I think we are finally on London time! We awoke this morning and headed down to the “Breakfast Basement” at our hotel where we had the option of coffee or tea, orange juice, and ham & tomato or hard-boiled eggs, or a fried egg, bacon, and beans. Having tried the beans yesterday and not liking them Nathan and I opted for fried egg, bacon, and no beans. Delicious and free traditional English breakfast- check! Just another perk at our Victoria hotel, Luna Simone.

After our hearty breakfast we set out to see St. Paul’s Cathedral- something we skipped on Monday because of the fog. Arriving at the Cathedral around 10am we set out to climb the dome first. Hundreds of stairs later we arrived at the tip-top of St. Paul’s Dome with jaw-dropping views of London. So glad we skipped this during the fog and waited for God to do his thing and drop down some sunshine! Definitely worth the climb and cost (sidenote: buy the travelcard from a National Rail station and get the 2for1 offers at various London attractions- we are saving over $100 using this method and the weeklong travelcards for both of us only cost around $86!)

Next stop: Westminster! Arriving at Westminster Underground station we set out on Westminster Bridge to get some awesome shots and views of Parliament and Big Ole Ben. A little bit surreal to see some of London’s iconic sights! Onward to Westminster Abbey where we did not have a 2for1 ticket, but the price was still worth it. The included audio guide on this tour was a lifesaver and so informative! It really detailed what we were seeing and gave more history than we would have gotten otherwise. While there I kept trying to imagine where the 100s (1000s?) of people were seated during William and Kate’s wedding- I’ll have to do a google image search…

Onward to lunch at Westminster Arms- a small pub that after we had eaten there noticed that our Rick Steve’s guide book suggested eating there before going to the Cabinet War Rooms- which is exactly what we did! We split an order of fish and chips and a coke. Delish!

The Cabinet War Rooms were surprisingly awesome. I was unsure about doing this sight/museum, but once I realized that it focused on Winston Churchill during WWII I knew it was something Nathan would love, he’s got a thing for that era… (We also had another 2for1 coupon here!) Again, make sure and pick up the included audio guide- so great to get background details on the bunker/bomb proof spaces that Churchill strategized WWII from.

After learning a lot about the UK during WWII we headed over to Trafalgar Square to get some touristy pictures with the lions and tour the well known artists in The National Gallery (free). I adore Monet so of course we hit those paintings up along with some Rembrandt, Da Vinci (we actually got to see The Last Supper from a distance- crazy awesome!), Michaelangelo, Raphael, (typing this out makes me want to watch some TMNT), Van Gogh, and Renoir. We did kind of zoom through this museum, at this point in the day we were pretty museumed out.
All afternoon I was pretty darn excited because I was taking Nathan to see Wicked for the first time that night!!! (I’ve seen it in NYC with Jessica before After the Gallery we headed back to the Luna Simone for a little rest break and to get fancied up for dinner and the theatre.

On to Bumbles we went where we ordered a bottle of Gewurztraminer (yum, one of my faves!) and we each ordered the 10 pound special 3-course meal. I got soup, pork, and brownie for dessert. Nathan got salad, fish and chips, and vanilla ice cream. Bumbles was highly recommended on the Trip Advisor board and I agree. Their customer service was excellent, food delicious, and the price just right.

Wicked was fantastic! It was different hearing the British accent from the actors, but it seemed to add a bit more class. I didn’t really like the actor that played Glenda the good witch in comparison to the New York version of Glenda. Her tone of voice and her acting in general just didn’t compare. Alphaba on the other hand was fantastic. Either way, everyone on stage had amazing talent in the singing department- wow- just wow.

Gotta wrap this up now, we’re heading out to Windsor Castle tomorrow!!!