On the train ride to London we made a rough plan of the day, hoping to see some new and old places. After a couple of tube rides, I raced up the stairs onto the fair city's glorious streets, incredibly thankful to once again be standing in this city I fell in love with. First, we went to Spittlefields Market, a place neither Charlotte nor I had not visited before. We had a delicious lunch and then enjoyed strolling through the covered open-air market. There were artists selling their unique pieces, t-shirt stands, food trucks, and items from around the world. A perfect place to start our day out!
Next, it was a few tube rides to Paddington Station where we went and hugged that lovable bear on Platform 1. Gemma had seen him once before, but when we got to the station, we couldn't find him anywhere. Thankfully, people were friendly and didn't find us too odd when we asked where the big bear was.
Another tube ride took us practically to the Queen's doorstep. Buckingham Palace is a site to behold standing there in all its the center of town surrounded by green parks. The flag flew at the top of the palace indicating that she was in residence at the time. We believed of course that she probably looked out the window and waved at us, but we did not see her. Nevertheless, I was excited to be "in her presence" once again.
We strolled through the parks around the palace and made our way to The Ritz. Of course the really posh people who stay at the Ritz Carlton all the time probably do not have nearly the fun that we did. They probably look elegant as they enter the doors rather than we three who took photos with the doorman and went through the revolving doors with mouths wide open in awe and wonder.
The inside of the Ritz was everything we had imagined it would be: elegantly stunning. Our first stop was to the restroom which truly deserved a visit of its own. The painted walls and lounge chairs may have actually been enough to satisfy us for the rest of the afternoon, but we decided tea was awaiting us.
We were seated at our own table elegantly set for three and quickly served by the knowledgable and proper wait staff. They brought us each our own tea pot to the flavor of our choosing then a three layer tray for us to begin our calorie fest. Finger sandwiches is the first course of all afternoon teas, and these were perfectly delightful. There were cheese and apple chutney, cucumber and dill, salmon, chicken and more all sliced into small slices. When we had had our fill with this layer of food, they brought us scones, clotted cream and jam. This has always been my favorite part of afternoon tea. Sure, clotted cream may not have a delicious ring to it, but in fact, it is something I'm sad to say we don't have much of back home. What is it? Well, that's hard to say. It is somewhere in between butter and cream. Correct. It is delicious. I devoured both of my scones quickly, trying them both ways: one with cream first and one with jam first. I'm not sure which one I liked best. Perhaps I'll have to have many more while I'm here so that I can truly distinguish which way is the best. Throughout our meal, a harpist added ambiance to the room, playing songs we recognized from films and musicals, creating the perfect atmosphere.
Cakes and sweets were saved for last, and our stomachs somehow managed to make room for at least a few more bites. Our plates on the serving piece were never empty, refilled whenever they were being spared, so it was hard to go hungry. We laughed and giggled once again, pretending to be as elegant as the setting around us, but it was truly difficult. We toasted with champagne and sipped our tea with pinkies out. We watched as people left with what appeared to be to-go boxes, which gave us quite the thrill thinking that all of the gorgeous food left on our trays would be able to go home with us. However, when we asked our waiter, he said that those boxes were birthday cakes and due to food regulations he was not allowed to send us home with food, despite Gemma's pleading. A few moments later, he brought over a box of tissues and with a smirk said, "You said you needed some tissues, right?" Any pretend elegance that we had had disappeared as we began sneaking Ritz afternoon tea food wrapped in Ritz tissues into our purses. Even though we ended up throwing away some of the treats when we got home, the laughs these events provided was well worth the trouble.
After our decadent indulgence, we moved decided to do a bit of walking on this lovely evening and strolled past some of our favorite spots in London. We walked to Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, Millineum Bridge and across the river Thames, loving the night time views of this gorgeous city.
We went up to the Shard, a tall modern building amongst so many old ones. There is a viewing booth at the top of the building that you may pay to go up to, or you may just go up to a lovely bar about half way, on the 32nd floor and enjoy a drink. We opted for the second option, enjoying toasting our fantastic day in the city with a glass of champagne.
The train ride home was a bit crowded and long due to the frequent stops, but we made it home very late this evening, full of excitement after our long, posh day our in London.
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