Travel After Divorce

There are few trips that can give you the experience of a vacation full of comfort and happiness the way that London does. For the two of us it was a short jump over the Atlantic Ocean and a little more than 6 hours later we were landing in Europe. The perfect 4 nights 5 days where we got to see and experience a ton of new culture.

AIRPORT AND FLIGHT

As usual our train ride into the airport consisted of sipping delicious cocktails and working out way to the counter. We were sent to a line for Jet Blue Customer Service due to my status while flying and were pleased to see it moving along pretty quickly at 530AM on a Saturday morning. Being greeted by one of the friendliest workers in the airport was something that neither one of us expected, but were pleased once we were checked in and on our way to security.

As I previously mentioned, spend the extra money to get TSA Pre-Check. We were flying international, and amazed to realize how quick we got through to the terminal and at our gate. A few drinks later and it was time to go on board a spacious A330 Aircraft.

Once at your seat (even in coach), there are big TV Monitors for entertainment. Free internet the entire flight. You are given a little convenience kit and also your own blanket for every seat! The TV Screen welcomes you by name and then prompts you through the options for you to select your own custom meal. By the time we were airborne, it was clear that Jet Blue does international very well. Besides the comfort we were experiencing, the cocktails were perfect on board (as each one came with 2 mini bottles), and the food was actually pretty great!

HEATHROW AIRPORT AND TRANSPORTATION

One very important thing to consider when traveling to London is the method that you pick to get to and from the airport. I would highly recommend the second most expensive (besides UBER), and go with the Heathrow Express train. We received a coupon code on board the flight, and for only 40 pounds we were on an express 15 minute train to the middle of London. Heathrow airport is pretty large and by the time we made the walk to the baggage area, we had both suitcases in hand and headed for the train.

The train ride leaves you right in Paddington Station where you can connect to just about any tube stop in the city. Being that we were not familiar with the Subways yet, we decided to walk the 14 minutes from Paddington station to Marble Arch where we were staying. Altogether this method of getting from the airport had us walking into our hotel door in less than 1 hour after landing!

THE HOTEL, WHICH IS REALLY A CLUB

Due to my profession my beautiful girlfriend and I are members of an exclusive club which is much more than a hotel. Upon entering the front door I was blown away by the elegance of the front lobby. Presenting my membership card was all I had to do to get my hands on the key to our British hotel experience. Opting for the slightly more expensive room was an amazing choice as we arrived on the 4th floor.

The spacious room had a nice sized queen bed (no pun intended), a large enough flat screen TV, and the bathroom was small, but had a full shower with a bathtub. We were both hungry being on the plane for so long, and after packing important items in the room safe, we were headed where we knew the food was good…McDonalds of course!

Some other amazing assets of the club location where we were staying is that it also has a very fancy looking restaurant and a very very fancy pub that stays open later than other bars/pubs in the area. Every night we would find ourselves sipping a few cocktails in front of the warm fireplace, and playing cards. We probably looked like a couple of uncivilized “yankees”, but as long as I was next to the love of my life, who really cares!

DAY ONE- SIGHTSEEING TIME!

At the start of day one there was one location that I remembered from a previous trip that I wanted to see. There is a location in Hyde Park where throughout history, people gathered to argue any events of the day from politics to religion. In the past there was a lot of laughter there with my family, but unfortunately its faded since then as nobody showed up. Still, it was nice to walk around the environment of this park holding hands and taking it all in. It wasn’t long until we were on our way to attempt to ride the London Underground.

Taking out the tube map that my father leant me, I figured once we got inside and down the long escalator, I would be able to figure out what stops will connect to other trains to get us to our destination. I was completely amazed at how easy it is to navigate the city with no location ever taking us more than 15 minutes and 2 trains to get to. The other aspect that we noticed in comparison to New York is the comfort of the trains with the padded cloth seats, the cleanliness of the stations/trains, and the constant frequency the trains hit the stations. Using the London Underground was cheap and pleasant.

