-lent me a new electric adapter when mine failed to work
One block to St. James tube station-so quick to get around London
10 minute walk to Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Hyde Park
Starbucks, Pret-A-Manger and pharmacy one block away
Grand staircase in lobby for photos you’ll want to share
They allow pups-who doesn’t love a pet friendly place!
St. Ermin’s is built upon the site of a 15th century chapel dedicated to St. Ermin (thus the name!). The building was converted into a hotel in 1899. Famous for a meeting held here by Winston Churchill in 1940 with founding members of the Special Opertions Executive (SOE) also known as Churchill’s Security Army. This elite group formed the basis of the SAS and took over an entire floor of St. Ermin’s as its headquarters during WWII while the M16 were stationed two floor above. Churchill was known well in the hotel’s Caxton Bar during this period. History buffs will love staying here and walking over the Churchill War Rooms for a tour.
After WWII, a “Division Bell” in the hotel lobby was rung to signal MPs that they had eight minutes to get back to Parliament to the House of Commons to vote. Now the bell now longer rings but you never know who you might meet at the hotel because it is located within the “Westminster Bubble” very close to government buildings. It is rumored that MPs could use a secret tunnel to get back to Parliament, running from under the grand staircase in the lobby to the House of Commons. Hmmmm….who doesn’t love a British mystery?
I’ve been to London several times but always on business trips. While I was able to work in a little sightseeing on these trips, I definitely hadn’t been able to fully experience all that London has to offer. This time visiting, I worked remote with flexibility to journey out with Thom during the day while the US slept. First up, we checked in to the beautiful St. Ermin’s hotel (separate post on this hotel because it’s so special!) and then we went for a stroll around the neighborhood.
One reason we like to stay at St. Ermin’s is that it is only blocks to Big Ben, Westminster, etc. We were so happy to see that Big Ben had all the scaffolding down from work being done and it was shining brightly for picture-taking. As we walked by Westminster Abbey, which we had never been in, we saw people going in even though it was 5 pm and you might expect it to be closed.
Turns out there was an Evensong program about to start so off we went! The door guard explained that it was free, an hour long and that we would need to stay for the entire program, and no pictures were allowed. There was only a small group attending along with the church choir and organist. What an awesome way to experience this magnificent site for FREE! Yes, my husband doesn’t obey rules well, so he got off a few great pics even with admonishment from the clergy walking by. Oops. All in all, a wonderful memory that I won’t soon forget and that I highly recommend.
Last time Thom and I were in London, Parliament was in session, so we had the opportunity to observe the House of Lords. This was nirvana for two political junkies like us. It was fascinating to see another government in action with their debates and loud interactions. Lots of standing up and down, shouting “Hear! Hear!” and jeering the opposition party. Very lively indeed!
We saw a different perspective in September as Parliament was out on break, so we got to take a self-guided audio tour throughout the entire Parliament building, including a leisurely wander through both the House of Lords and House of Commons. It was awesome to see Margaret Thatcher’s statue in her heels standing tall among all the men who have run the UK government, truly highlighting the gender gap amongst past leaders. However, they did name a new female Prime Minister, Liz Truss, while we were there. Liz ended up not lasting very long (44 days-a record) and a new male PM, Rishi Sunak, was announced after we left Europe. Truly a time of turmoil for the UK. Wondering if Liz will get the honor of a statue or if her short tenure won’t earn her one. The brutal British press ran a picture of Liz next to a head of lettuce while all this was going on and asked which would last the longest: Liz or lettuce. Lettuce won.
One of the coolest aspects of our time at Parliament was walking around the floor of the House of Commons. Thom enjoyed talking with one of the staff stationed there to ensure visitors didn’t do any damage. When he found out Thom was originally from NYC, they chatted about his trip there and that his lasting memory of NYC was a hot dog. Merits of a NYC “dirty dog” ensued. Next trip, he said he wanted to go to Durango and take the Silverton train, which we have taken twice so we told him it was worth the long trip from London. Just a few hours after we left, some climate protestors went on a similar guided tour and glued themselves to the PM seat in the House of Commons and the police locked it all down. I felt pity for the kind staff member we had spoken to for after we left, he ended up having a helluva day ahead of him peeling the protestors off the furniture.
Two months later…
I was back in London again, this time on a Girls Trip and we got to experience Parliament up close and personal again this time. Parliament was in session, and we were first in line to see the House of Commons debate. Because we were there early, we were allowed to queue up and see the opening ceremonial Speaker’s Procession walk. This procession is very pomp and circumstance with various officials including the Speaker moving past the public and into the chamber. With police along the route monitoring, the public must stand, take off any hats and be silent as the procession moves by. No pictures are allowed. Now, as we were right up front and center for this event, when the Speaker walked by, I gave him a big smile and I got a wink in return. My moment of infamy interacting with UK leadership. I would highly recommend getting there early to see this iconic UK experience.
Check online to see the Parliament calendar in advance of your trip Lords Recess dates – UK Parliament. This will determine whether you can sit in the gallery and watch the proceedings or, if they are not in session, you can take a tour and see all the chambers. Both experiences are very interesting, and I highly recommend.
Travels with Melinda 