We left Orlando on Friday afternoon and flew to Miami, then on to Heathrow. We had upgraded across the pond, so we were able to enjoy the American Airlines lounges along the way. Once we got to London and checked into our Marriott, we hit the ground running on seeing the sites. Dana had it all planned out, including shows, bars, and places that served vegan desserts. It was very well organized, yet we did mix things up from time to time. She was a great tour guide and getting around the city was easy because of her and the Underground.

TRAVEL AND LondoN Days 1 & 2

Billy from AbD was our chauffeur to the airport on Friday afternoon. We enjoyed the AAdvantage Lounge at MCO before the short flight down to Miami. There, we enjoyed their AA Flagship Lounge, where they had a free wine bar and some appetizers that we turned into our dinner. We then boarded the flight to LHR, where we had nice lay-down seats in American’s business class.

BACK TO EUROPE

10/11/24—10/21/24

We landed about 9:30 in the morning. It took us a little while to go through Customs and find a ride to the Marriott. Once we got settled, though, we took the Underground and went to The Shard. We had a sushi hot dog, then went to the viewing platform on Floor 69 of the tallest building in London. From there, we saw the Thames, Elizabeth Tower, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Tower Bridge, and even the Battersea Power Station from the Pink Floyd Animals album. Luckily we saw it all before the rain came.

The rain didn’t last too long, so we came down from The Shard and walked across Millennium Bridge to St. Paul’s Cathedral. The Anglican church was completed in 1710.

We then went to The Chocolate Cocktail Club and had some wonderful drinks. Madeline and I walked back to the hotel while Dana went to visit some friends.

After a good night sleep, we woke and walked to the nearby Regent’s Park, where we stood on Primrose Hill to get a good panorama of London. We had a quick breakfast in the Park and then took the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus to get to our next stop, but a marathon that morning messed up the trip.

Our stop was the Royal Mews at Buckingham. The Mews included horses and a number of royal carriages, including one for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth. We then walked around to the front of Buckingham Palace and down The Mall. We continued on foot to Brigit’s Bakery and had some lunch and vegan dessert.

Lunch took a little longer than expected, so Dana had to eat and run to catch her first musical, Why Am I So Single? Madeline and I got to enjoy our dessert before we walked down to see our show, Back To The Future. After both matinees were over, we went to the Sky Garden on the 36th floor of 20 Fenchurch Street. Again, Dana planned almost all of these things well ahead of time (with my executive approval) and our reservation at the fine dining establishment was perfect to enjoy a great meal and get a good view for the end of the day.