TOWER OF LONDON, TRAFALGAR SQUARE, PICCADILLY CIRCUS

The day started at one of my favorite historic London sites, the Tower of London. The minute we paid our way in, we joint a tour group that was just getting started. An actual Beefeater starts out where the moat of the complex used to be, and starts telling of the gory history throughout the kingdom over the course of history. Making your way through a site that has been in place since the 1500’s was really awe inspiring to say the least.

The tour ended and before we knew it we were touring through a museum and face to face with the Crown Jewels. It really sucks that they don’t let you take any type of pictures in this section, but its understandable for security why the site would want to keep security at the highest level.

After leaving we found ourselves walking through all of the historic sites that seem to be right next to each other. Trafalgar Square with its giant statues and pigeons flying around, led us straight to Piccadilly Circus where we got to take the touristy pictures that would last a lifetime. At one point we were considering eating at one of the Irish Pubs called “The lamb and Flag”, but there was a British football (soccer) game on, and the place was packed out. Once the day was coming to an end, it was time to visit one of the local restaurants for my favorite late night snack.

SCHWARMA AND AND THE LEBANESE NEIGHBORHOOD

No matter what anyones opinion is on cultures, due to my past experiences overseas, I absolutely love any type of Arabic food. After our first night I caught a glimpse of a local Schwarma restaurant which was packed wall to wall with patrons. After a night out at the pub I found myself grabbing a pita full of deliciousness and headed back to our hotel room. My beautiful girlfriend didn’t know what to expect, but after the smell of the Lamb and Chicken hit her, it was only a matter of time until she needed a bite. Another food introduced to the love of my life!

CHANGING OF THE. GUARD!

Unlike the treatment the military receives in America, the British Military is looked upon to the highest standards. That next morning after another quick breakfast, it was a short tube ride away and we were front and center at Buckingham Palace. After about 30 minutes of waiting, in the distance the sounds of a marching band could be heard. As the noise and anticipation grew with every second, it wasn’t long until the fanfare was right in front of us. It’s always unbelievable to see the extent the British military goes to for such an amazing ceremony. Its even more amazing that the unit in charge of guarding the king does this ceremony 4 times a week!! We asked a policeman where the horse guards were stationed for pictures, and walked in the direction of the British Parliament area is.

After realizing we walked a little too far we came face to face with the back of a nice looking pub called “The Horse Guardsman”, so we knew we were at least close. Now that it was mid-day, we both agreed we were a little hungry so decided “why not”. The inside of this Pub didn’t disappoint us in any way. On the wall was a GIANT oil painting of horses and beautiful scenery. The pint of local beer called “London pride” was the perfect temperature, and the food we ordered was the perfect portion size. A few drinks later, and we were on the hunt for the horse guards which we found very quickly. A long round of pictures and it was on to one of my favorite museums in the world.

THE IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM

From the second we came above ground from the tubes we were met with countless adorable pubs lining the streets. A short 5 minute walk later we were staring at the great 15 inch guns in front of the Imperial War Museum. I didn’t know why, but I remembered the last time I went to this museum I was blown away. This would be my third visit, and just as I remembered I was not disappointed.

Walking in with the love of my life, we realized we again fell for our biggest mistake. When it comes to the two of us going to a museum, we never give ourselves enough time to get through the entire building. With a mixture of time being limited due to being on vacation, and a feeling that we will one day return to again go through it, my girlfriend picked an exhibit that interested her, and we focused on that.

The vast amount of items in this Museum isn’t the only reason why it takes so long to get through. There seems to be some form of interactive media or object at every turn making a short trip through World War One a 45 minute ordeal. We make it through WWI and then through the Holocaust exhibit and we’re already fatigued. I decided it was not time to make our way to one of the cute pubs we saw along the walk to the museum. Spending time in that local pub was just what was needed after a long day of sightseeing. It was on the way back to the hotel when my girlfriend saw a sign that said “Stonehenge tour” and then she said “wait, where is it located, I always wanted to see that”. One quick google search later and the tickets were booked for the following day.

The other place that I have to mention was the restaurant we found. At first we found ourselves in a Pizza Hut and knew something was wrong when we saw the menu. I told the love of my life that I have no problem spending money, but 40 pounds for one pizza seemed a little bit much. We were in a tourist trap and decided to leave. I would rather spend 100 pounds on a good dinner where we can enjoy each other’s company.

