It’s been a super-busy couple of months, and I really haven’t been doing much of anything besides working and getting things set up for the family. In all the busyness, this post from our first day out in the city got missed. Digging it out from the drafts where it was languishing and publishing it live. This is from the week my family first came to London to join me, and I took them sightseeing around the city. I still get all warm and fuzzy 🥰 thinking about that day and the awe on their faces while walking around these uber-famous landmarks.
Mothering Day was a gloriously sunny day, and we decided to take full advantage of it, going on a full-day sightseeing tour, focusing on some of the iconic spots. This wasn’t our first trip out to the city. We had gone once before to the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum, which was lovely, but the day itself was rainy, and the kids didn’t really get to enjoy the city.
Till Mothering Day, they were of the impression that London is a boring city with nothing much to do 😂.
That all changed with a massive day of walking through a large swathe of central London, exploring what the city has to offer.
We decided to start by getting a high-level view of the city—something that’s quite easy considering the number of high-rises in Central London. We wanted to do the Skygarden, but since that has to be booked well in advance, we went with Horizon 22, which also offers some terrific views.
We couldn’t see the famous Gherkin-shaped building from here, so we went to another nearby high-rise for another view.
We loved the view of the Tower Bridge from up top, and it looked quite close by, so we decided to make our way there – stopping for a brief photo op at Leadenhall Market and a picnic lunch at an abandoned, old church.
The place is supposed to be amazing during Christmas time, and I promised to bring them here then so they can have enough time to explore this place and the magic.
Then it was off to a Tesco to get a meal deal (main, side, and a drink) for £3.75 – which is probably the cheapest you can eat in London and headed out to find a place to sit and eat.
That bench made a great picnic spot, where we sat eating our cold sandwiches and crisps. Yes, I am getting used to cold food here in London, and calling chips as crisps. Becoming a native now 😂.
We continued our walk to Tower Bridge. We didn’t have actual plans to visit the Tower of London, but we walked around, took pictures, and enjoyed the views of the bridge from the riverbank.
This walk was a good opportunity to talk to the kids a bit about the UK’s history. Both children were enthralled by the place, and we definitely want to do a deep dive there someday.
The bridge itself is amazingly photogenic. There’s never a bad view of it; no wonder it’s so iconic!
There is a small chapel near the bridge, and we just randomly walked in. Once we learned there were crypts under it, Piglet had to investigate. I was surprised, amused, and charmed by how much time he spent here, walking around and reading the detailed descriptions. I think he may end up loving history just like me.
Snubnose was more interested in taking pictures, though, and moving on.
We then moved on to St.Katherine’s Docks, which reminded me of Dubai with all the fancy boats docked there. We then moved on to Borough Market, which seemed amazing but was closing down. Again, this is a place I want to come back and explore another day.
Continued walking along the river banks, stopping for family pics along the way – always with the wonderful city as a backdrop.
We also took a shot with the HMS Belfast in the background. This is a Royal Navy ship. When it is docked here, you can buy tickets to visit it, but again, this is something we might do another day.
This day was just about introducing the family to the city and stopping my kids’ never-ending complaints about London being so bland. TBF, where we live, is pretty bland, and there’s nothing to do, but at least now they know there’s a lot of stuff available to see and experience just a short train ride away.
We very ambitiously continued walking up to the Tate Modern museum, a massive, industrial-looking structure. The idea was to explore the area and take photos, but by now, Piglet was flagging and starting to moan. So, we just took this one photo and then turned onto the Millennium Bridge.
Millennium Bridge is an amazing structure and is yet another Harry Potter movie backdrop. But what I love the bridge for is the beautiful views of St. Paul’s Cathedral from there.
More photos had to be taken at St. Paul’s.
Continued walking on until Piglet put his foot down. No more walking! So, we stepped into a pub to rest our feet for a bit – have something to drink, and then continued walking on to Blackfriars, where we finally caught our train to go back home.
Later, a casual glance at the health app on my phone showed me we had walked 15 km all the way through. No wonder Piglet was tired! But overall, it was an incredible day, and I am looking forward to more as the weather warms up!
