Bucket List item checked off! Bert does the UK with Theme Park Review (a photo trip report)

[bert425]

so.. when I heard that TPR was going to doing a UK trip in 2024, and that they were going to a park that I had dreamed about ever setting foot in for almost 40 years?   yeah, I quickly inquired and was able to join them on the trip.

I decided to be comfortable - my spouse passing really made me into a bit bougie/enjoy while you can kind of person. . so I not only booked flights, but paid for upgrades.

United was "kind" enough to upgrade me for the 40 minute flight from Austin to Houston (which ended up being so bumpy there was no drink service anyways), but due to an error on their part?  yep, didn't upgrade me for the longer, 9 hour flight, and had me in Economy.
the wonderful desk agent in Austin, tried for almost an hour to "fix" the longer flight, but eventually told me there was nothing they could do and that I should check in at the gate in Houston and see if they worked it out. But offered me a bunch of drink vounchers for the longer flight and told me to go relax in the United lounge until my flight in about an hour.

don't think it will surprise you to hear that the United lounge wouldn't let me in, as I was only upgraded on the Domestic portion of my flight, but not the International. . therefore I didn't qualify to go in. . . but I could pay $56 for a day pass?     Yeah.. no.   Instead I gave the name of the agent who had been helping me and they called down to her (turns out she's a supervisor) and she told them let me in. . . .so I did get a nice snack while waiting for my plane to leave.

I was determined to stay in a positive mood, and not let glitches like this deter me - after all, at the end of the flights, I'd be in London.   But oh yes, I'll deal with United when I get back after.

not worth $56 to pay to get in, so glad that I didn't have to.  but a nice snack.

my "surprised" face at the gate in Houston, upon being told that nope, they didn't have an upgrade for me.   I was number 12, and they had filled upgrades 1-11 and had no more seats in Premium Plus.

shocking, I know!    oh well. .I had figured out I'd not be getting the upgrade they had charged me for.

 

BUT. . I was glad I had stayed positive, as it turned out the center seat was empty (despite it being a full plane), so my neighbor in the window seat and I had lots of room to spread out on the longer flight.

So it all worked out.  

I ended up watching an Anime movie about a otherworldly "keymaster" that turns into a chair. ("Suzume" which I highly recommend. . I quite enjoyed it), and Disney's "Wish" - which I liked so much, I watched it twice.

Sunrise from the plane as we were in transit.

here's what I had for a meal on the flight.

that Milk cookie was so sweet I really didn't care for it and spit most of it out.   The Steward seemed surprised and said most like it.

but it was edible and decent (I wasn't all that hungry anyways)

I did make use of some of my Drink Coupons tho. . .  the Bloody Mary hit just right

Finally landing in Heathrow, and getting thru Customs was a breeze.

I had decided to be a little bougie, and had hired a car - that picked me up at the Customs area with a little sign.    LOL. . I felt so important

turned out to be an excellent choice, as there were protests all over London - seems to be something that happens pretty much every Saturday - and the drive took over 2 hours to get to my Hotel.
but since I had paid a flat rate for the driver, he took the way scenic way, to avoid many closed off streets, and I ended up seeing many sights I might have not even gotten a chance to see.

from the car, yes, but still. . very cool to see and now I could say that I saw them.

Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliment

London Eye, Parliment, Big Ben. .from the other side.

I think that's the shard in the back on the right?

eventually tho, I finally made it to the hotel, and only wanted a hot shower. 

but turned out they were having issues with the keys (creating them). . . so they moved some things around and put me in this room (which was fine, I just wanted to sleep there anyways for 2 nights before the TPR trip started).

I went back down to the front desk and talked to the Concierge.

i was really interested in seeing a show in the West End (I was staying at the Doubletree West End - and huge shout out to Elissa for helping me decide to book a room there) 

my "wish list" show had been "Spirited Away". . but tickets were quite expensive, and I didn't want to pre-purchase just in case of delayed flights or some other issue.  So had been leaving it up to the universe.  
The Concierge got hold of the box office, and via some miracle, there was ONE open seat available.   In row 7, near center stage!     They told me they would be happy to put it on hold for me, and I could pick it up at the on call one hour before the performance.

i was stoked, and tipped the Concierge well for the help, and then got walking directions to the British Museum (another reason I had chosen this hotel was the proximity to that).

and off I went.    (I had gotten a free ticket online, tho I was well over an hour past my ticketed time, due to the issues getting to the hotel. . but I wasn't too concerned, as I had been told I could just go around to the backside of the museum and get in over there even without a timed ticket).

 

it was a lovely walk, and the weather was just cool enough that I was having a grand time.

I mean. . as a first time visitor to London, one HAS to, right? 

it's a gorgeous, and HUGE, museum.

and was absolutely packed with schoolkids - which I guess is a good thing?    (tho I ended up chatting with multiple security guards - chatting or perhaps flirting?  I'm not really sure - they kept commenting on my Katya shirt and boots).
even tho it was past my ticket time, I was told to get in the line and just go in with the other timed ticket people.    So got to go in the front of the museum.

 

I spent just about 4 hours here. . by no means did I even come close to seeing everything. 
But was able to hit up every area that I was interested in.

unfortunately "the Wave" the famous Japanese silkscreen, was not on display at the moment - having been taken down for some restoration work. . but there was plenty of other things to see (and photograph)

 

yeah yeah. .  .juvenile humor.. but it was funny to me.

