Namaste London🇬🇧

From unrealistically breathtaking palaces to whimsical fairytale villages, London is a city that will leave you with a plethora of mesmerizing experiences. In all honesty, my trip to London was a dream come true because to actually visit places like Windsor, Kensington Palace, or Mayfair Street - places that I've only ever seen on a Monopoly board was, in a word, unbelievable. While our ten-day trip to London was nothing short of one of the best vacations of my life, it was also one of the most tiring ones that I've been to. Fortunately, we were touring the country with a family who used to live there and thus were able to get along quite well, but God knows what would have happened to us if we had planned the trip ourselves! So, to make your trip to London much easier, here's our itinerary that will hopefully, help you along the way :)

Day 1: 9th June

We had a nine-and-a-half-hour flight to London which reached the city at 7:00 a.m GMT. Our check-in at the hotel was in the late afternoon so, we decided to start exploring the city.

Our first stop for the day was the London Eye, or, the biggest Ferris wheel in the world! It was a thirty-minute ride and certainly something that should not be missed. I THINK we saw the Oval Stadium from the top but then my brother mentioned seeing the Statue of Liberty too so I'm not sure if I can exactly trust my sources. After the ride ended, we walked over to the Westminster Bridge and ate some hot dogs and caramel popcorn en route to the one and only, Big Ben.

One amazing thing about London is that the city is designed in such a thoughtful way that every tourist destination is barely a five-minute walk from each other. After crossing the Big Ben, we walked on to the Westminister Palace beside the House of Commons i.e. the place where the British Parliament would sit. However, there were some politicians inside so were denied entry at the moment. Next on our tour was Westminster Abbey or the Royal Church which was literally in front of it but, because of the never-ending queue, we decided to skip it...and went to the Supreme Court instead which was once again, right beside it.

Walking on for a good few minutes, we came to 10 Downing Street. Now, for whoever is misguided by the fact that the Prime Minister's house looks like a normal one, I would appreciate it if you would share with me your definition of normal...because the entire street was barricaded by big black gates! Forget about the door, we weren't able to even make out the pavement that led to the house! Finally tired after all that walking, we took a Big Bus to the Victoria Coach Station and checked in to the hotel to get ready for the most exciting part of the day - Broadway.

Frozen is a movie that I've seen again and again and again and could probably see it AGAIN - both the parts. Broadway is something that I've only ever heard of, and that too in movies. Now, a combination of both of them was without a doubt, the single best experience of my life.

To fully soak in the magic of Broadway, you need to witness it yourself. With powerful voices, realistic sets, and breathtakingly talented actors, if you're going to London, a musical on Broadway is a must-watch. I mean, even my drama-loathing father enjoyed it! After an enchanting experience, we somehow managed to grab some dinner after the show as in London, all restaurants close after 5:00p.m, and headed back to the hotel - tired but excited for what lay ahead.

Day 2: 10th June

Our outing today was a strictly planned one, as in, we were going on a tour to Windsor Castle, followed by Stonehenge and the small but world-famous town of Oxford with a tour bus. We left onboard the tour bus at 8:00 a.m. from Victoria Station and reached Windsor an hour later.

Now, there are two main things for you to see in Windsor Castle - the State Apartments and the St. George's Chapel. The State Apartments are 951 rooms for the guards belonging to the Order of the Garter and I swear, if I get to live in a room like that, I might end up becoming a guard. Under no circumstances forget to take the audio guides, otherwise, you'll be bored to no end. After taking our sweet time in the State Apartments, we rushed through the chapel. Now, we were told that we wouldn't be able to do both things together, but like typical Indians, we tried our best to check everything off our list...and ended up running to catch our bus.

Within the next hour, we arrived at Stonehenge. Now, I'm well aware of the fact that Stonehenge is a world-renowned historical attraction, however, it is literally nothing but weirdly stacked stones.

So if you're short on time, then this is something that you can afford to miss.

The next and last stop on our tour was the small yet cozy town of Oxford. By the time we reached there, it had started raining a bit, so the vibe was simply aesthetic. We wandered around and saw all of the thirty-nine colleges that make up Oxford University - a dream come true for me. Plus, if you're a Harry Potter fan, then YOU NEED TO GO THERE. Not only is Oxford the place where J.K. Rowling lived and got inspired for her famous books, but also, Harry's lightning scar, the cemetery where Lily and James Potter were buried as well as the library where Harry sneaked into with the help of the Invisibility Cloak are all there!

After a three-hour ride back to the hotel, we had an early dinner at Burger King and finally ended our day.

Day 3: 11th June

Since today was our last day in London, we had to reach Buckingham Palace at 10:00 a.m. sharp for the change of guard. So, we took a Big Bus and reached Piccadilly Stop No.7 to meet up with our friendly tour guide, Paul. The change of guard is an unmissable event in London and if you want to get the best experience, then follow your tour guide because they literally have been doing this for years. Paul knew all the tips and tricks to get the best view of the ceremony so we ended up running from one place to another to keep up with the marching guards. Within an hour and a half, the ceremony was over, so, we took a cab to the Victoria Station, got lost for a while, and then went to the world's first Hard Rock Cafe. The food. was. amazing.

Then, we sat on a Big Bus and made our way over to Harrods. Why, you may ask? Well, it's Harrods.

After wasting a good amount of time gawking at the price tags, we once again took a Big Bus...and ended up making a huge mistake.

