Heading down to London is always cause for celebration, even when it means getting up at 5.30am. Unfortunately with no station anywhere near us, we have to make the half hour journey over to Lichfield to catch the train. So on a dark but mild morning in late September we set off to catch the 7.10am train to Euston. Luckily our train was on time and we were soon whizzing off to our glorious capital city. By 8.25am we were there and making our way to Tower Hill. How could we not start the day with breakfast at the Coppa Club. Its one of our favourite places, and as it was a mild morning we just had to sit outside in one of the riverside cabanas. The view is unrivalled, with Tower Bridge to your right, and HMS Belfast and The Shard just behind you. They also serve the most delicious waffles, covered in crème fraiche, mixed berries, honey and bee pollen. Tastes like summer on a plate.
After breakfast we took a walk to Allhallows by the Tower, the oldest church in England. It was established in 675ad. The church is well worth a visit and has a very interesting museum in the crypt, which is also home to part of an original Roman road dating back to the 2nd century. Its all free too!
Next stop was Sky Garden. I love the fact you an visit this place for free. We had been pre-warned that there could be a long wait to get in due to refurbishment work currently in progress. We were lucky, it only took about 15 minutes, despite quite a long queue outside. You have to clear airport style security to gain access to the lifts that whisk you up to the 35th floor. And they really do whisk you up incredibly fast. When the lift doors open and you walk out, the view you're met with is amazing. From the observation deck you can see across London, on one side the London Eye and the Tate Modern and on the other Tower Bridge and in the distance Canary Wharf. It is truly breath taking. As you look down you'll be amazed at how common roof top gardens are becoming. Above the streets of London there really is a whole other world, one that a lot of people will never see. We spent about an hour and a half at the Sky Garden, we had coffee, enjoyed the view and took lots of photo's and it was with reluctance that we finally left.
Our next stop was Leicester Square, the place was buzzing as always. We perched ourselves on a wall and ate our lunch - sandwiches from Tesco's - and did some people watching. An urban picnic in the West End is an experience! Then finally it was time to head to the Prince Edward theatre to see Aladdin! We were both really looking forward to this and we weren't disappointed. It was excellent, very sparkly and colourful, and undoubtedly Disney. The highlight of the show was the magic carpet scene where Jasmine and Aladdin sail across the night sky. Amazing, and we still can't work out how they did it. There can only be one answer - it really was a flying carpet. The show is awesome and I am so glad we went to see it. We had cheap seats and were expecting a slightly restricted view, however this wasn't the case at all.
After the show we had a walk through China Town, so colourful and vibrant. Not to mention crowded and noisy, ha ha. We bought some little cakes shaped like fishes that were made from a custard style batter - delicious! Wish we had bought more! But we were on our way to dinner at Ruby Blue. Great choice for a theatre menu, lovely food and very generous portions. The staff are friendly and the place just had a nice ambience. We enjoyed our dinner and chatting about the wonderful day we'd had. And to celebrate I had a cocktail - a Pornstar Martini with a Prosecco shot. It was so good! Sadly the day was fast drawing to an end, we had just time for a walk around Leicester Square and a visit to M&M World and Little Britannia before heading back to Euston. We were too early for our train so we visited the Doric Arch for a drink. Love this cosy pub just outside the station. The staff are friendly and it has a nice atmosphere. It was hard saying goodbye to the city, but alas at 8.30pm are train left on time and we headed home. Long day, but a truly amazing one.