 

 

 

 

a few purchases later (mostly magnets) and I headed back to the hotel to change up a bit - to get a little fancier for the theater

some fresh walking directions, and I headed out (exhausted, but determined) to go see "Spirited Away"

the theater it's playing in is one of the oldest, and the staff told me is the largest, in the West End:  the London Coliseum.

ahhhhh. . THIS is why the show was nearly sold out.

the actress playing Yubaba/Zeniba? (Mari Natsuki) 

That's the actress who voiced the part in the original Anime!     I was VERY lucky to get a ticket.

the show had only been playing in London for a couple of weeks and the gift shop folks were freaking out, as it still had to run thru the end of August - and they were sold out of almost everything.

they had a few T-shirts (in smaller sizes), and some keychains. . .but most of the merch had sold right away and they desperately were trying to find a way to restock (I spoke with them before the show started, and they were expressing how surprised everyone was at how well the show was doing).

hopefully that's a good sign, and we'll see the show here in the States?   It sticks VERY close to the film - tho there's a new song and set piece added in act II to pad it a little bit.   The puppet work on the characters is super impressive. . I loved it, particularly when Haku flies out thru and above the audience to end Act I.

anyways. . . I bought a couple of shirts that are a little too small for me, but will hang in the closet as souvenirs. . .and enjoyed the specialty Martini

 

the theater truly is GORGEOUS.
(pics taken when they opened the doors.   NO photography during the performance. . I think they want to keep the puppets "hidden". . which is strange when two full versions of the show are avail. on Max to watch, so you could see the puppets anyways.).

they relaxed the rule during curtain call. .so that's how I got that pic.

the whole show is in Japanese, with English translations flashed above, and to the sides of the stage.

after the show, I had totally forgotten it was Saturday night.

(I was exhausted, and was lucky to have kept my eyes open for the whole show. . LOL). . . but seemed like most of the West End shows ended around the same time, and everyone poured out into the streets, and it was like a big, festive, party going on out here.

 

this was my back-up show, if I had been unable to score a ticket to "Spirited Away".. just for Tom Holland.

Ian McKellan was also headlining a show. . but he had just fallen off the stage a couple of days before my arrival, so his part was being played by an understudy.   So I didn't even look at tickets for that.
I was focused on my wish list one

I wandered among the crowds, enjoying some pastry and the art installations on some streets.

then gave in, exhausted, and hired a pedi-cab to get me back to the hotel, where I went up to my room and promptly crashed.

I had to get up fairly early tomorrow for a full day at Tower of London.

so a quick shower, and off to bed.

but hey, I was in London!


(the two Spirited Away shirts I got. . . the XL "might' fit. . . but the other one for sure wont)

[Garet]

14 hours ago, bert425 said:

I ended up watching an Anime movie about a otherworldly "keymaster" that turns into a chair. ("Suzume" which I highly recommend. . I quite enjoyed it)

Great report, I love the music in that and got to see the composers and performers of this (and Your Name/Weathering With You) live last month when they came to Korea.

[bert425]

16 hours ago, Garet said:

Great report, I love the music in that and got to see the composers and performers of this (and Your Name/Weathering With You) live last month when they came to Korea.

Jealous of that. . . . closest I've come is seeing Goblin perform live to a screening of "Susperia". .that was cool.

I just stumbled across "Suzume" and was blown away.  I'm tracking down the other films he/they have done

 

 

and here's the trailer for those who might be interested... it really is SO good and I highly recommend it
 

 

[teacherkim]

I was able to spend an entire day at the British Museum years ago on a college trip. Of course the future history teacher in me relished every minute of it! Was back with my family about 12 years ago and promptly disowned every one of them when I could not get them out of Herrod's to go to the museum. Philistines. Two visits to London and I STILL haven't made it to the Victoria and Albert.

[bert425]

Day -1 (part 1):  full day spent at Tower of London, Crypt Museum, St. Paul's Cathedral, and more!
 

FLASHBACK TO PRE-TRIP:
Once I knew a while back I was going to be in the UK, and starting in London, my #1 bucket list item was to visit the Tower of London.  and I quickly scored a ticket for it.

my #2 bucketlist item was to get a ticket to the "Ceremony of the Keys" - which is the ceremony that happens each night at the Tower, that locks it down in the name of the Monarch.   And tickets for the Ceremony of the Keys are *very* hard to come by (limited to less than 50 a day, and they sell out instantly).   The tickets for the Ceremony of the Keys go on sale on the first day of the month - and as noted, they tend to sell out instantly.     Despite my trying for hours in the queue, I was unsuccessful in trying to get a ticket. . even when it finally let me in to see if there were any tickets avail. (what can I say?  I was working, so just left that window open in the background to see if MAYBE I could score 1 ticket).
When I finally got into the ticket purchase site, it looked like nothing had ever been made available?  Certainly if it had sold out, they would say sold out for the days, right?

so I sent a polite email to the Historic Royal Palaces, questioning if I had done something incorrectly, and noting I was in the city just this one day and would love to get a ticket if there is any way possible to squeeze me in.   And then I went ahead and purchased my ticket for Tower Of London (complete with guidebook), for 10am on that Sunday, figuring I'll knock out the Tower of London, then go find some other stuff to do - maybe go back to the British Museum or the London Eye.

cut to two days later, and I got an email response from the Historic Royal Palaces, explaining that there had been a glitch in their computer system, but the tickets were live now, and try this link.     And sure enough, I was able to score a ticket to the Ceremony of the Keys!

INCREDIBLY lucky. . as the whole month of June actually did sell out less than 30 minutes later.  so it was fate that I happened to be on the computer and saw the email as soon as it came in.    Downside tho?   I now had to be back at the Tower of London at 9:30 pm, since that's when the Ceremony starts, and I had already purchased my ticket for 10am.    Oh well. . was gonna be a long day, but worth it.


back to real time:

I woke up fairly early on Sunday (9am) - which was surprising how exhausted I had been the day before, and grabbed some coffee, then headed down to the lobby to ask the best way to get to Tower of London.

they gave me several options, but the simplest was "grab a cab and they'll drop you right in front of it".   
So I did that, and the doorman called a cab for me.

before long, we were pulling up by the main entrance - something I found out later most Cabs aren't allowed to do. . how I got so lucky?  I dunno.

it was still well over30 minutes before the Tower opened for the day, and some folks were already lining up in the queue for entrance.   But since I had some time, I walked over to the river to snap some pictures of the London Skyline.

ians of the Tower of

I believe this is "the shard".. the well known building in central London

and to my left?  the famous Tower Bridge.

on the day I was there, it was not scheduled to raise for any ships - I was told the ships have to put in a request 24 hours in advance - but I still managed to get some great pics with the iconic red double decker busses crossing in some shots.

