“From Prairies to Palaces: Small Town Alberta to London, UK for 5 nights”
As we left behind the wide-open spaces of our small Alberta town, we found ourselves on a whirlwind adventure that would transport us from the serene prairies to the bustling metropolis of London. From the moment we arrived at London Heathrow after our 8 hour flight and 7 hour time change we knew we needed to be wide awake and ready to move. With some research before our arrival we were aware of where we needed to go and which tube we needed to take based on what we had read. After picking up our luggage we followed the signs that led us to terminals 2 & 3 where we would catch the Elizabeth Line to Paddington and then switch trains to take us to West Kensington. After our own experience though we would not suggest the Elizabeth Line if you are staying in Earls Court or within a 5 min taxi ride or 20 minute walk of it like we were. Although the Elizabeth Line is a nicer train it was more complicated to get to and the walk from West Kensington station to our hotel had us traveling down a very busy road that isn’t nearly as relaxing as the walk from Earls Court over to our hotel in West Kensington. Our advice is to take the Piccadilly Line from terminals 2 & 3 that goes direct to Earls Court. This area is wonderful and will have you winding down beautiful streets all the way to your hotel or you can catch a taxi from here. This became our main station to travel from each day and the streets quickly became very familiar to us.
Day 1: Finding our way in a Foreign City while Jet-Lagged
The first day can easily throw you off if you choose to listen to your mind over your body. Mentally you want to see everything but physically you have travelled through multiple time zones interrupting your circadian rhythm. You have lost time and have some adjusting to do within your body. Our suggestion upon arrival is a little thing I’ve come up with called HRFM. Hydrate, Rest, Fuel and Move. Drink bottled water upon your arrival over tap water, stretch out, elevate your legs to improve your circulation and close your eyes to quiet your mind. Once you have done this find something nourishing to eat and then move your body with a nice easy walk. Head to bed early on your first day so you can adjust to the new time zone with ease. This is the perfect time to read a good book, listen to music and chill out.
Day 2: Tour the areas that allow you to have a flexible schedule today
We felt strangely at home in this foreign city right from the time of our arrival. Our first full day was simply exploring places like the British Museum which is free to enter and runs completely by donation, stumbling across China Town, enjoying lunch at a traditional English Pub and taking pictures of the stunning buildings and parks. Late afternoon had us back at our hotel for a little rest before heading out for dinner at a great Italian restaurant in Earls Court. There is nothing quite as comforting to us as Italian food.
Day 3: The Big Day Out
Mid week was our day to see and do everything, we were ready for it after a couple espresso shots. We had pre booked the Hop on Hop off tour bus that included the London Eye and a wonderful River Cruise. With our chosen transportation being on the tube we needed to make our way to Earls Court and then select the destination that we wanted to jump on the bus. If you are traveling with taxi service you can simply have them drop you off at any of the stops that the bus has listed. You are probably looking at a 10 minute taxi ride, it’s not too bad. In our case we had pre booked our London Eye passes so needed to be mindful of this as we planned our transportation which takes a little extra time with walking to the train station. Our suggestion is to pre book this for around 12:00 pm so you have a nice amount of time to get over there and then get on the cruise right after. It was quite a treat to skip the huge line and get right on these! After cruising we found Borough Market for lunch and then continued on with the bus tour until we made our way back to the train station that led us to Earls Court. This ended up being a great night to eat at the wonderful Italian restaurant directly across from our hotel. Yes we were tired!
Day 4: Time To See The Iconic Landmarks
This was our day wandering around again at our own pace. We had a list of places to see but we knew that we could get to all of them whether we started bright and early or a little later. We opted for a little later because we were on vacation after all. I won’t get into all of the details of this day but I will say that the Tower of London was a highlight. The entrance fee for this is $51.00 Canadian and will take a couple hours to walk around and enjoy your time there. I know some could easily spend several hours there.
Day 5: Of course we had to visit Buckingham Palace
We completed our last day in London by beginning our day at Buckingham Palace to witness Changing the Guard. We arrived 1 hour early and didn’t quite make it directly in front of the gates but we were close. We suggest bringing a selfie stick to peek through the gates or settle in along the road so you can watch the Horse Guards Parade.
Day 6: Back to Canada
With a long day of travel ahead we woke up with plenty of time to enjoy breakfast at the hotel before making our way to the train station and the airport. We talked about our highlights of the trip, took our time walking and felt ready to come home. 4 full days in London was a perfect amount of time to see and enjoy everything that we had on our bucket list. Our suggestion at Sierra Travel Sylvan Lake is to do something like we did and enjoy your full vacation in London or have us arrange another destination for you to visit. We can easily fly you to Scotland, Ireland, France, Spain or Italy where you can continue with another week of exploring and fly directly home from there.
We hope you have enjoyed reading about our vacation to London and feel inspired to head out on your own journey as well. It is our goal to assist our clients to travel with ease, the best way for us to support you in this is by doing it ourselves. We enjoying customizing vacation experiences to best fit our clients, please know that anything that you see us doing can easily be changed to something that fits you better. The only rules around a vacation experience are the ones you make.
