I pulled the pin on my next trip within a few days of returning from my Italian adventure last year. I decided on London. Don’t get me wrong, Italy was fantastic. But 3 cities in 9 days almost killed me.
London was a strange choice for me. I am not into royalty; I think the little fracas we had with Great Britain about 250 years ago proved that royalty is not very important to Americans. But I do like history. And much like Italy, England is full of history.
But the kind of history I am interested in was developed by my “Regency Romance Lover” mother.
Did you know that one of the oldest bookstores still in operation is in London? Hatchard’s bookstore was founded in 1797 and has been in continuous operation (albeit in different locations) since that time. Read any book, whether romance or general fiction, based in the 19th century and you will come across “Hatchard’s” mentioned at least once.
And did you know that one of the oldest food purveyors still in operation is in London? Fortnum and Mason still sell those tasty nibblies in the same location where they were founded in 1707. Like Hatchard’s, read any book, whether romance or general fiction, based in the 18th and 19th centuries and I can guarantee that one of the characters mentions stopping at Fortnam and Mason for one of their picnic baskets. They still sell those baskets but have kept up with the times by also offering their curated picnics in reusable cool bags. And they offer vegan options.
To prepare for my trip, I mapped out where all the places that I want to visit are located. I also mapped out Kings Cross Station (there is a Harry Potter shop at Platform 9 ¾).
Once I paid off my trip, I received my flight information. And started my research on how easy Underground transportation is to navigate. From what I understand, it is pretty easy to get around on the Underground.
Another preparation step that I wanted to revisit was my packing. For Italy, I had just 3 changes of clothes, toiletries, a camera and accessories, an e-reader, and the international charging items in a backpack with a reusable shopping bag. It was great to not need to wrangle, or worry about, check-in luggage. But….it was not so great when I was so very sick of those clothes. Fewer international travel days mean I could probably pack the same. But I changed to articles of clothing that were pretty close to their final days so that I could dispose of them guilt-free (I tend to wear clothes until they are literally full of holes).
But this is a blog about vegan living. I know you know I have the Happy Cow application on my phone and a handy dandy Vegan Travel book on my Kindle. I was also lucky enough to have the opportunity to attend a Vegan Travel conference online. There was a whole session just on where to go for vegan options in London. Oh yeah, I took notes. There are dozens of restaurants, fast food joints, and even street market stalls that only serve vegan food.
I used the Happy Cow app and was pleasantly surprised to find a pub close to the hotel. The Greyhound served some wonderful vegan options - both a veggie burger and a vegan form of cottage pie. In addition, the tour company I traveled with last year was very accommodating to vegetarians and vegans, so I made sure I noted that in my profile. The welcome dinner was a buffet with lots of veggie options and our final dinner (both dinners were included) was at a pub that offered a lentil and vegetable cottage pie. Both were very good!
So, my final words? The British Library, Churchill War Rooms, and Victoria and Albert Museum (which had a special exhibit that I wanted to see) were wonderful. Given the fact that museums in Britain have free admission (but special exhibits generally are pricey), they were not very crowded. The British Museum was incredibly crowded. I saw the two items I wanted to see and left.
Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park were very nice to visit. They are so large that it was like I was walking alone. And they are very centrally located, which makes them easy to get to no matter where you are.
The Underground was surprisingly easy to navigate. Most places I wanted to visit were right off the underground exit, others were no more than a block away. And Londoners are always happy to help a confused tourist.
I even managed a trip on the London Eye. A massive Ferris Wheel that holds up to 20 people, with a bench, on a slow circuit into the sky. The picture above is my view of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben from the London Eye.
London is very vegan-friendly and very tourist friendly. And, as the temperature never got above 75, with overcast skies, and no rain, the weather was very accommodating also.
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