How to Visit London on a Layover

{This is a guest post by Elsa Bearden, Abby's one and only adorable sister.} 

I was ecstatic to visit my sister Abby, the beautiful author of this blog, in Cyprus, and overjoyed when I found out we'd have an eight hour layover in London. So we prepped for our London adventure, and busted out of Heathrow to visit the city. Read below for some tips on planning your layover in London! 

Plan ahead of time. Know what sights you want to see first, and be realistic about how many things you will be able to see. See how far apart the attractions are from each other, and know where they are in the city! Also, make sure you know the entrance fees for the places you choose to visit. We chose Big Ben/London Eye (photo shoot only), the British Museum, and Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Railway Station. We chose only 3 or 4 exhibitions at the museum to save on time (don't worry, we saw the Rosetta Stone) and didn't stand in line for the picture at the platform. Hogwarts was going to have to wait until next time! 

Decide on transportation. The Heathrow Express is a train that takes you from the airport to Paddington Station in London in 15 to 20 minutes. This is a major time saver. You can reserve a round trip ticket online ahead of time for a slightly reduced fee. We bought our tickets at the airport once we cleared customs, and paid 35 pounds each. Also, a day pass for the tube (subway) was 12 pounds and can be purchased there at Paddington Station. With your day pass, you can take the tube anywhere in London. 

Grab that city map the nice airport employee is trying to hand you after you've landed at Heathrow. This was of great use in figuring out which lines we should take on the tube as well as to give us an idea of where we were going on foot!

Store your luggage. You don't want to be bogged down by your carry-on while trying to snap that perfect picture of Big Ben!  Instead, leave it at the Excess Baggage Company. For 10 pounds per bag you can store your luggage here while you're out lunching on fish and chips. Yum! 

Keep an eye on the time. Know how long it will take to get from your last London attraction back to the tube, back to the Heathrow Express, and (finally) back through security at the airport. Or, if you decide on different transportation, be sure to plan accordingly. 

Budget. Even though we only spent a few hours in the city, this turned out to be a pricey adventure, and we didn’t budget as much as we should have. Check the conversion rates before you go, and know how much you want to spend ahead of time.

Most importantly, have fun and don't be afraid to look like a tourist...snap those pictures! (Just not with a selfie stick!) We had a great time, even if it was only for a few hours. Do you have any tips for those long London layovers? Leave a comment below and let us know! 

By the way, stay tuned to Abby’s Roses to hear about the rest of our trip to Cyprus and Israel!

Last Day in the UK

In high school I liked reading what little works of Shakespeare I had read. It wasn't until college that I loved reading his plays even more. My professor was so passionate about Shakespeare it rubbed off on me. To this day, I love reading and learning more about anything related to Shakespeare.

So I knew today was going to be an exciting day.

We first stopped at the cottage of William Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway, and took a photo with our group. We then visited the birth place of William Shakespeare himself. We walked inside the cottage and saw the room he was born in along with the kitchen and other bedrooms. We also wandered along the grounds and saw the beautiful gardens. And how can you not purchase books from the gift shop? We certainly had to. I bought a book of Mr. Shakespeare's sonnets, and Zach bought Star Wars books written in play form.

After touring the cottage we had a bite to eat. Suddenly it started to pour, and we ran back to the bus soaking wet and drove back to London. We said our goodbyes to Anne Marie, the best tour guide ever, and Steve, our awesome bus driver, and checked in to our hotel. Since it was our last night, we decided to have dinner and see a show. We tried to get tickets to War Horse but it was sold out on that night. We decided to see Wicked instead. Zach had seen it when he was younger and enjoyed it. I was so excited that we had excellent seats. The actors and actresses were amazing. The musical score was beautiful. I can't believe I hadn't seen this sooner! I purchased a t-shirt, CD, and program before the show started...good thing I loved it. After the show we took a taxi back to our hotel and crashed for the night.

We were sad leaving the UK the next day. We both had such an amazing time and wished we could have stayed longer. We have talked about going back to the little villages we stopped at along our way to stay at a bed and breakfast. I have absolutely no objections to that!

York, England

We visited both Alnwick Castle and York on the tenth day of our trip, but I had to give the castle it's own post because, well, it was just so grand. And I would have written a seriously long post last time if I hadn't! By now, Zach was taking all kinds of medication to help him recover, and he stayed at the hotel as I trekked the old streets of York alone. 

Before our Globus tour guide, Anne Marie, let us loose to explore on our own, she said that York Minster, the largest gothic cathedral in northern Europe, took 250 years to complete. It is also a cathedral which holds the Archbishop's throne. She then took us to Stonegate, a street filled with shops and bakeries. After pointing out a lot of streets that ended in "gate," Anne Marie explained that "gate" was the Viking word for "street." This section is kept free from all traffic to preserve the medieval architecture. 

I visited many shops and stumbled upon York's Chocolate Story, a specialty museum. Anne Marie mentioned that the Kit Kat, a favorite chocolate bar of mine in the Sates, was first made in York! How cool is that? Let me just say I tried the best Kit Kat I have ever had! They also have a guided tour of the shop. They not only tell you about the history of chocolate from ancient beginnings to present day, but also about how it is made. I bought a Kit Kat for me and a king size one for my sick hubby, along with some other chocolate bars. 

As our time neared its end in York,  I came across the Minster Gate Book Shop. It had at least four levels of books! There were many 1st editions to modern day books. Definitely a book heaven. I found a copy of Pilgrim's Progress from 1914 and purchased it. I wished I had time to look even more through the collections. 

I was sad to leave the cobblestone streets of York but anxious to get back to my husband. Still not feeling all too well, he did enjoy the Kit Kat and some other chocolates I brought him. He was pretty happy with both! 

Alnwick Castle

We said farewell to Edinburgh and headed south, crossing back over into England. Our trip was slowly coming to an end with only two more days left. We had a chance to stop at Alnwick Castle, home to the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland. Our group was given a choice of exploring the castle or the garden. We all chose the castle. I'm so glad we did!

Why? Because the castle was the setting for the Christmas special of the BBC show Downton Abbey in the fifth season when the Crawley family went to "Brancaster Castle" on holiday. Zach and I got to enjoy the grand library which was also filmed in the special. There were old books that dated back hundreds of years. I would have loved to read one by the fireplace...

The castle was indeed beautiful. Two hours just wasn't enough time to explore this magnificent place. Alnwick Castle doesn't just make an appearance in Downton Abbey, it was also used to film the scene in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone where Harry and his classmates learned to fly on their broomsticks. 

Our guide also told us about the State Rooms and to visit them if we have a chance. No photography was allowed so I cannot show you the castle's splendor. I wouldn't mind living here for a week. 

Many thanks to the Duke and Duchess for allowing us the privilege to see their beautiful home.

This post was prepared while listening to the soundtrack of Downton Abbey.