Still amazing to see this famous landmark in person.

the gift shop had opened early, so I went in and browsed a bit, and chatted with one of the ladies behind the counter.
(what can I say, I have the gift of gab).   we talked about where i was visiting from and how the Tower of London was top of my list of things to do in London, and she advised me:

"go to the Crown Jewels first.   Everyone will wait for the first tour that starts at 10am, but ignore that - the tours happen every hour - and go to the Crown Jewels, it will be the shortest wait it ever is"

I thanked her for the advice and headed out to queue up, as they were opening the gates a little bit early.  

(and spoiler, as you'll see, her advice as SPOT on. . . I was basically walk on for the Crown Jewels, but by Noon?  it was a 2 hour wait just to get in that building!)

Pics of the Tower of London from the queue outside to get in.  Entrance is on the far right.

looking down into the moat here.

the famous Menagerie that was kept at the Tower is represented all over by these amazing Wire Sculptures.

 

myself and a Beefeater (Yeoman Warder) - the Ceremonial Guard of the Tower of London.

he was happy to stop for a picture with me.

tickets scanned, and into the main complex.

these people are gathering for the first tour group.   I was headed to the left to follow the Cashier's advice on what to do first.

 

the iconic and most famous castle keep in the world:  the White Tower in the center of the Tower of London.

as I was there on a Sunday wasn't allowed over here.  This lovely area is the section of the complex that holds the Church, and it was off limits.   There were a lot of folks in Suits, and members of the families that live in the Tower headed in for services tho.

THIS is where I was headed - the Crown Jewels.

as noted. .a walk on.

absolutely NO Photography allowed.   and no cell phones or cameras even allowed out while walking thru.

the stuff in here is truly impressive tho, and well worth seeing with your own eyes.

More of that fabulous wire art - it was all over the Tower complex

 

walking along the side walls among the turrets - and there are TONS of paths and tours one can do at the Tower of London, I easily spent 5-6 hours here - one gets some nice views of downtown London, and the outer walls of the Tower.

the exhibit about the Menagerie is in one of the many turrets.

Very thick walls on the inner parts of the Tower complex.

Peeking out thru one of the "turret slits". . . great views everywhere.

This is in front of the Crown Jewels complex.

I got very lucky and happened to be there the 1 week that the Yeoman Warders (the guys in the Red uniforms with the giant Bearskin hats) had stepped aside to honor the Brigade of Ghurkas - who were being given the honor to celebrate the 110th Anniversary.

a bit more info from Wiki (and from the Beefeater who explained who the gentlemen were taking part of the Ceremony of the Keys later that night):

The Royal Gurkha Rifles are Infantry are manned by Nepali soldiers and officers; and British officers, it is this blend of cultures that makes the RGR unique. Gurkhas are known for their professionalism, fighting prowess, humour and humility.

so instead of seeing the Red Uniforms and Bearskin hats, I was pleasantly surprised to see the guards at the Crown Jewels were the Royal Gurkhas

it was a really cool experience to see something that not a lot of people get to experience while in London.

in a building off to the side, is a museum honoring all different Battalions who have fought for England.

I particularly was impressed by this display from "the Jewish Legion"

In addition to the museums on site (as well as a couple of way overpriced snack places), there are also free tours, and several free shows put on thruout the day at the Tower of London.

I was admiring this Cannon, when I heard a commotion, as they were getting ready to start a show about the famous Ravens that live at the Tower, and how they got there.

so I walked to the other corner of the White Tower (hadn't been in there yet) to see what was up.

as you can see. . gorgeous day too.

the show gave off VERY "Renaissance Festival" LARPing vibes. . but they all stayed in character, and told a fun story that got lots of laughs from the crowd.

this is the giant that kidnapped a Princess and brought her to Wales, and how in rescuing her, the Ravens came to live at the Tower and as long as there is a Raven at the tower, the city will never fall. 

(behind him in the queue to go into the White Tower)

and I think I managed to get just one of the Ravens in this pic. . but hey, at least I got one!

Joining the queue for the White Tower. . and couldn't resist another Selfie with Tower Bridge behind.

the whole entrance floor of the White Tower is dedicated to displays of Armor

but you are able to go up multiple floors, and explore a lot of areas of this famous keep.

and there is a small section dedicated to Torture - but most of that stuff is in a smaller museum area in another section of the Tower Complex.

but (t) yes, you can go into the famous White Tower Toilet.

 

whoo-hoo!

it was blocked off. . so please don't use, but was still an interesting thing to see

the White Tower , of course, has a cathedral on an upper floor:

and a pretty impressive display of weapons.

this one caught my eye, as it's firearms that are covered in jewels and stones:

they even have a full size Dragon on display on this floor - made out of weapons, and bullets.

 

remnants from some of the many fires the White Tower has withstood over the years.

and down in the basement is the weapons room. . all displayed lovingly.

there's also a small display here about those executed at the Tower of London.

 

and like any good tourist thing?  you exit the White Tower thru the gift shop.

tho in the middle of the gift shop?   the White Tower's Well

Exiting the White Tower. . wowza. . look at the line for the Crown Jewels now!!!  (and per that clock, it's only 12:05

More Menagerie wire animals.

the Moat around the back side of the Tower of London has been turned into a wildflower sanctuary   (something I'm pretty familiar with from here in Texas with Ladybird Johnson an all).   So I went down that way to have a look.

I found this part of the Tower just fascinating. . . and it was such a lovely day, that I spent a good 20 minutes here talking to the ladies who were educating anyone who came down here about the flowers.

one of them took this picture for me with the dragonfly sculptures in the gardens.   which don't photograph near as lovely as they looked in person.

There was a tour of the Tower about to start up (even tho I had done a lot of it on my own already. . but I had time, so I headed back in to where the tour started)

and here we are starting. . by the infamous "Traitor's Gate" exiting the Tower complex to the Thames river

and then continued up thru the Queen's quarters, and the King's Quarters - that can be entered via just over the Traitor's Gate (something I found interesting)

following the crowd for this tour.

