Secret WWII tunnels, saying hi to Anne Boleyn and eating the best food (five guys)

We’re back for another jam packed day in London! Today was definitely an earlier start to the day as we had a 10am admission booked for Churchill’s War Rooms, which is located in such a pretty area of the city; around the corner from St James’s Park, 10 Downing St and Buckingham Palace. We got there a bit early (9:40am, but if anyone’s spent any time with me or my Dad that will come at no surprise). We couldn’t enter any earlier than our ticket, so we went for a bit of a walk around the area near the Rooms at St James’s Park. We came across this random cottage right on the side of the road, it was so random! There was an insanely well-established garden, I half expected a little grandma, or those bunnies from those children books that wear aprons, to pop out and invite us in. It was just so odd to be walking around central London, surrounded by these massive buildings, and then a random little cottage. It was such a quintessential ‘I love London’ kind of moment.

I had also realised I really didn’t mind the lack of sunshine. Although I’m well known amongst my friends and family for a strong opposition to Australian summer. And I do stand by that, it’s god awful. I did recognise, however, that moving to the UK to avoid Aussie summer was a bit of a drastic move. It made me wonder if living in the overcast would make me miss that sun and summer. Well to be fair I have only been here 2 and a bit days, but I can safely say (for London at least) it hasn’t fazed me in the slightest. Today was overcast the entire day and rained on and off for hours. But I reckon it’s not the sun, or lack thereof, that keeps me happy. It’s how green London is during summer that has really been feeding my serotonin. There’s something about strolling through a random park, or luscious garden that just makes me so happy. It’s so me! Lots of the photos and clips from today are of the flowers from the cottage, I really did feel like I was looking at my future.

Anyway moving on with the day, we really enjoyed the War Rooms. Dad probably more than I did, which is to be expected, but anything WWII related I’m always going to be fascinated. Even though I’m not the biggest museum fan, being able to walk through the rooms with all the original maps and desks still set up was so cool, I did find myself nerding out a couple of times. Especially after seeing it as sets in shows like The Crown  and movies like The Darkest Hour it was great to see the real thing. For some brief context, the Cabinet War Rooms (renamed Churchill War Rooms) were concealed in entire secrecy under central London which housed the plans and coordination of British attacks, defences and evacuations throughout WWII. There was also some really cool exhibitions about Churchill’s political life and career, which oddly I already knew quite a bit of what was included, though I have no idea how. We probably spent 2 hours wandering through, and Dad was pretty good at picking up the vibes when I had had enough.

Thinking that there would be some commotion around the area since we were only a couple of meters from 10 Downing and there was an election yesterday, we allowed plenty of time in case we needed to take detours. Turns out the British public couldn’t give less of a shit, and the entire area was comedically empty. We then had plenty of time to make our way across London following the Thames before our Tower of London booking at 3pm. Initially we were planning on walking along the river, finding some lunch on the way, but as we reached Parliament House and Big Ben we decided to be the ultimate tourists and take a river tour instead. We grabbed some lunch from a near-by Five Guys (I had to make sure Dad was cultured) and munched on salty peanuts on the boat. We arrived at the Tower Pier 20 mins before our ticket time which was perfect. We also got some incredible views of the city line and learnt some more about London’s history (or as much as you can get through in 40mins, I doubt it was comprehensive). Also if you have an Oyster card your tickets were 30% off! Although I would say river tours are usually a tourist trap and not all that valuable, if it doubles as an effective transport option, and you get a little discount, I would definitely recommend, it was a lovely way to see more of the city and give the legs a bit of a break.

I have been inside the Tower of London before when I visited London in January of 2022, although it was entirely unrecognisable in the summer. Most different was the sheer number of people. Sometimes I forget how big of a destination London is. Of course in winter the Big Ben area over the bridge is busy, but we went to the Tower at 10am on a Tuesday or something and it was comparatively a ghost town. I do believe there’s something to be said about trying to go to the Tower when it’s a bit quieter- I would recommend earlier in the morning. It’s such a fitting atmosphere when the weather is cool, people are sparse and there’s a light fog. If you’ve visited the Tower before, you’ll understand why. It’s famous for its public executions, torture methods, functioning as a prison, and beheading multiple queen figures, including 3 of Henry VIII’s wives. Visiting the chapel within the Tower where Lady Jane Grey, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard was very special to the history nerd over here, it was quite surreal! Unfortunately they were quite strict with the no-photography rules inside, but just seeing their resting places was moving enough to make me want to return. Another highlight of our explorations was finally getting to see the Crown Jewels- last time I was there they were being prepared for the Coronation so I was looking forward to seeing them! Initially the line to get in to the room where they were kept wrapped around the entire tower so we didn’t bother, opting to instead explore the armoury, torture museum, mint, Bloody Tower and White Tower. Once we’d done the rounds, there was absolutely no one left in line and we just went on through, so that worked out well! I didn’t think the jewels would amaze me as much as they did; it was crazy to think the piece in front of you behind a pane of glass had been made often over 500 years ago, and worn by some of the most powerful figures in history. Again, history nerd over here absolutely loved it.

Eventually we left the Tower, mostly because our feet were starting to give out, and found a cute pub more in the financial district to have a drink and recharge. Unluckily for us nothing about the experience was relaxing; the Euros (soccer) is on at the moment, and Spain was playing Germany. Somehow everyone there either was going for Spain, or at least didn’t want Germany winning; the crowd provided some quality entertainment.

Walking back through to one of the more major tube stations, we made our way back to our accommodations and ordered some yummy local Nepalese food, thoroughly enjoyable. We’ve got some fun things planned for tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Currently MIA,

Lauren x