See, the thing is, the Big Bus has a fixed route to which the audio guide that they provide is tailored too. What could've been a barely twenty-minute journey to Madame Tussaud's by cab ended up being an hour too long. By the time we reached there, it had closed. We dejectedly made our way back to the hotel because now, we had to rush to the airport to catch a flight to Edinburgh (pronounced as, EDIN-BURA), the next stop on our trip.

Since there was a one-hour delay in our flight, we ended up reaching our hotel in Edinburgh at around 1:00 a.m. At this point, we were simply too exhausted.

Day 4: 12th June

After reaching Edinburgh airport, we rented a minivan because the majority of the next few days would involve a lot of driving. Our day today was going to be spent on the road as we had a 5-hour journey from Edinburgh to the interiors of Scotland. After leaving our hotel a little before noon, we drove a bit around old Edinburgh. Once we got out of the city, we made several pitstops at an M&S food hall as well as a Starbucks. (What? Seven people get hungry at different times!)

However, to make the most of our day, we had also planned an en-route visit to Luss, the most beautiful village in the world. And suffice it to say, it lived up to its reputation. With fairytale-like cottages surrounded by flowers on all sides and a lake (known as Loch, in Scottish) spreading far and beyond beside the village, it was certainly worth it.

After leaving Luss, we made a very abrupt pitstop (again) at a place for homemade fresh dairy ice cream. Another tip, If you're in the United Kingdom, do not forget to taste the dairy. Whether that be the yogurt from M&S or the ice cream that you get from small stalls and trucks, the dairy is nothing like you have ever tasted. If it was up to me then I'd brought half of it back to Mumbai in a suitcase!

(I tried but they stopped me at the airport).

We reached the Buachaille Cottage in Glencoe (Glen means Mountain, in Scottish) in the evening. The entire area was surrounded by small cottages and there were narrow paths for you to sort of "explore the neighborhood" so we ended up doing that late in the evening. Thankfully, there was a CO-OP in the vicinity so we bought all the required materials to suffice us for another two days at least because this is where we were going to stay for the next five days now.

Day 5: 13th June

The next day we got an early start as we had a 2-hour ride to the Eilean Donan Castle and then further on to the Fairy Pools. The Eilean Donan castle was literally your Castle On the Hill as the way Ed Sheeran best describes it. It belongs to the MacRae family and has much other history associated with it which I honestly could not bother to remember. However, we did have some scones over there which were surprisingly below our expectations, so, that was a bummer.

Next up on our tour, we had the Fairy Pools. Now, of course, with a name like Fairy Pools, anyone would think that it would be an ethereal destination hidden in the canopy of trees with the smell of lavender in the air and ivy cascading over smooth rocks. However, it was anything but. We knew we had a roughly 3-mile trek to get up to the pools but unfortunately, the weather by this point had become scorching hot and the trek was rather unpleasant. On top of that, the Fairy Pools were basically small ponds that ran beside the trekking path...and this we realized after trekking on loose pebbles at least 2.5 miles in the scorching heat. We had kept going on and on as we had thought that MAYBE there would be something fairy-like at the top, but turns out, it was the same throughout. Even though we were disappointed, we found a good spot and stayed in the water for a good forty-five minutes before trekking down once again and heading back to our cottage.

Tip: The Fairy Pools were located rather far from where we were staying and unfortunately, they weren't worth the ride. Maybe it's because the weather was unpleasant or because we Mumbaikars have experienced way better natural waterfalls, but it was quite disappointing and something that can be skipped.

Day 6: 14th June

We initially had many plans for today, but turns out, we were all too tired from the long road trips. So, we decided to drop all plans and explore the vicinity, which means that we basically went out for walks through random paths near the cottages and hit the CO-OP once again because seriously, seven people need a lot of food.

Day 7: 15th June

Since we knew that tomorrow was going to be another road trip, we decided to make today a rest day too! (What? Vacations are supposed to be relaxing, this was getting too hectic!)

However, we did go for a Gondola Ride which was in our area and took us straight to the highest peak in the vicinity. Well, we had to trek a little to go up to the peak so we did that! (Let it be known that at this point I'm calling every little uphill walk that is not on a cemented road, a trek) After all the "wild trekking" and the Gondola hopping, we decided to have some wonderful steak in a nearby village by the name of Glenbrittle. Our parents tried to hit the distillery before that, i.e., one of Scotland's main attractions, however, all slots were booked full so no luck there. So, if you're planning to visit a show for a distillery in Scotland, you better book it before!

Day 8: 16th June

Today was our last day in Great Britain and our last opportunity to check off one last destination on our itinerary - Edinburgh. After the 5-hour ride from the interiors of Scotland, we went straight to the Royal Mile. So the Royal Mile is basically a succession of roads surrounded by shops on all sides that connects two of Edinburgh's main castles; one of which we were lucky enough to visit - Edinburgh Castle.

After spending a good one and a half hour there (I was bored out of my mind and at this point absolutely done with castles), we went on next for the Real Mary King's Close Guided Tour. Now 'Close' is a word that you will get to see many times on the Royal Mile. It basically stands for a street with a dead end. The Real Mary King's Close was quite a famous one for various reasons and the idea of the guided tour was that there would be characters playing the actual people who lived there in the past eras and then told their stories from their own personal perspectives. Now, the idea was good, but the problem was, we went in June...and ended up booking the 'Pride Month' tour.

Let's just say we got way too much information than we asked for.

This was the last stop in our trip, after which we spent some time wandering around in a mall...only to get the news that our flight to London was delayed by more than an hour; which meant that we were not able to catch our connecting flight back to Mumbai and were automatically rescheduled, thus ending up spending one more night than expected in the city of the King.

Well, on the bright side, at least now I have a story to tell!