SPAGHETTI HOUSE

We found a little bodega type shop which had wine for us to take to our room. After we rounded the corner there was a wooden sign hanging over the sidewalk that simply said “spaghetti house”. After one look into the window it was a no brainer that this is where we were going to eat that night. The waiter was really friendly, and after one look at the menu we both knew what we were going to get. I had the Bolognese and my girlfriend had some other pasta dish. A glass of wine each, and the food was at our table. It’s very rare that the emotion of almost shock after eating a bite of food happens, but after one bite I knew this was the best pasta I have ever had. It’s also safe to say that it cost the same amount to eat at this restaurant than it did for Pizza Hut.

After we got back to the room that night while sitting in our room, I looked up the location of good irish pubs in the area. Convinced that we should walk the 15 minutes along Hyde park, we made our way to a beautiful old building in a trendy looking part of the city. Staying open later until 10, we sat in this dimly lit space from the 1600s and go ourselves ready for the adventure awaiting us the following morning.

STONEHENGE

Few things we can do in our new found happiness can compare with seeing one of the wonders of the world. On that beautiful day in February, it was time to make memories that would last a lifetime. We woke up early and we made the decision that going to Stonehenge was far too important to miss, so we took a black cab directly to the bus stop. Being really early we explored the area and found our faithful “Pret a Manger” coffee spot to start our morning.

After getting back to the bus stop it was a short 10 minutes later when it arrived. The nicest thing was that I gave my name, and then was handed a bag full of snacks and water for our hour long trip! This was totally worth the price for the tickets, not to mention we smuggled on a few bottles of wine for our journey.

The bus driver couldn’t have been any better with the amazing stories and explanations he was giving as we made our way out of busy London into the countryside. We both took a very short nap and then were propped by the driver to start looking out the windows on the right side of the bus. Then in the distance was the most breathtaking site. Even seeing pictures of Stonehenge do it little justice, as we found ourselves smiling from ear to ear with excitement.

Getting off the bus, we were directed to a visitor center and then made our way to the museum section. There was plenty to see and of course plenty to speculate about as nobody has an answer to how this marvel got constructed. Outside of the center there are three huts that were constructed to show the way that the original inhabitants of the area lived. To our surprise in the third hut there was volunteers standing around to give out historic information and had an actual fire pit going in the middle of the hut. It was then that we directed our attention to the bus stop that takes us to “the stones”.

Getting on the bus for a quick 3 minute ride had us both filled with anticipation. Being right at Stonehenge after seeing it in pictures your entire life was surreal for both of us. We were dropped off and after a 30 foot walk we were marveling at the size and layout of this wonder of the world. I think we must have taken about 50 photos of us doing all sorts of poses. We even took the time to take funny pictures of the tourists around us and also the sheep in a nearby field. Words can’t really describe what its like standing at this place.

After a while we realized that we got all the pictures we needed, and now it was time to make our way back to the visitor center. Of course we walked through the overpriced gift shop and bought nothing. Then we decided to grab a cup of tea and wait for the departure time of our bus. Once back on board, it was a quick nap and we were back in the center of London!

It was time for us to go souvenir shopping and make our way back to the hotel pub fireplace for another evening of playing cards and making each other laugh. I continue

That last night was spent relaxing and getting ourselves ready for the flight home. Even though we had 3 full days of sightseeing and exploring, there is still so much more that we want to experience on our next visit. I can already tell you that there will be about 6 months of research into the outer towns around London. I think its time that we spend time with the locals in little pubs around the main city.

I hope that if you got to this point that you understand just how amazing of a time we had going over to Europe. The trip cost very little, and it was very easy to get there. Now that it’s been 3 years together I can honestly say, it’s not the actual destination that matters to either of us. What matters is that we found the love of our lives and even if was in an empty room we could entertain ourselves and laugh. Its a total perk that we get to travel the way we do, and to think that this is only the beginning!

Travel well, and we will see you on the next adventure!

-S