Alex has been traveling a lot lately. So much so, that I can’t remember him being home for more than a night or two since the start of 2018. When he asked me to go to England with him for work I jumped at the chance to join him for a few days in the UK.

Birmingham – Alex left Monday for Manchester, England and I met him in Birmingham the following day. Once Alex got in, we decided to check out the third biggest casino in Europe conveniently located right next to our hotel. Once we lost all our money, we headed to dinner. The next day, Alex had to work all day so I decided to go to Cadbury World. I hopped on a train and headed to the factory. Right at the start of the tour I was given two full size candy bars to be enjoyed throughout the tour, another candy bar half way through and at the end, a cup of melted chocolate with a topping of your choice. By the end, I was all chocolated out (I only ate half of one of the candy bars fyi) but that didn’t stop me from stocking up at their shop. Everything was much cheaper so I couldn’t resist buying a few more candy bars (for guests maybe 😉), mini Cadbury eggs (my favorite!), and hot chocolate mix (for Alex…definitely for Alex). The next day Alex and I headed to Birmingham city where we stayed a night before heading to London. We wondered through the city stopping to enjoy a pint at a bar called Jekll and Hyde. Then before dinner we stopped at another casino (Alex is a bad influence!) where we walked away 78£ (or $105) richer.

London – We left early the next morning to go to London. It was an hour train ride from Birmingham. We checked into our hotel in Canary Wharf then headed into the city. Our first stop was the Tower of London. We walked around and joined a Beefeater tour where the guide gave us more insight into the history of the Tower of London. Then because it was pouring outside, we stopped for a pint (seems to be a theme here 🍻). Alex was super excited for the bar we stopped at because it was a secret bar. We walked into the cafe (we were told to skip the waiting line – we got a few dirty looks) and present the hostess with the password “I’m here to see the Mayor.” Luckily, (there’s always a little bit of doubt when having to use a password) he knew what we were talking about and led us straight through a secret door, which to the unsuspecting guests looked just like a fridge. We were given instructions not to go back out that same way but to use the bathroom exit instead to maintain the mystery. We were led into the basement where a small little bar was waiting for us. We ordered a cocktail and listened to each new visitor talk about entering the secret bar through a fridge. It was a lot of fun!

London Bridge!

Cocktails at the secret bar

Secret bar!

Entrance through the fridge!

The next morning we got up early and went straight to Westminster Abbey. The line didn’t look too long yet but was already a 40 minute wait (at 9:30am!) and by the time we left it was probably over 3 hours long. We slowly walked through Westminster listening to the audio guide explain the history behind the beautiful church. Afterwards, we just wondered around London for a while stopping eventually to eat at a pub in Piccadilly. Then it was time for our London Eye tour. We had booked a champagne and chocolate tasting to be included in our ride. While seeing the beautiful architecture through the glass eye of London, we got to drink champagne and sample different chocolates. Afterwards, we grabbed dinner than took the underground to our Jack the Ripper tour in London’s East End. For the next two hours we listened to the tales of Jack the Ripper and his victims of Whitechapel. It was so interesting and a little creepy more so because of the fact that, that part of town still looked the same as it did when Jack the Ripper was loose. Once the tour was over, we warmed up with a pint at a bar which had a sign on the wall saying “the death of Martha Turner marked the prelude to what became known as ‘The Autumn of Terror.’ It is believed Martha had her last drink in this establishment 3 nights later she was found with 39 stab wounds at the back of this pub.”

Westminster Abbey

Waiting to go inside

Phone booth pic!

When in London you have to!

Westminster Abbey

London Eye

Pictures on the London eye

London Eye

Champagne!

Champagne and Chocolate tasting

Enjoying a pint

Sign on the wall

The next morning we got going early to watch the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace (along with thousands of other people). Afterwards, we did the London Dungeon tour which brought us up to speed with the historical characters and events of London (Jack the Ripper, Sweeney Todd, the London Fire, the Plague etc.). We then stopped for a Sunday roast at a local pub. I ordered the chicken and Alex got lamb. It was excellent!

Changing of the Guards

Changing of the Guards

Delicious Sunday roast!

England was really fun! It was nice being able to understand what everyone was saying, eat some of the comfort food we are used to having at home (they even had Blue Moon at one of the bars and Mac and Cheese!) and spend a few uninterrupted days with my husband. Cheers London! I’m sure we will be back (actually I NEED to go back for all of the Harry Potter things want to do!)