Bret and I were fortunate to be able to spend a few days in London after the Society of Master Saddlers’ class.  We’d never been to the UK, so we were grateful for the opportunity to explore.  Here’s a recap:

Sunday, 1 November, 2009

We slept in for a bit and breakfasted at the last possible minute.  Still, we had to bide our time waiting for the 1pm  train as we left the hotel at 11 am.  While we were planning on leaving the rental car’s keys in the mail slot, a car rental employee drove up to do a bit of weekend work and graciousxly allowed us to check out without the worry of leaving the keys unattended.  We still had to wait for the train, however.

Back in London, we made the quick treck back to the Americana Hotel where we were happy to find a new, larger room (although there was still no bath tub to soak in after a long day of walking).  We got ourselves settled and set out for the Churchill Museum.  We were thoroughly fascinated by the unique interactive displays, much improved and innovated since my father visited the museum nearly a decade before.  We walked about by Westminster Abbey, pausing as Big Ben struck five before crossing the bridge and walking past the London Eye.   We came upon an old carousel, and, digging up £2 per person, Bret and I treated ourselves to a lovely ride.

We dined at the Volunteer Pub; it was delicious!  I had gravied roast beef with horseradish sauce – yum!  After dinner we walked around a bit more then went back to the hotel to bed.

Monday, 2 November, 2009

We woke early and breakfasted before venturing to the Criterion Theatre to pick up tickets for the play The 39 Steps, an Alfred Hitchcock-esque comedy that received high ratings.  For some reason, the phone for the theatre number we’d found online wasn’t working, so we arrived bright and early to find the box office closed. We walked around the square for a bit until the surly ticket master finally opened the gate and sold us our tickets.   Having reached goal #1, we took the Tube to a station relatively close to the London Bridge.  I’d wanted to go to the London Dungeon, but Bret’s lack of interest sparked a lively debate and, ultimately we scrapped the Dungeon and decided to cross the bridge to the Tower of London instead.

We paid the steep entrance fee and sidled up to a tour already in progress.  The history was palpable.  Unfortunately the site was utterly congested with tourists, so we weren’t able to really see what truly fascinated us without feeling claustrophobic.  Still, it was an interesting tour, even though we weren’t allowed to take any photographs indoors.

After the Tower we found our way to Ye Old Cheshire Cheese, one of the oldest pubs in London, dating back to the early-to-mid 1500’s, and having been rebuilt in the latter half of the 1600’s after consumed the city.  (Doesn’t every city seem to have a fire story?)  Bret ordered the steak and ale pie and I had the chicken and mushroom pie.  The ale was awesome – and still hand-drawn – the way they’ve served it for centuries.

Full of meat pies and ale, we strolled around Harrod’s for a bit, marveling at the enormity of the famed department store while recoiling at the prices.  And their “tack shop” is little more than some riding apparel arranged around a giant faux horse.  Harrod’s has nothing on Olson’s!

Tired from trekking about for hours, we made our way back to the hotel and lounged around for a while before going to the theatre.  The 39 Steps was over-the-top but funny nonetheless.   The Criterion Theatre (the venue) was unusual in that it’s entirely underground – we had to go down several flights of steps to get to our balcony seats.  The theatre was built during the Victorian Era, and was modeled after 18th century theatres.  Because of its undergraound location, it was used during World War II Blitz Attack air raids as the center for BBC broadcasting.

After the play we had a quick bite at the Aberdeen Steak House, just a block from the theatre itself.  The food was quite good considering the shabbiness of the decor.

Tuesday, 3 November, 2009

After breakfast we started on our tack shop search, taking the Tube to Hyde Park, and, thanks to the GPS, we located the Hyde Park Stables featuring the Kensington Tack Shop upstairs.  The stables were small, with horses packed tightly into small stalls or tied to the wall with enough slack in their ropes to eat their hay.  Of course there was no option for turnout, although one can just ride the three blocks into the park for about five miles of trails and the use of two outdoor riding arenas.  The “tack shop” was little more than one room in a flat, filled with apparel: Pikeur breeches, Harry Hall, etc, and Ariat boots and half chaps.  Seeing as all of the horses are owned by the stable, all of their equipment is provided, so the tack store primarily caters to rider apparel.  Still, it made me thankful we have Olson’s!

The hike to the second store was a lengthy one, as we crossed Hyde Park entirely then found our way to Thackeray Street to “Riders and Squires.” This shop caters largely to polo players, selling hats and mallets and boots galore.  The shop was much more organized than the first, and offered more variety.  Still, neither shop can hold a candle to Olson’s.

After shop #2 we decided to buy tickets to the Big Bus tour.  Like all other touristy things in London, the price was high (£25 per), but enabled us to hop on and off the bus at will while listening to historical tidbits that only began to unravel the intricate layers of the lovely city of London.  Unfortunately, we opted to seek out the Blue Line that took the extended scenic rout around the city.  That, coupled with the 20 minute stop at Baker Street, meant we didn’t get to St. Paul’s Cathedral (Bret’s one desire to see) until about 2:30.  And of course we were then rushed through the tour as they were nearing closing time. Still, we rented the audio guide and headed into the crypt to see the final resting places of hundreds of distinguished persons of ages past.  Fascinated with that, we headed upstairs only to find the whispering gallery located up in the dome closed.  We were most disappointed.

Finished at St. Paul’s, we scurried to the Tube to Trafalgar Square and had tea before out London Ghost / Pub Crawl Tour, an added benefit of the Big Bus Tour.  What fun!  That tour alone was worth the admission to the the Big Bus.  We started out with the Sherlock Holmes Restaurant and Pub, then snaked our way through alleyways and side streets as our guide, Ian, delighted us with spooky stories and further chunks of depraved London history.  The tour ended at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, where we had some pints and pudding for dessert.  We walked to the Temple Undergraound station and headed back to the hotel for the last time.

Wednesday, 4 November, 2009

We took our time packing after breakfast, begrudgingly bringing our trip to England to a close.  After a brief taxi ride to Paddington Station and the Connector train to Heathrow, we would up at the airport with nearly two hours to spare.  We spent a few minutes picking up some last minute souvenirs before having lunch at a posh little airport cafe, where I had my last meat pie before heading stateside.  Who’d have thought I’d have grown to love them so?

The flight was pleasant enough, well, as pleasant as can be when you’re crammed into a tight place for 9 hours 15 minutes.  I have to say I was planning ahead for my legs killing me on the flight home and wore my Back on Track leggings.  My legs didn’t swell up or hurt at all!  Considering the fact that on the plane ride to England I had to get up and stretch my legs pretty much every hour on the hour, I was happy that I only had to get up twice, and that was to use the rest room.  I love Back on Track!

While we had a wonderful time in England, we were happy to get home and sleep in our own bed.