 

they've restored as close to the originals as they believe. . . I think it's rather impressive.

I particularly liked all the stained glass.

and vaulted ceilings

and I love me a throne, of course. 

(tho couldn't sit in this one)

 

tour done, I was starting to get a bit hungry.. but decided to do one more round to make sure I didn't miss anything, this time walking along the walkways connecting the turrets.

and got a lovely selfie in front of the White Tower

and again, Tower Bridge

 

overview of the complex. .

 

discovered more pretty neat sculpture are among the walkways.. .made to look like Battalion Members fighting.

looking down to see some of the residences of folks that live within the Tower walls.  (families of the Beefeaters)

the thing I was going to later tonight, the Ceremony of the Keys? 

No photography allowed. 

So I took advantage of this display of Tower of London Keys to take a pic now, since not allowed to later

I mentioned earlier that there was a torture display area somewhere in the complex. . it's down here, kind of "hidden" in a tiny area in one of the corners, where the walls connect. . .

 

 

coming out of the torture area, I made a quick pit stop and realized I had done the whole tower complex.   I had been there almost 6 hours, and it was just past 3 pm.

I had about 7 hours to kill, and considered just heading back to the hotel to nap, as my sleepyness was catching up with me.

and then whom did I bump into?  why Mr. Ryan Crash!  also on the TPR trip, and also sightseeing the day before the trip starts officially.

what are the odds?  so we snapped a pic and briefly chatted before heading off knowing we'd see each other tomorrow.    Still. . really wild to bump into him in all of London.

I went ahead and exited the tower complex and headed along the Promenade along the river . . here's a pic of the outside of the Traitor's Gate.

and one final pic (for the moment) of the Tower Bridge

there were lots of food trucks here along the side of the Tower/along the river, but I was kinda in the mood for a sit down service.

I popped back into the gift shop to thank the Cashier from earlier, bought a few things, and she suggested the plaza around the corner for a meal.

I almost ended up at WagaMama, but I knew that the welcome dinner was at one of those the next night. . so I kept walking for the moment.

 

goodbye for now, Tower of London, see ya in about 6 1/2 hours for the Ceremony of the Keys.

 

to be continued. . .

[teacherkim]

So glad you got to explore the Tower! Lol, I have a picture of Joel, age 9 sitting on the King's potty. Very jealous that you got to do the ceremony of the Keys, that's one I haven't scored yet.

[bert425]

Day -1 (part 2):  lunch, Crypt Museum, St. Paul's Cathedral, and more!

 

as noted in the prior update, Wagamama over here by the tower looked good. . but a few doors down was this, "Dream Xi'an". . and it looked amazing as well.

so I went here, tho was pretty much the only customer as it was past lunch time on a Sunday.

don't remember exactly what this was, other than hot green tea, Gyoza, and i believe it was a spicy lamb, hearty stew. 
(I'm guessing it was lamb, because I remember pulling out bones from it, and most lamb/goat has bones in it)

it was all excellent tho!

 

I had heard of this place called the Sky Garden, that supposedly offered fantastic views. 

but one needed to get tickets online - although they did offer a standby line. 

so I walked the 10 blocks or so over there, and was told standby would be a few hours, but I was welcome to hang around.  So I explored the area.  Wasn't hungry as had just eaten, but found this fantastic animatronic noodle bowl (the chopsticks pull the noodles out of the bowl), that kept me very amused (and the amount of people taking selfies with it was so funny, that I stood in line and got one too).

eventually I wandered back across the street to the sky garden to hang out for a while, and was told they still had no standby spots avail.

that's ok. . it was set up neat enough over here anyways, that I was entertained.

love some of the architecture in London.

I even rested a bit and played around on my phone for a little while.

but it eventually became clear they were never gonna let stand by folks in line, so I headed back over towards the Tower of London - where my taxi had dropped me off earlier, and was actually planning on heading back to the hotel for a nap, and then just coming back later.

but as I got nearer to the spot where I was dropped off, I noticed the sign on this church near the Tower of London.

Oldest Church in London?   hmmm. . I like old Churches, and the sign out front said all are welcome to come in and take a look, so I headed in.

it's a lovely Church, with again, some very nice stained glass.

but what's this?  

(I noticed later they do have this on the sign outside, but not really calling any attention to it.   I asked the Priest that was working the "gift" area why they don't really advertise the Crypt Museum - getting ahead of myself, but  you can tell I LOVED it (and it's free) - especially how close they are to the Tower of London?   and he answered me honestly, that they don't want to deal with the amount of insurance they would need if so many tourists discovered it's here. . so they like to keep it more word of mouth and the insurance premiums down)
 

it was such a narrow, steep, and foreboding staircase - hidden in a back corner, that I was already loving this.

Very cool, and very much recommended if you find yourself in this area of London.

all these following pics are under the church. . .and in some of the areas, the whole place shakes as the Tube trains roll nearby.  

 

I would SO buy this on a shirt. . .

 

this rediscovered mural, on a closed off staircase was just incredible.   

it was worth the trip to the Crypt Museum just to see this.   lovely.

in talking to the Pastor after visiting the Crypt Museum, I had mentioned about the Sky Garden being sold out.

he gave me a map and recommended that I head over to St. Paul's Cathedral, it wasn't open to the public this afternoon, but just across the street was a shopping complex that had recently opened their own skydeck - so that was another option to get some nice views for free.

i thanked him, and ignored my feet, and decided to walk along the Thames to go to St. Pauls, as there are walking paths on both sides of the river, and even tho it had started to get a little overcast, it was still a lovely day.

walking along the Thames. . . .I guess people actually swim in it?

I actually found "London Bridge" . . .without even seeking it out.   

I admit, I was pretty impressed even if it is, you know, just a bridge.

so much interesting architecture and design along the riverwalk here.

and I had it mostly to myself (but didn't feel unsafe at all)

 

 

St. Paul's - per the map I had gotten from the Church - was just at the Millennium Bridge (it had been about a 40 minute walk). .

the design is interesting.

 

looking straight ahead from the bridge, is St. Paul's Cathedral

Double Decker Bus. . very London.

some really neat "artsy" touches on the buildings/courtyards leading up the main streets here.

