HONEYMOON PART 1

Zack and I got married April 1, 2016 but taking our honeymoon right away wasn’t going to work out, so we postponed it a bit and finally booked it for January 2017.

7 days to explore London, Rome,
and Florence

This was my first time visiting London and Zack’s first time out of the country! With a fairly short amount of time in each place, we tried to hit the highlights:

3 DAYS IN LONDON

DAY 1
By the time we landed in London and took the Underground to our hotel, it was about 2pm. Jet lag was definitely kicking in, but we knew we couldn’t succumb, so we bundled up and headed out to explore for the evening. We made our way to Tower Bridge and wandered down the streets close to the water front and around the Tower of London until we found our way into a cozy pub. After a warm meal and a couple hard ciders, we made our way back to the hotel and crashed.

DAY 2
It was our first full day in London, and we were ready to take on the city. Our first stop was St. Paul’s Cathedral. It was breathtaking inside and out. We climbed up the dome, and I pushed Zack to his limits (several times on this trip actually. . .he’s not a fan of heights), but he made it, and the view was absolutely worth it.

On our way to lunch, we snapped a picture on the Millennium Bridge (because Harry Potter). We had Afternoon Tea at Harrods then spent the rest of the evening making our way back across the city with stops at Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and the London Eye.

DAY 3
We toured the Tower of London (highlight was definitely seeing the Crown Jewels) then took a lift to the top of the Tower Bridge where we not only got another incredible view of London, but we could walk across a glass floor that looked down onto the road and river below.

After lunch we went to King’s Cross Station to check out Platform 9 3/4 (again, Harry Potter). From there we spent the rest of our last evening in London wandering down the streets and admiring the incredible city around us.

FOOD GUIDE

Afternoon Tea
We went to The Georgian inside Harrods. Champagne, finger sandwiches, scones with the most delicious spreads (favorite: the rose petal jelly), and an assortment of desserts. . .and of course the tea!

Go to a pub
Enjoy some fish + chips, meat pies, and a few beers.

Indian food
Chicken Tikka Masala is actually London’s national dish.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Yes, London in January is cold, but we were prepared (lots of layers and hand warmers and cups on cups of hot tea). And we really lucked out with the weather. . .only one morning with a light rain. The plus side to visiting in January? It’s off-season which meant smaller crowds. Would I visit again? Absolutely. It was a beautiful city with so much more I’d love to do and see.

HONEYMOON PART 2: ROME
HONEYMOON PART 3: FLORENCE

– Courtney