As the saying goes, time flies when you’re having fun. So when the 1st July came about, I couldn’t believe that it had been a year since I moved to Richmond. So much has changed since this time last year – I finished my backpacking adventure, left my family home in Guildford, got my first graduate job and moved in with Andrew. In short, I became a proper adult, with a full time job and commitments.
Having been a fully fledged Londoner for a year I decided that I had to celebrate somehow. We’re always going into central areas for a trip to the theatre (I would 100% recommend Book of Mormon and Dreamgirls) or to meet friends for drinks or dinner, but we never seem to find time to do the truly touristy attractions that London is famed for. Considering 30 million tourists visit London every year, we decided it was only right to be tourists in our own city for a weekend. Richmond may be at the end of the district line, but if people are willing to fly from the other side of the world to see our city, we should be able to spend 35 minutes on a tube to see the same sights.
Our day started with Afternoon Tea at the Four Seasons Hotel Park Lane. Followed by the most touristy attraction we could think of. The London Eye. Whenever I walk past the eye on my way along Southbank, its full of masses of selfie stick waving tourists queueing to experience London’s famous ferris wheel; the lure of a birds eye view of the city too much to resist.
Park Lane is the iconic centre of London hotels, so it seemed fitting that we test out the offering at one of the many hotels there. Perfectly located for the sights of London; nestled in between Green Park and Hyde Park, and walking distance to Leicester Square and Covent Garden (or just three stops on the tube if you’re feeling lazy) for the theatre, nightlife, restaurants and much more.
Afternoon tea is by far one of my favourite eating experiences (it’s definitely up there with brunch but a less frequent affair, saved for celebratory occasions rather than every other weekend) – an excuse to dress up real fancy and eat your body weight in delicious food, prolonging the experience for a good couple of hours, as you sip champagne and tea and people watch the glamorous people who spend their time in five star hotels.
Having grown up in Asia, Andrew had never experienced the delights of afternoon tea. When I asked him about the afternoon-tea shaped hole in his life, his answer was: “Well I’ve had cake and tea in the afternoon so I guess that’s the same thing…” Therefore I thought it was only fair that I put his misconceptions right and introduce him to the truly British past time of nibbling on (read stuffing out faces with) finger sandwiches, scones and teeny cakes in a beautiful setting, accompanied by a refreshing lack of judgement from passers-by/waiters/yourself about the obscene amount you are eating as you reach for your fourth scone of the afternoon. It’s the tradition after all.
We were seated in the Amaranto Lounge, just off the hotel lobby, on beautiful red velvet sofas where we made ourselves at home and settled in for the lengthy eating marathon that would follow.
Deciding to test out the ‘Through a British Summertime” Afternoon Tea, which offed the full works of sandwiches, cakes and scones, made with fresh, seasonal produce. Washed down with a cappuccino and a glass of Veuve Clicquot Brut, whilst Andrew, ever the traditionalist, tested out the selection of British teas on offer.
Starting with the finger sandwiches: Highland Waygu Salt Beef with horseradish cream, Hafod Cheddar and Pickle, Cucumber perfectly complemented with mint and lemon balm, Smoked salmon with a caper and asparagus butter and finally my favourite of them all, the Devonshire Crab.
Despite my attempts to brief Andrew about the dangers of over indulging on finger sandwiches before you’ve even made a start on the scones and cakes, I made the rookie mistake of saying yes when the waitress asked if we wanted a second portion of sandwiches. In my defense they looked so small on the dainty plate, but by the time I had made it to sandwich number eight and the food baby started to appear, I was definitely regretting my decision.
Followed by the cake layer. The summer theme meant that Andrew was presented with the cutest cakes shaped like a picnic basket and tennis ball, almost too pretty to eat.
Unfortunately being Coeliac means that my afternoon tea plates are never quite as pretty as the normal offering, hence the lack of photos from my half of the table. Something I’ve accepted, due to the part that gluten plays in holding things together, and my five little sweet treats were delicious even if they weren’t quite as aesthetically pleasing.
And finally scones, brought out with fresh clotted cream and two types of jam, inevitably accompanied with the argument of whether cream or jam should go first. Both of us adamant that our method was the only logical one (eventually having to come to the decision that we would agree to disagree this once).
Actually I lied, following the scones we were presented with the next “course” – a lemon cake with rhubarb compote and pistachio daquoise, although neither of us could manage a single mouthful so I’m not sure I’m allowed to count it as an actual course.
Two hours after we started our tea, we were truly defeated, with my repeated assertions of “just one more bite” resulting in an uncomfortable fullness that necessitated a post afternoon tea lie down. Luckily the Four Seasons are renowned for their insanely comfortable beds, so we popped upstairs to check into our room and have a quick rest.
After our power nap, we embarked on the walk from Hyde Park to the London Eye on the Thames. We couldn’t have planned this route better if we tried, ticking off a number of the “Top Ten Tourist Attractions in London” along the way – perfectly fitting our aim of being tourists in our own city. In the half hour route we looped through Green Park straight past Buckingham Palace and through to St James’ Park, carrying on until we reached a bustling Parliament Square with the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben to our right and the London Eye just across the river.
I always try my best to walk as much as possible in central London, much preferring the opportunity to find beautiful architecture or stumble across hidden courtyards, rather than descending miles underground to stand on a dark and dingy tube where you’re packed like sardines. And often, if your journey consists of only a couple of stops, by the time you’ve gone down multiple escalators and battled through crowded platforms to make it on a train, it can actually be quicker to walk. This handy map illustrates which of the most popular tube journeys are faster by foot, and will save you a lot of unnecessary time and effort.
The London Eye Champagne Experience comes with my highest recommendations. It sounds fancy but at £36 per person it is only a couple of pounds more expensive than the fast track tickets and entitles you to a glass of champagne once aboard your “pod”, and perhaps more importantly the opportunity to completely skip the many queues leading up to the eye.
As a British person the importance of queuing is engrained in my culture and I am normally more than happy to take my place at the back of the queue and wait patiently for my turn as the mass of people edge forwards slowly. However if you have ever walked past the eye on a Saturday afternoon and seen the multiple queues snaking along the pavement cordoned off by airport style barriers with little movement actually occuring, I’m sure you can understand my need to make an exception this once.
After checking in, we were directed up to the London Eye bar, where we sipped cocktails until the rest of our group was ready. From here, the eighteen of us were escorted straight onto the pod by a lovely and very chatty guide who cradled our champagne carefully in a delightfully British hamper, avoiding both the fast track and general entry queue.
All in all less than 10 minutes from leaving the bar to standing in our pod as the ascent started, rising higher and higher over the Thames, a glass of chilled champagne in hand.
We embraced our tourist status fully, using our London skyline map to point out building and landmarks to each other, from the Shard to Tower Bridge and St Paul’s Cathedral, genuinely surprising ourselves with our lack of geographical knowledge when it comes to the city.
Reaching the 135 metre peak feeling on top of the world, before we started the descent back down towards the murky waters of the Thames again… Giving us the perfect opportunity to marvel at the sheer size of the Houses of Parliament.
Downing the last of our second glass of champagne (we’re awfully classy people), we stepped on to solid ground again, sad that our London Eye adventure had come to an end. However, our disappointment was short lived as we started our walk back to the hotel and looked out across the Thames, the views of the Houses of Parliament breathtakingly beautiful as the sun started to lower. Big Ben taking centre stage in my shots.
Finishing the day with the most classic tourist pose I could muster up… I’d say that our tourist day was a success.
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