On Saturday, October 4th, my mom woke up with a bit more pep in her step. She was still not 100%, but she felt good enough to do the Tower of London tour we had booked for the morning. (I probably would have done this solo if she wasn’t up to it, since it was close to the hotel and only a few hours.)
We had breakfast at the hotel. I didn’t eat much, as I felt a little queasy and started to worry I was getting sick, too! But the queasiness went away after a few hours. After breakfast, we walked over to the Tower of London for the tour. We got to walk the iconic Tower Bridge on our way over, which was great!
We met with our tour group, which was mostly Americans. The Tower of London has such a fascinating history! There have been a lot of beheadings and killings of traitors on those grounds—who knew?! Plus, it’s been the residence of many kings, and the current King of England could decide to live there if he wanted. Right now, it’s mostly home to all of the Beefeaters, aka guardians of the Tower, and the Crown Jewels. The tour guide mentioned you can sometimes see cats roaming around the Tower grounds because many of the Beefeaters have pets, but alas, I did not see any. 🙁
After a tour around the exterior of the tower, we were finally let in to see the Opening Ceremony. We were part of a few other small tour groups, and one of the Beefeaters came out to greet us and give us more history of the Tower, what a Beefeater’s job entails, and why they do the Opening Ceremony every day (they also do a Closing Ceremony at the end of the day). And then we got to see the procession of guards who essentially “opened” the Tower for the day. There was a little, “Huh. So that was it?” to the whole thing, so I don’t know if it’s 100% necessary to see it if you tour the Tower of London, but would probably be much cooler for younger kids to see.
(It was so underwhelming to us that after we toured the Crown Jewels, we were taking a break on a bench and my mom asked, “So where do we go to see the Opening Ceremony?” LOL.)
We got early access to see the Crown Jewels, which was actually insane. Like, I got to see the largest diamond ever? And actual coronation outfits? And the crowns that the royals wore?! With my own eyeballs?! That’s so wild. No pictures are allowed in the Crown Jewels so you’ll just have to take my word for it, but it was an incredible experience and… as our inside joke goes, worth it.
After a tour through the Crown Jewels, we could walk around the Tower grounds for a bit if we wanted. Unfortunately, I woke up on Saturday with the worst sciatica I’ve had in ages. Because let’s just add more ailments to my list, why don’t we?! I had been sleeping on my stomach more often during this trip because it felt better for the upper back pain I was experiencing, but that meant more pressure on my lower back, and hence, sciatica. And while my mom was willing to walk around more if I wanted to, I needed to get off my feet. So we left and headed back to the hotel.
We were hanging out in the lobby of the hotel, playing on our phones, and I decided to do some research on other things we could do in London today. Our original plan was a pub tour, but my mom didn’t feel up to doing that (beers + nausea is apparently not a great combo?!) so it was time to pivot! I gave her a few options, like doing the river cruise and strolling around the city, visiting a museum, or finding a theatre show to attend that evening. I was surprised when she chose the show!
So, we booked tickets to see Wicked at the Victoria Apollo Theatre, and then I booked us a reservation at a nearby restaurant for dinner. Woohoo!
We took it easy for the rest of the afternoon, napping and reading in the room, and then got ready for our fun night out.
First, we had dinner at The Alchemy Bar, which was within walking distance of the theatre. We had our typical fare for dinner—a burger for me, chicken fingers for my mom. We are very sophisticated diners, I know. (They served her dish in a chicken-shaped wire basket!) I also decided to get a drink at dinner because they had a bunch of fun drinks that would fizz and smoke and change colors. The drink came with a syringe with an extra shot of… something?! I added it to the drink and it was very yummy!
And then it was time for WICKED! Here’s where I admit that before seeing this play, I knew nothing about the story of Wicked. I haven’t had any desire to see the movie. I’m just not much of a theatre girl, so it never occurred to me to learn more about it. But also – that meant I went into this play with no expectations and blind optimism that this would be a fun experience.
We got great seats at the theatre, especially since we booked at the last minute, and I was enraptured by this performance. The performers were insanely talented and I couldn’t take my eyes off Elphaba for anything. She was so dynamic and the perfect casting. I was in tears at the end of the play because it was just such a beautiful story, and man, what a great performance!
In the cab on the way back to the hotel, I texted Bri to tell her I got it. She is my theatre girlie who has seen so many shows and just wants everyone to love theatre as much as she does (without pushing her obsession on anyone). And now I understand. I get it. I understand why people love the theatre so much. WHO KNEW?!
Anyway, that was our Saturday! We got to do some fun London things and I am very appreciative that my mom was feeling better and able to get out and enjoy London again.