 

on this map, you can see how far I walked, from Tower of London (on lower right), along the river, up to St Paul's.

the outside is quite nice. . reminds me of US State Capitols.

I figured since was here, would explore the grounds a bit before going to that shopping center (called One New Change)

Exiting the Cathedral space, I spotted some "high end" stores, so headed that way for the "One New Change" shopping center and their skydeck.

ended up being a waste of time, as not only was it a mostly dead mall - with at least 2/3rds of the storefronts empty, with only a few high-end shops open on the main level, but there were giant signs on the Elevators noting that "due to construction, the public Skydeck is not available"

however, there was a bar/club on the top that had some views, so I figured I'd go up and get a drink.

only to be stopped by the douchebag guy manning the Elevators (whom I'm sure if I got closer to him, would have reeked of Patchoulli) telling me that I was not allowed to go up, because I was "a single"   (looked it up, the place is called "the Madison")

I looked around at the dead mall and said to him, "you're going to stop someone who's willing to go into your business and purchase something?" and he said again - you're a single, not allowed up.   (I'm certain that it's because I was wearing shorts).

I actually laughed at him, and told him that it was silly to turn away a tourist when their place is in a dead mall, but that I'd be sure to post about it - and took the escalators up to the 2nd floor when I was welcomed into a very loud/raucous game place - think it was called the F1 Arcade.

I only hung out there for one drink, as it was very loud in there. . . but I sipped a drink, and then headed back to the St. Paul's courtyard to play on my phone for a bit (and post to Facebook how I had been turned away and I found it hysterical they were turning away business)

it was quite peaceful over here, and I hung out here probably for 40 minutes or so - watching the massive swarms of birds that were circling the city.

it was starting to get past 7pm, so I figured I'd better head back towards the Tower of London, but wanted to cross and come back on the other side of the river.

so I headed back, snapping pics along the way of things that caught my eye.

 

 

 

 

Crossing the Millennium Bridge to the other side of the Thames.

where I was coming from:

where I was headed:

I would have gone into the Tate Modern if I'd had more time - and if I had realized it was over here, I probably wouldn't have sat by that fountain and rested my feet for 45 minutes.  but oh well.

 

as I posted on Facebook at the time,

"how in the world do you advertise "See Great Art From Around the World" . . . .

at the same time you're promoting a Yoko Ono exhibit?"      

 

the re-re-re-re-re-built famous Shakespeare's Globe Theater

another reason to go back to London. . to see a show here in this theater.

while walking, I passed this sign at a restaurant called "the Real Greek".

"TOO GOOD NOT TO TRY!"

hmmmm. . I'll be the judge of that, so I headed in.

even tho not super hungry, the menu looked amazing, so I ordered several things to try.

this is the Halloumi "popcorn". . it actually was really quite good, tho the addition of the honey poured on top is what really made it taste better.

the drink is a Negroni, which while it's supposed to be a bitter cocktail, this one was SO strong, I really had to water it down, and still couldn't finish it.

Lamb Meatball wrap

and Spinach Tiropitakia

all were really good, and I ate too much. . .   but it was so good.

I was getting a bit short on time .. had about 80 minutes to get back to the Tower of London, and wasn't sure how long it would take me to waddle my full butt back there.

so I headed back along the river.

 

this place looked really familiar.   It must have been featured in some show I've watched.

some really neat graffiti art on the walkway on this side of the river

Prison Museum?   oh my!

as I started to get closer, and spotted the Tower Bridge, I figured I'd better cross back to the "correct" side for Tower of London.

was able to get some lovely shots of the sun setting over London.

made it back with about 25 minutes to spare, so went to the meet up place, and chatted with some of the others that had also gotten tickets to the Ceremony of the Keys (many of them had a similar story to mine - tired and failed to get thru, sent email, were sent link

and then it was time for the Ceremony.

once we passed thru these gates, everyone had to turn off their phones, and no eating or drinking.

it really was a once in a lifetime experience, and it impressed the hell out of me.   I'm so glad I got to see it.
after the Ceremony was over, we were invited to take out our phones/cameras, and to ask questions.

the lead Royal Guardsman (Beefeater) answered questions for a good 20 minutes - explaining all about the Brigade of Gurkhas and why it was such a rare occasion to see them perform the Ceremony. 

after I asked a few questions (mainly about how much did the Ceremony change after the Queen passed) I asked if I could get a picture with him - which triggered a whole line of people asking for the same thing (lol).

and then we were led back to the main gates, and thru the smaller door (that those who live in the Tower use, after it's locked up) to head home.

it was eerie, and beautiful walking thru the Tower of London at night, with no one else around.  

the Traitor's gate at night.

in order to grab a cab, I had to walk all the way up to the Tower Bridge, to go to the hotel across the way.

but I didn't mind, it was lovely.

and once the hotel called me a cab, I was fighting to keep my eyes open. . .but awake enough to snap this pic of the London Eye at night.

 

and shortly after this pic, I was back at the hotel, and in bed, out cold. 

It had been a very long day, and my feet were aching, but tomorrow was day 0 - meet up at the start hotel, and group dinner to officially kick off the TPR UK trip.

 

 

[bert425]

quickie post for day 0 - the welcome day.

we all met up at our 1st hotel -- old friends saying hello at seeing each other again, and meeting new friends who were on their 1st TPR trip (ever or in a long while).

We had the day to wander around the area (we were staying in Staines-upon-Thames, a "market town" close to Heathrow Airport and Thorpe Park   - although that wasn't our 1st park we were going to).

wonderful area with lots of shops, pubs, and restaurants.

the official trip started tomorrow with our 1st park:  Chessington Worlds of Adventure.

 

 

it was great to see Brad & Jere - it had been a while since I'd seen them.    This pic in the lobby of the hotel we were in for a few days:  Premier Inn
(and loved that we were visiting in June - Pride flags and stuff everywhere).

 

My room at said hotel:

 

and my View from my room:

 

we had a great meal at WagaMama, and some headed out for drinks at one of the many pubs.  

