UK 06: London, Part II

Friday, January 10, 2025

Today’s was another packed, busy day so we all set off from the hotel early. We took the Tube over to the Tate Modern so we could have a wander around the art museum. I always enjoy visiting the Tate Modern whenever I am in London because I find the rotating art installations in the main turbine hall to be particularly interesting. Today there was a large industrial, mechanical art display that was somewhat eerie, but also fascinating to watch. Previous displays had been interactive, so it was a bit disappointing that the current artwork was not interactive.

The four of us then walked around the various wings and floors of the museum, admiring the art on display. I find modern art to be aesthetically pleasing, for the most part, and the Tate has some fun paintings for visitors to view. Mom enjoys art museums quite a bit as well and she really enjoyed the time we had walking around the galleries. Dad’s hip started to hurt after a bit, so we found him an area where he could sit and rest while we finished exploring. Overall, we spent over an hour at the Tate Modern and it was a very pleasant way to start the day.

We then had lunch at a nearby Pret before heading to the Tube so we could go to Soho. The rest of the day would be taken up by seeing the double play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The plays are a sequel to the Harry Potter books and is broken into two parts, which are shown back-to-back on the same day (one matinee and one evening). I had last seen the plays back in 2021 and absolutely loved it! The storyline is alright, but the best part is seeing all of the illusions that they perform on stage.

Neither my parents nor Thinh were very familiar with the Harry Potter books or movies, but I assured them that it wasn’t necessary to enjoy the plays. The first part began at 14:00 and the lobby was decorated with the logos of the various houses at Hogwarts. We had very good seats in the third row of the orchestra section, close to center stage. The first play was very entertaining, and everyone was thoroughly enjoying themselves. The first play ends of a bit of a cliff-hanger in an alternate reality where Voldemort had won the war. When we exited through the lobby, the decorations had all changed and now displayed the Dark Mark in keeping with the story and theme of the play – a fun little touch on the part of the theatre.

During the two-hour break before the second play began, we walked across the street to a small pub to grab some dinner. The place was nearly empty when we arrived and we were lucky to be seated right away. While we waited for our food, the pub became very crowded! The food was traditional English pub cuisine; Thinh and I shared a sticky toffee pudding for dessert.

Returning to the theatre, Thinh bought me a Dark Mark t-shirt from the souvenir stand! I had wanted to get the shirt when I had first seen the play, but they didn’t have my size at the time. Happily they had my size tonight and Thinh was so kind to buy it for me – he always does little loving gestures like this, which is incredibly sweet. The second play began at 19:00 and we settled in to watch the finale of the show. The second half was just as good as the first. When the play ended, my parents and Thinh all said how much they had enjoyed seeing both plays today.

The four of us then took the Tube back over to the hotel so we could get some sleep.

 
Saturday, January 11, 2025

This was our last day in London (and the UK), and we had another full day planned. After meeting up with my parents in the lobby of the hotel, we took the Tube over to Westminster. I had bought us tickets to tour the Palace of Westminster today, which I was quite keen to do because I wanted to see the houses of Parliament. I was supposed to have toured Parliament several years ago, but the tour had been cancelled after an MP had been murdered by one of their constituents.

We arrived early and had to wait outside in the freezing temperature until it was finally time for us to enter. We cleared the security screenings and were then given our audio guides for the self-paced tour of Parliament. The audio commentary was quite interesting, providing just enough information without droning it on for ages. Photos were only permitted in the main entry all before being forbidden once we reached the areas around the House of Lords and House of Commons.

The Palace of Westminster is the seat of government for the United Kingdom, home to the legislature of the country which holds the true governing power. The tour route first took us through the House of Lords, which is the upper chamber of Parliament. It is in this chamber that the monarch visits during the state opening of Parliament and delivers the speech from the throne (the speech itself is written by the government and simply delivered/read by the monarch). The chamber is very nice, with row after row of red leather benches where the members sit when the house is in session. The throne where the monarch sits is elaborately decorated. In the hallways outside the house area where the members cast their votes, which we were able to see during the tour.

We then proceeded to the House of Commons, which is the lower house of Parliament. It is here that the Prime Minister governs. This chamber has green leather seats, but is very similar to the House of Lords. The throne for the monarch is replaced by a raised dais where the Speaker of the House sits to preside over debates within the House. I enjoyed getting to visit these chambers because I have seen videos of various prime ministers and debates taking place in the House of Commons over the years – I liked being able to see the place in person. Overall it was a wonderful tour of the Houses of Parliament and I was very glad that we had the opportunity to visit.

My parents, Thinh and I then took the train out to Oxford, which was only a short train journey. Once we arrived, we hopped on a bus outside of the station to head out to Blenheim Palace. The afternoon was rather foggy when we got off the bus, but it thankfully didn’t ruin our experience. We walked down the long drive to reach the palace itself, which is a massive stone building where Winston Churchill was born. The only other time I had visited Blenheim was during the Christmas season years ago, when the entire palace was decorated for the holidays. I was glad to have the opportunity to see the palace properly now without the Christmas décor.

We downloaded an audio guide on our phones to help guide us around the palace, which was again self-guided. The state rooms that are open to the public are very impressive and richly furnished. Each room had a different color theme with walls covered by dozens of paintings or massive tapestries. Mom and dad were both thoroughly enjoying the visit since they are familiar with Churchill and British history. Thinh was less interested in the history aspect of Blenheim, but he loved getting to see each of the rooms we visited. The library was my favorite room of the palace – it was massive and filling with thousands of books! We made a short stop inside the palace chapel at the end of the tour before deciding to head back to Oxford.

We took the bus back to Oxford and walked through the town a bit before hopping on the train back to London. When we reached the city, my parents returned to the hotel for the evening while Thinh and I went out to meet up with some of my friends, Brad and Zoe.

I had met Brad and Zoe during a tour of the Five Stans of Central Asia back in the summer of 2023 and we had kept in touch ever since. We’ve managed to meet up each time I’ve visited London since the tour. Brad had a short window where we could meet for dinner this evening before heading out to see a play with his long-term boyfriend. We all met at a Chinese noodle restaurant for dinner, which was packed when we arrived. Thankfully we had a reservation and didn’t have to wait long before we were seated. I introduced Thinh to both of them and we hung out for about an hour while we enjoyed our delicious meals. Zoe had brought us a fun balloon which read “Just Married” which was very kind of her.

Brad had to leave for the theatre once dinner was over, but Zoe, Thinh and I continued to hang out for a little while this evening. We wanted to find somewhere to have dessert and we ended up going to a pasta del nata place, where Thinh got a traditional pastry while both Zoe and I got the donut version of the famed Portuguese pastry. Delicious, as always! The three of us then walked over to Covent Garden, where I stopped to get some cookies at Ben’s Cookies (another place I visit each time I’m in town). Thinh and I needed to get some things from Boots, so the three of us walked over to a nearby location for a quick shopping stop. It was getting late by this point, so we all decided to head back for the night. We said goodbye to Zoe and then took the Tube back to the hotel.

Before heading to bed this evening, Thinh and I packed our bags so we could leave in the morning. Our time in the UK had flown by and we had managed to see/do so much during that time! The highlight was, of course, our wedding, but I also wanted to show Thinh all of the major sights of both Edinburgh and London. We will visit the UK again at some point in the future, so we didn’t need to see everything in the country, but we saw all of the major highlights. It was made all the more special because my parents were able to join us for the entire time in the UK. Now it was time to bid both the UK and my parents goodbye so Thinh and I could set off on our honeymoon!