THOUGHTS FROM AN AUNTIE TRAVELING WITH HER NIECE

First, let me tell you that my niece is not your typical sullen 16-year old.  She is delightful, smart, and curious about everything.  I wasn't nervous about this trip until a good friend of mine asked if I was stressed about being in charge of my niece's safety.  Umm, no, not until right now, I thought.

Last night in London - hotel splurge - loved it!

And, I really wasn't.  I'm a seasoned traveler and raised by two parents who were very safety consciousness.  I say my prayers and then try not put myself in tricky situations.  Meaning, I don't walk down dark streets, hang my purse on my chair in restaurants, stand too close to subway/tube doors, stay out too late (mostly because I'm an early to bed, early to rise girl), etc.  Of course, bad things can happen no matter what you do to take precautions, but so far so good in my travel experience.

A no agenda day in London

I looked for the least stressful way of doing things on this trip.  For instance, we flew non-stop from Phoenix to London which, while more expensive, was easier than a connecting flight.  And instead of flying to and from Paris out of London, I knew it would be less stressful and far more fun to take the train.

Nancy Mitford Plaque on Curzon Street

We also stayed at hotels which included breakfast--a huge time saver and made for an easy start to the day.

Typically when I travel, I'm all about getting up early and hitting the road.  This time I booked later trains, didn't rush through breakfast, spent one day in London and one day in Paris without an agenda.  This all helped reduce stress and tiredness.  And I wanted my niece to experience the joys of wandering through neighborhoods and parks without a schedule or plan.

James Purdey & Sons holds the Royal Warrants for guns and rifles 

My niece also needed a break from a lot of decision making, so I made a rough outline of our trip based upon her interests, and presented her with just one or two daily choices.  First trips to Europe are overwhelming so I tried to keep her her head from spinning too much!

Last night in London dinner at Rules

I booked ahead special restaurants for first and last nights in London--The Wolseley and Rules (a family favorite).  Favorite Paris restaurants were booked once we arrived in that gorgeous city (although my favorite, Cafe Constant, doesn't take reservations).

Fortnum and Mason window shopping

Last night visit to Fortnum & Mason

A joyful trip to two beautiful cities with a delightful traveling companion.  I really couldn't have asked for more.

LONDON WITH A 16-YEAR OLD - Part II

It's another beautiful London day so let's start with a walk to Kensington Palace.  I've been to London a dozen times but never toured Kensington--odd, right?

We walked from our hotel and stopped at this darling flower corner--

Passed by this cute sign....

But wait, first we need to pop in to the L.K. Bennett shop....look at those gorgeous bags!

But, I digress.  Back to the Palace.


And, voila, there she is.  Kensington Palace.

Of course, I've been to the gates of Kensington Palace, but never toured the place.

So, of we go....

       I loved the various exhibits at Kensington.  All were well put together and cleverly laid out.

             Sitting in the window sill you could hear a little audio about court gossip--very fun.

Up the King's Grand Staircase darling lanterns are posted with little characters representing the various staff members of the palace.

                       Here are a few of my favorite imaginary must-have household staff...

                                   Lady of the Bedchamber....all around assistant to the Queen

                             The Chocolate Maker...every home/palace needs one of those, right?

                                                   The Hairdresser...an absolute must.

                                                                   Loved this clock!

                  Aren't these silhouettes a pretty way to discourage people from getting too close?

                   Snapped this pic through the window--crowns atop all of the outside lanterns.

                         My niece noted that the UK has much cooler restroom signs than we do.

                Back outside for a bit of a stroll...

Always a bench photo...

And this is the only picture I took of the Victoria and Albert Museum--we had lunch outdoors after touring the pearl exhibit.  I was not on my picture-snapping game!  But nice to prove there was a bit of blue in the patchwork skies.

We were then off up the street to Harrod's and had dinner at a pub for more fish and chips. I wore a pedometer on this trip (always say I'm going to and never remember to grab the pedometer, this time I did)--we averaged around 22,000 steps a day.  Probably the reason we slept so great every single night.

         Here is what greeted us in our pretty hotel lobby at St. Ermin's.  So many little details.

                             
The tea room at St. Ermin's--I regret we didn't take the time to have afternoon tea.  But we shall return!

And this, my friends, are the beehives kept by the hotel to produce delicious St. Ermin's honey, which we had at breakfast.  Isn't this the coolest?  One of the staff members took us on a little tour of the hotel and then brought us to the rooftop to see their beehives.  Love this.  Perfect hotel for our trip.

LONDON WITH A 16-YEAR OLD - Part I

It is absurd and I have no excuse.  For my darling niece's 16th birthday I took her on a ten day trip to London and Paris.  Last October.  As in seven months ago.  Can you believe that I did not post about this magical trip immediately upon our arrival home? Me, neither. I'm in the mood to relive this trip so I think a few posts are in order.

Let me tell you, it is so fun to go to London with someone who has never been before.  You get to relive all that first-time-to-London excitement--it is contagious!  This trip was about hitting all the obvious places and at least one new stop for me (both in London and Paris).

My niece thought everything was a blast from the long lines to clear immigration to the "mind the gap" at the tube stations and even loved the two measly ice cubes floating in her soda.


We arrived mid-afternoon--first stop was to check-in at our hotel, St. Ermin's.  We loved this hotel!  Friendly staff, pretty lobby and breakfast rooms, nice touches throughout (which I will show more of later) and the location was perfect for this trip.

                                              A little vanilla fudge upon our arrival.

                                          When do you ever find double beds in London?



Now, off around the corner to Westminster Abbey for Evensong....

Then around the corner for Big Ben and the House of Parliament....

And then around the corner for fish and chips....

                                                   This cute girl knew she was in London!

Then a quick dash over to the National Gallery and a quick peek at St. Martin in the Fields ending with dessert in the crypt--she really thought that was neat.

And finished the night overlooking Trafalgar Square.

Oddly, on this trip I took most of our pics with my iPhone--even though I had a fabulous camera in my bag.  Don't know why, really.  I won't do that again.

Dark clouds loomed throughout our trip but we only had about a day and a half of rain--not bad for  London/Paris in October.

After three and half hours at the Tower of London I had to drag my niece away so that we could get to the Churchill War Rooms (like me, she loves history) and then over to Buckingham Palace to meet up with some friends of mine who are living just outside of London.

                             After another good night's sleep, we were on to the next stop.

                                   Of course, we had to do the London Eye--perfect day for it!

                                                                      Crystal. Clear.
         

                    We are both fans of Sherlock Holmes so a stop at the museum was in order.
Lunch at the Wolseley (no pic, what's up with that?)--and then just down the street for her first visit to Fortnum and Mason.  She loved it!  She is definitely staying in my will, now.

                                                    Bought some of that yummy honey...

and took home a jar of damson preserves from the Highgrove Estate of HRH Prince of Wales.

And if you are at Fortnum and Mason you might as well walk on over to Liberty, right?

My niece loved this place, too.  And, for once, I was at Liberty for a sale--hooray for that! So, I bought a scarf and a few other fun little items.

          Put your glasses away, it's not you.  It's a horribly blurry picture but look at all of those gorgeous Christmas crackers!

                           Back to the hotel we go--not the grand entrance but a pretty side door.