I was still working on a sleep deficit, so I went back to the room and crashed.

full trip starts tomorrow!

[bert425]

Day 1 (part 1):  FINALLY a Theme Park:  Chessington World of Adventures.

 

ready for the first "real" day of the trip, and it was a fairly early one!    I believe we had breakfast at 6:30 am, with a leave the hotel at 7am sharp to get us to the first park of the trip:  Chessington World of Adventures.

 

as this was the 1st official day of the trip, it was also the first time I'd actually had a full English (as was available on the buffet, here and at every hotel we stayed at pretty much).

I'm not a fan of beans, nor tomatoes, so I avoided those, but tried everything else - including the blood sausage.   (it wasn't *bad*.. but I'll admit I never tried it again during the trip).

made sure to fill up tho, as it was gonna be a full day ahead.

we were ushered outside, and we loaded onto the Bus that would be our transport for this whole trip.

how wonderful that the front of the bus showed it was a TPR Tour!   Loved it

a very comfortable coach for the trip - and since the trips tend to be under 50 people total, plenty of room to spread out on the bus.

a fairly short ride later, and we were outside the gates of our 1st park on the trip!

group photo courtesy of Robb.

 

we were met at the gates and ushered in a bit before park open - we were going to have some rides (and Robb was going to film) on two of the parks 4 coasters
(really only 3, as the Park's Mauer Wild Mouse, Ratlesnake, was not operating today.  and there is also a 5th coaster, a Mack powered minetrain, but that was damaged by a fire in 2022, and the area is totally blocked off, so it's SBNO)

as with many of the parks we went to in the UK, it's not only a theme park, but also a zoo.   Some had more animals than others, but most of them were very similar to what we saw at Chessington World Adventures.

Inside the park, and stopping for another group pic - this time taken by our hosts, as Robb is in this one

although most of the animals are gathered together in one area, there are several exceptions (such as the Tigers by the rapids, the Sea Lions & Reindeer by the Pirate section, and these Otters right by the front gate)

(he's back there just coming out of the house)

here he is much closer - I think he was curious who these people were looking at him, when the park wasnt' open yet.

 

thruout the park are these really nice Topiaries (tho I do think they are astroturf rather than true plants). . . it was fun just noticing them around the park.

it's a lovely park, and was very indicative of many of the UK parks I'd see on this trip.

This is a ride based on a very popular Children's book (I had never heard of it, so it must be specific to the UK).  The Author is so popular, they actually have a 2nd ride based on another of her books elsewhere in the park (the Gruffalo).

the aforementioned Reindeer

and Sea Lions

we headed thru the empty park towards are 1st ride.

Chessington isn't really a Thrill Park - or at least I woudn't classify it that way.  oh, there are some thrilling rides here, but nothing super extreme (with one exception), and lots and lots of family rides.    Combine that with the SeaLife Aquarium and the Zoo?   it's a nice, family park.  

with some EXCELLENT theming in some places.

that track on the right?  that's where we're headed:

Vampire was built by Arrow as a suspended coaster, but a while back, the arrow "bucket" trains were swapped out for Vekoma suspended seats.
the coaster still rides incredible, and the theming on it, and around it, is really quite good.

some great photo ops among the theming too

the station is so dang impressive.

and yes, that's a full scale animatronic "playing" the Organ at the end of the station house.

Hi Robb & Elissa!
(and a good look at the Vekoma suspended train)

after a bunch of rides on Vampire, off we went thru the park towards the other coaster we were going to ride
(the park was about to open to the public).

mmmmm. . . do-nuts

 

the park's really neat Carousel, called the "Adventure Tree" in the central plaza. 

we cut thru the central plaza to double back over to this insane thing (and the one coaster I'd really call extreme): Dragon's Fury - a Maurer Spinning Coaster

it's over in the "Land of the Dragons" area.

the dragons in the queue might be "cute" . . but this sucker spins.

a LOT.    I actually got off it dizzy and it took a few moments for the world to stop moving.

if you like spinning?  you'll love this.   For me it was 1 and done, but yeah, it's a very good coaster.

and this wave turn while spinning?   all kinds of amazing.

(tho after this initial turn post 1st drop, we were spinning so much I couldn't tell you about the rest of the layout)

once the park was fully open, and we were handed out food vouchers, we were turned loose in the park.

post lunch, the park had a surprise for us with some animal tours if we cared to participate, but other than that we were free to explore the park for the whole day, and just meet up at park close in the Jumanji section for some post close riding of the shuttle coaster "Mandrill Mayhem" a B&M Wing shuttle.

I broke off with Andrew and Stacy and we headed into the "Wild Asia" section next to the Land of Dragons.

FANTASTIC theming over here, and I absolutely loved it.

it was pretty quiet here tho, because to get here, one has to pass Dragon's Fury, and this early everyone went right into that short line.

So we had this area mostly to ourselves - which I didn't mind, made for some great photo opportunities.

this section has a big playground for the kids, and 3 rides:

a Super Disc-O themed to a cobra

can't pass up a good photo op. . LOL

restaurant - wasn't open yet, as the park had just opened.

Monkey Swinger - a  wave swinger, that despite my best efforts, wasn't really able to capture the water spraying.  tho if you zoom in on the below pic, you can see the water spout on the right just above the entrance sign.

you know how on some wave swingers, they have the water fountains that shoot up, and make you feel like you are going to get wet, but they stop just below your feet?

not on this sucker. . those fountains shoot up about 20 feet, and SOAK everyone on the ride.      particularly the middle row of seats.

I rode on the inside row, so only got "spritzed" not soaked. . but it was a LOT of fun.

ah.. well, you can see some of the water spraying on the left here.

and finally over here are the park's Bumper Cars - themed to Tuk Tuks. . . .

in the background on the left, is the large, enclosed Play area for kids.

LOL. .it kind of looked like an abandoned asylum, I thought.   but really liked the design work.

I hardly ever ride Disc-o's. . let alone a Super Disc-o. . . but with some urging from Stacy and Andrew, I joined them to ride this one.