Looks like a great day!! We didn’t do a show in London as we have been to quite a few with the boys already (in NYC and also just touring shows that come to us locally) so we didn’t prioritize that, but I totally think it would have been a super fun night out! Glad your mom was feeling better. I really enjoyed the Tower of London too. The Beefeaters gave such a great tour! We didn’t do the opening ceremony as we are not usually “get there first thing in the morning” people, lol.
How fun! It looks like a great day. The Tower is so cool – that is where Anne Boleyn was beheaded. I am anxious to see the Crown Jewels as well. I am a big follower of the British royal family so I will be so excited when we go!
Glad you were able to pivot so much on your trip and that you enjoyed the theatre! What a great experience to see it in London!
You are going to LOVE the Tower of London – especially the Crown Jewels. It’s a stunning collection.
I love that you went in to see Wicked without any expectations, and it blew you away. That’s the best when things take you by surprise like that! I haven’t seen the show, but I really enjoyed the movie and would like to see the show someday.
Done well, live theatre is mind-blowing. I have never seen Wicked live (or the movie), but my kids are obsessed and I think I’ll take them to the next instalment in a few weeks when it comes out.
Vacations are always like that: there’s something that sounds incredible that’s underwhelming and then there are always hidden gems we haven’t planned on doing that end up being highlights of the trip!
I went to the Tower of London during my 2001 spring break trip to visit a friend that was studying abroad. It was one of the most memorable things we did – but we did not see the opening ceremony! We took a bunch of silly pictures with the canons and other weapons and 2 20-year old girls are wont to do. The crown jewels were amazing. I will definitely go back to the Tower of London on a future trip to London (which would not happen until our kids are much older…).
I am so glad you enjoyed Wicked! I was supposed to see it in Des Moines, IA probably 10+ years ago with Iowa Amber (do you remember her??!) but then I got sick and overwhelmed with work travel and had her give my ticket to someone else. I have not seen the movie (too long! and it’s only the first half of the musical!!). I think I would enjoy seeing the live production, though. I love theater but the productions get rather long for me. So my theater of choice is our local children’s theater where the productions tends to last a max of 2 hours including an intermission! I guess I have the theater attention span of a child… But I have see Les Mis twice – once in London during that spring break trip! And it was worth it!
London would be a fantastic trip with the boys when they’re a bit older! Also – we were in a tour group with two Minnesota Vikings fans who had traveled there for the game. They also went to Ireland since the Vikings played there the week before. What a cool thing to do, huh?!
I remember Iowa Amber – I think I still follow her on IG!
Once again, loving these recaps. Too funny about the non-especially ceremonial ceremony. I hope to go to London in the next few yrs and will remember these tips! Glad your mom felt a little better, and awesome job pivoting on the fly to book dinner and a show! I don’t consider myself a “theater person” necessarily but I’ve seen probably a dozen+ musicals/plays including a handful on Broadway over the yrs (and a ton of movie adaptations) so maybe I actually am? There is something kind of old-fashioned and earnest/pure about live theater (even if/when it is also a little cheesy, imo at least!). I also usually tear up at some point bc of the immediacy and beauty of it. (And in fact just about lost it/stifling sobs etc. during a rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from Carnival earlier this year at a Broadway revue type show… the fact that I booked tickets to that yet again suggests I *am* actually theater person maybe lol…).
A show in London is 1000000x better than a beer thing, I’m SO glad you pivoted so amazingly well!
I am not a theater person either, I have seen a handful of musicals, and Wicked is the only one I LOVED. LOVED. So good. I’m so glad that you went! (I know, I said that already…but I’m SO GLAD!)
LOL at the chicken basket, that’s cute. The syringe of something is cute too.
That’s so cool that you did something totally unplanned and loved it so much! Sounds like a really interesting day overall. But, arg! You sciatica picked this moment to act up??? On top of your mom’s stomach bug??? Do I dare hope that you both woke up the next day feeling much better? I guess I’ll find out soon…
Oh, the Tower Bridge – I think it’s so cool (I’ve seen it once, but I didn’t get the tour and all the history!). And I love that you got to see a show! I love theater (although I haven’t been in a while) and I am glad you changed your mind a bit about it.
I love Wicked! I have seen it 4 times (Chicago twice and Madison twice). This trip looks SO FUN
I am glad you managed to get back out and explore London.
We stayed in a hotel right next to the Tower and we never went inside.
Oooo the Crown Jewels experience sounds so cool! Totally worth it 😉 I am so glad you enjoyed Wicked so much! Do you think you will watch the movie now? I tried to watch it last week and just couldn’t do it LOL
I’m not sure! I’m not a huge Ariana Grande fan so that’s turning me off, lol.
I love how you were both so open to doing something – and especially something that was so new to you! I would have just stayed in at the hotel, holed up with a book, LOL. I’m glad your mom rebounded enough to enjoy your time in London. Being ill on a trip is the *worst*. (And when we meet, I will tell you my story about the Tower Bridge…it’s family lore. ;>)