The original “Mommy Meet” was in London last year. She wanted to see all London has to offer in three full days. Three. She was really outdoing herself this time…

She arrived in Heathrow at 10pm on a Thursday night and I arranged for a private car to pick us up. There are several ways to get into the city: taxi, bus, express train that goes to Paddington station or private car; and I have done them all. The express train is nice if you have the time to change to the tube at Paddington to your final destination. However, knowing my mother and what time she arrived, this would not be an option. I booked a car from London Heathrow Cars and found a rate that was only 10 pounds more than two tickets on the express train! They were waiting for us outside baggage claim and drove us direct to our hotel, Club Quarters St Pauls. If you are trying to penny save on your city trip, the don’t come to London. This is an expensive city any way you slice it. This hotel is in a great location! Within a stone’s throw of St Paul’s and walking distance of Millenium Bridge. Bonus feature: free water throughout the hotel with bottles! You can fill as many water bottles as you like in the lobby. We stocked up for each day to save on buying drinks later.

Day One: St Paul’s Cathedral, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey

St Paul’s Cathedral is located in the middle of Tower of London/ Bridge and Big Ben/Westminster Abbey. We chose to finish our day with Tower of London because I had a special dinner planned for us later that night.

St Paul’s:

For those Princess Diana fans, you may recall this is where she was married to Prince Charles. My mom recalled watching the wedding and how she looked when she walked down that aisle with her long train. The cathedral is gorgeous and pictures do not do it justice. Entry to this lovely cathedral isn’t free; be prepared to pay 16,50 pounds.

Off to the side, we noticed an entry way that allows you to climb to the top! Warning: do not attempt if you have fear of heights or dangerous stair cases:  These stairs are located in the middle of an open area allowing you to look straight down to the bottom of the cathedral. But once you make it to the top…

 Gorgeous view!

Big Ben and Westminster Abbey:

We took the Queen’s Walk along the River Thames to Big Ben and the Abbey. I have never gone to the top of Big Ben but the exterior of this clock is just breathtaking.

 The weather was not on our side but the rain held out and that is all you can ever ask of London!

 Westminster Abbey is the most gorgoeus cathedral I have ever seen. The British Throne is in this cathedral and can be seen behind a sheet of glass. You will pay 20 pounds for entry and you can not take pictures inside. I recommend buying a book after your tour to have a reminder of the inside beauty.

For our last stop for the day, we went to my favorite spot in London: Tower of London and Tower Bridge

 You can go up inside the bridge and the section in between is an exhibition on bridges around the world. If you’re on a budget, I would skip this.

 Off to the left of the Tower Bridge is the Tower of London. Ticket prices are 22 pounds (I would splurge for the tour book, an extra 5 pounds) and that includes a tour by a “real” Beefeater. These guys give you all of the history of the Palace including King Henry IV, Anne Boleyn, and other gruesome tales of life back then. Your ticket also grants access to the Crown Jewels exhibition; I recommend doing this first before walking about the palace grounds because lines tend to be long. You can not take pictures inside but you see all of the crown jewels, including pearls from Elizabeth I jewels.

Later that evening, I took my mom to an Argentinian steak restaurant that is on the bank of the River Thames, Gaucho Tower Bridge. We were seated near the window and watched the sunset over the bridge. The staff was so nice here and really let us take our time eating!

  We walked home to an end of a great first day!

Day two: London Eye, Tour of River Thames, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park

Depending on the season, the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace can be seen every day in the morning. Typically starts around 10AM but be sure to get there at least thirty minutes before to get a good seat.

     

Hyde Park: Princess Diana Fountain

You can easily find this tranquil dedication to Lady Di via markers on the ground in Hyde Park.

London Eye and tour of River Thames

My mother is brave. She hates heights but still went on the London Eye with me! You have different options and prices for tickets to go up; I chose a flexible ticket to choose the time we got on. We decided to go in the afternoon so we could see the city in the light.

 

After the ride on the London Eye, we went to the pier to take our river boat tour. You can get a discount on the river cruise when you buy a ticket to the London Eye.

London Bridge…not all it’s cracked up to be!

 House of Parliament

 Shakespeare’s Globe Theater

 Millennium Bridge and St Paul’s

Day three: Kensington Palace, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square

On our last full day in London, we had a “leisure” day and took our time on our last three stops.

Trafalgar Square

 In this square is the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. We just wanted to see the new portrait of Kate Middleton and the gallery is free to enter.

Piccadilly Circus is within walking distance from Trafalgar Square and is nothing more than a smaller Times Square. But the shopping is great on this strip and I highly recommend going into M&M World.

Kensington Palace:

Last, but certainly not least, we trekked across town to Kensington Palace. We hoped to get a glimpse of Will and Kate but they were not in the palace at that time. Navigating around the city via the tube is very easy and very cheap. There isn’t a reason to take a taxi as long as you map out where you need to go. Most hotels provide tube maps for you.