I admit, the design is what cinched it for me.. I really liked the Cobra design.

we headed around the bend up ahead to hopefully ride the Tiger Rapids flume. . .

only to discover it wasn't operating today

I did ask about it, and was told that it was too early in the season for it to be operating.. which was a shame as it was a warm day, and it looked like a ton of fun.

they did have some Tigers over here, but they were all sleeping in the long grass. . . so instead I took a pic of the Copybarra - who was helpfully just sitting near the glass in his own enclosure as we headed to another area of hte park.

actually, there WAS a flume operating today - the Junior one (which I happened to catch Jon on as we walked by).

the "logs" were ADORABLE - upside down Alligators. 

but the line for this one was pretty long, and it wasn't included in our skip the lines today (although I think you could purchase a one time skip). . but I wasn't needing to ride a flume that badly, so just settled for a pic of it as we passed by.

the park's indoor dark, shooting ride.

I don't remember much about it other than it reminded me very much of the Buzz Lightyear Spaceranger Spin ride. . but with Mummies.
so I DID like it.  Think we may have ridden it twice.

 

this park made some news a couple of years ago when they built this WTF monstrosity - and I say that with total love, as I adore this funky thing.

Croc Drop - a spinning, junior drop tower, that drops INTO  A GIANT CROCODILE MOUTH!

hahahaha. . it was so silly, I loved it.

More Topiary

time to ride the Carousel!

erm. . "Chessington Adventure Tree"

SO many choices. . .

I, of course, chose to ride in the giant, carnivorous, plant - at least that's what I think it was (tho dirty minds might see it slightly differently).

it rocked back and forth as the Carousel moved.

Stacy rode a Tiger

but we could have ridden Copybarras!

or Rhinos

That same author I mentioned earlier who wrote "Room on the Broom" also wrote "the Gruffalo"

it's an indoor river dark ride . with some animatronics, and water effects - such as passing under shooting water jets - while riding in small 4 person circular boats.

I didn't understand what was going on whatsoever, but during the ride the rafts got very close to each other, and the British kids in the raft behind us attempted to explain the storyline.     it's a really popular kids book in the UK.

Pic from Andrew while passing under some of those water jets

is it Heckle or Jeckle ?

this actually looked good. . but we were scouting for were to use our lunch vouchers. . ..

we ended up at the BBQ "Smokehouse" place, where our voucher was considered good for the "family" meal.

really. . this is what I got!  (with two drinks). . and this is with me asking them for no corn and no beans (so there would have been even more food)!

to be continued after lunch!

[bert425]

Day 1 (part 2):  Animal Tours, the Aquarium and the World of Jumanji!

 

after a very filling lunch (it was too much food), most everyone met up to take advantage of the animal tours the park so kindly offered us.

we met up here in the "Western" section - where I assume behind the wall at the far left just off picture stood the wild mouse coaster, Rattlesnake, that is SBNO.

they divided us into two groups to see different things, then we'd swap.

my group went first all the way to the backstage area of the park, and over to the Giraffe housing!

Clearly they are used to tours here, as they came running, expecting food

beneath us (we were on an upper catwalk) there was also a new mama with her baby being kept in here, away from the heat

and this guy too

the Giraffes get SO close.

they smelled a bit like a horse, but not unpleasant. .. what was a bit unpleasant was the slimy tongue.   but still. . so worth it to feed them.  an amazing experience.

this made me giggle - it's like the door at the 711 where there's a height chart, so the counter person can tell the police how tall the robber was

of the 3 Giraffes back here, one was the most friendly and kept coming back over, as the keepers answered questions about them and told us about the ones here at the park.

after about 25 minutes, it was time to swap, so we made our way back out into the park, and over to another animal section.

there was a lot of cool theming back here, and it kind of looked like a queue area?  the park DOES have a Safari ride, called Zoofari, where they drive you in small trucks in groups of 25 or so, but it was not open today due to the heat.    So gotta wonder if some of this area is the waiting queue for those that are going on the Safari?

Eventually we came to the monkey house walk thru area, with the monkeys hopping around above and around us on the netting.

most of em were just hanging out in the shade tho.

and then we went over to see Reuben - who had a skunk.

an un-adjusted skunk. . . yeah, the kind that can spray you with stink.

 

he asked who wanted to hold it, and several folks, like Ryan here, were happy with the opportunity.

I was a "hell no". .and stood way back. . but eventually I gave in to peer pressure and agreed to hold the skunk

you can tell from my face in these pics how "thrilled" I was.

but I *am* ultimately glad I did it - it was warm, and soft, like a cat. .and it fell asleep in my arms.

not as quickly as I'd like, but quick enough, he took the skunk back, we all washed our hands, and we headed over to see the Raccoons.

these guys were absolutely adorable, and climbed all over Reuben.

 

it was a wonderful added bonus, and i so appreciate that the park offered us these tours as a perk.   I didn't mind at all giving up "ride time" to do these, and had a great time.

we ended the animal tour by the Penguins and the SeaLife Aquarium, so decided to go in and have a look.
 

but before we got there. . . someone (I think it was Steve) called out to me to tell me the Garafalo was out doing meet and greet.

I love a photo op, so quickly got in line (everyone in our group did, but sadly, we didn't think to get a TPR pic with the Garafalo)

but I did pull out my baby stuffed Garafalo that I had bought from the ride store earlier, so that made for a fun pic 

at Chessington World Adventures, the SeaLife Aquarium is included with admission.

we still had an hour or so until park close, so a few of us went to hit the rides we hadn't been on yet or wanted to ride again.

myself, Stacy and Andrew headed over to "room on the broom"  which turned out to be a walk thru, interactive, "house" of sorts.

and we decided to head to the other side of the "zoo" area to do the trail of animals, hoping most of them would be out in the afternoon heat.

passing by the Reindeer again:

and the sea lions (managed to miss the show, but at least saw them playing in the water)

some kind of fox

a lynx

Male Lion

and the Female

some cat related to a Cheetah.. but can't recall.

yeah. . the sun made everyone SO SLEEEEEEPY. . .but most of the animals were out.

trying to remember what this was.. but think it was a photo-op to compare yourself to the outline of a Gorilla?

we did go back and ride a few more things.. such as a Sandstorm that was running a fantastic program (with full turning in and out during the cycle)- but for some reason, I only took a picture of the sign (LOL)

and then we decided we should start to wander towards "World of Jumanji" - the newest section of the park, which we hadn't been to yet but was where we were meeting up for end of day rides on Mandrill Mayhem.

our route to Jumanji took us back thru Vampire's Village, where I got a pic of the coaster . .. as noted, love the theming here.

some Vampire queue theming

hey Mister. . can you spare a quarter? 

it's so well hidden in the trees, woods.. .  I'll bet this coaster is amazing during the evening hours.   as it is, I thought it was the best in the park (with lots of swing out action)

peeking over the fence up ahead is the big statue at the center of Mandrill Mayhem

 

this was apparently a Dragon Playground. .that's in the center of Dragon's Fury.

I would have never known this was here, and I rode the damn thing!    yeah, we were spinning THAT much.

and here we are, at the World of Jumanji.

there are three rides here:

Mandrill Mayhem - the signature B&M Wing launch / shuttle coaster
Ostrich Stampede - which is basically a frog hopper crossed with Kangaroo
&
Mamba Strike - which is a falling star/magic carpet type ride

 

the theming in this area is off the chain tho.

Fantastic job by the park making this area so immersive.

yeah it's dumb, yeah it doesn't do much but go around in a circle and bounce. . but I absolutely LOVED this.

it was SO stupid, and I felt so stupid on it. . but I laughed and giggled the entire ride.     so yes, fantastic.

taken with permission of the ride op before putting my phone away:

a look at what the ride does from the center of the area.

a bit hard to tell, but it's a circular ride that just "hops" as it goes around in a circle.. pretty extreme airtime too.

 

a look at Mandrill Mayhem doing it's thing

behind me is Mamba Strike, and that's where most of us headed while waiting for the line on Mandrill Mayhem to drain as the park was about to close.

we got lucky in that Brad happened to be in the area too, and noticed so many TPR folks on it, so snapped some pics of us all on it.

the operator even let us ride twice, since it was the end of the day.    This one too, had some pretty good forces - it swung FAST. . so fast it was surprising.

more pics of Mandrill Mayhem . . if you haven't noticed (and it's hard to see) the back row of seats?   face backwards

hungry hungry hippos!

and soon enough, it was TPRs turn to ride.

OMG. .I LOVE these ride vehicles!!!

Jon, Albert & April

it's a Wing coaster. . so some of the shorties have trouble getting up.

the park was prepared!

Stacy didn't realize I was gonna snap a pic. . LOL.  that's Colin behind her.

I believe pic courtesy of Elissa (Ryan and myself)

 

Chris, myself, Robb, and Doug in the back row facing away from everyone else.   Pic courtesy of Elissa

TPR on Mandrill Mayhem!

this inversion is KILLER too.. .on the way back, the train takes it so slowly, there's a ton of hangtime.

heading out of the park after a long, and very fun day, we passed the SeaLions sunning.

 

a short drive back to the hotel, and believe it or not, some of us were hungry again.    Stacy looked up a pub in walking distance, and we headed over there and had a really good meal.    it was impressive how good it was from a pub/coffeeshop.

LtR:  David, Neal, Neal, Doug, Hawk, Andrew, Stacy, me.

my firecracker Cauliflower and noodles (it was so good I remembered what I had)

and my lemondrop martini. . . .  cheers to an excellent start to the trip.

 

and after this, was time to head back to the hotel and go to sleep (tho I think some followed Andrew to a pub a little ways down and watched some of the playoffs that were on the tv there). 

tomorrow was a park I had heard of, but didn't know much about:  Thorpe Park, and I was excited!

[bert425]

oh the most amusing part of the whole experience at Chessington World Adventures - which I can't believe I forgot:   

we had a "safety officer" (which seemed to be a thing with all the UK parks, that when there's a group before or after park open, there must be a safety officer with them).. . who had to inform us where the best place to run to is, in case there is an animal escape.

remember, it's a zoo. . . but she was so serious about it, it was extremely amusing in how odd it was.  

(the Lions are right behind Vampire, so this was one of the first things discussed - where to run to if there's an escape)

[teacherkim]

Lol, I totally am with Stacy on needing a stepstool! Always have to hoist myself up on wing coasterss.

[Nrthwnd]

I remember thinking that Vampire's load/unload station was one of The Best Themed stations, I'd ever seen. And - gotta love that SeaLIfe franchise. I like they had aquariums (and all of them different in some ways) at many of the UK parks.

And about that stool ..... yeah, I'm with 'the above' - getting on suspended coasters, etc. is a chore for me now. Then, there's getting off ... hah.

Great start of your UK visit, Bert. Looking forward to more.

[teacherkim]

20 hours ago, Nrthwnd said:

I remember thinking that Vampire's load/unload station was one of The Best Themed stations, I'd ever seen. And - gotta love that SeaLIfe franchise. I like they had aquariums (and all of them different in some ways) at many of the UK parks.

And about that stool ..... yeah, I'm with 'the above' - getting on suspended coasters, etc. is a chore for me now. Then, there's getting off ... hah.

Great start of your UK visit, Bert. Looking forward to more.

At just barely 5'1" I have to launch myself off of wing/suspended and sometimes dive coasters in order to not lose my virginity a second time; I love Velocicoaster but the extra large codpiece, to use a historical term, is not my friend on that one. My difficulties often gets a bit of a chuckle from my son who is about 10 inches taller than me. Hope it doesn't get more difficult to execute the older I get though 

[Garet]

What amazes me about Chessington is that looking at this TR , almost every single ride in the park is either new or has been rethemed or upgraded in some way since the early 2000's. From Vampire conversion onwards, I think off the top of my head only the Wild Mouse and 1 or 2 children rides have remained untouched.

[tbszgr]

I am pretty sure that "lynx" was a caracal and the spotted and striped mystery cat might be a serval. The park definitely looks beautiful.