A Quick Trip to London & A Visit to Harlaxton Manor

Exploring the gardens of Harlaxton

After nearly three weeks of traveling, Derek was back to work this week and I took a few days to clean, recuperate and plan our next adventures. I have quite a few blogs to catch up on, so I'll start at the beginning when Derek and I met my parents in London. Since it was my parent's first trip out of the USA, we packed the itinerary full of three different countries - full of taste-testing, sightseeing and lots of walking.

Derek and I stayed over night at the Advance Zum Hotel near Frankfurt Hahn in preparation for our 6:30am flight to London the following day. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare and after a quick hour-long flight, we arrived in the famous and loved city of London. After an hour-long bus ride from the Stansted airport into Liverpool Street of east London, we hopped on the tube for our first experience of the London Underground. Well-connected, speedy and crowded would be three words I would use to describe our ride at 8:30am on a Thursday. We found our hotel, The London House Hotel, in the Bayswater area with ease, and there we waited for the arrival of Mom and Dad. And what do you know, after an hour, a typical London taxi was spotted driving around, passing me on the sidewalk and our hotel. Mom and Dad circled back around and I had camera in hand, ready to document their arrival to London and the start of their first European adventure.

Mom and Dad arriving in the taxi. 

We wasted no time, and after dropping our bags off with reception, we headed for the Undergound once more to connect to our first destinations: The Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. We visited these sites, debated going in, but with a time shortage we just enjoyed the view from the outside. The Tower of London is from the 11th century- a masterpiece that still stands intact today. Derek and I even watched the History Channel's documentary on this piece of history- home to Henry VIII and his infamous acts. If we ever revisit London, The Tower will be a must-see. The Tower Bridge was also an impressive site that added royal character to the London skyline.

At the Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge

Dad and Derek in front of the Tower of London

The Grand Tower of London

After a stop at a pub for some lunch of leek and potato soup, sandwiches, beers and cider and another Underground ride, we viewed the other main sites of London including Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace. My favorites sites were Parliament and the Tower of London due to their size and structure. After our touring, we walked through some gardens and managed a rest at rent-able lawn chairs spread out in the park. After a walk to Picadilly Circus while window shopping in some up-scale shops, we finished the evening off at a local pub near our hotel with the famous fish and chips. Did you know that peas are a must with this national dish? You get two options: garden peas or mushed peas.

Big Ben and Parliament

Big Ben and the Eye

Dad, Mom and Derek in front of Westminster Abbey

Group shot with Buckingham Palace

Helpful street signs - the traffic was definitely a bit confusing!

Dad posing with the pub of choice

Day 2:

Around 9:30am on Friday, we headed out the door towards Notting Hill and its famous Portobello Market. We browsed only part of the market - it seemed to go on forever! - and bought some delicious looking and tasting pastries and sweets for breakfast. Can't beat English bread pudding and carrot cake!

The market housed everything from homemade and antique jewelry, purses, and figurines to clothing, scarves, fruits, cheeses, and the lists goes on! After the market, we walked through Kensington Gardens to view Kensington Palace - a not-so-thrilling site. The palace was not as grand as we had expected but never-the-less, it was situated in a beautiful park the connected to Hyde Park. We strolled through the green meadows before catching a train to our next stop: Grantham, England.

Kensington Palace

So tempting we bought three different kinds at the Portobello Market.

The movie (Notting Hill) made it famous!

Quaint town houses along Portobello.

We arrived in Grantham around 4pm and after a quick cab ride with a friendly driver, we pulled up to the grand and beautiful Harlaxton Manor. The manor was built in the late 1800's and is now owned by the University of Evansville - the employer of my dad. It is a college that houses study abroad students from the United States and is equipped with everything a normal college would have including a cafeteria, gym, sports teams, clubs, etc. It's been on my dad's to-do list for quite a while, and I'm so glad that we had the opportunity to experience the manor with him.

My first impression of the manor was that it was beautiful, extremely large, and that it fit perfectly into the English countryside. After finding our rooms, which were elegant, charming and with a view, we met up with the VP of Business Affairs at Harlaxton College for a tour of the manor. I was impressed with the amount of rooms, grandeur of the chandeliers and main stair case, and the gardens outside. Derek was pleasantly surprised by the history of the house, learning about the original owner's coat of arms and mission of the manor.  It was a wonderful and out-of-the-ordinary place to stay. That evening, we enjoyed dinner at the end of the "naked mile" - a mile-long road that leads from the main street to Harlaxton. Take your guess as to why it's called the naked mile, and you'll probably be right. For dinner, we enjoyed an array of English food and drinks, including my salmon cakes, Derek's meat pie, and Mom and Dad's hamburger and chips (not-so-English).  It was a great first evening at Harlaxton!

Dad at Harlaxton

Parent's "royal" bathroom

Loved this room at Harlaxton!

Walking the not-so-naked mile to dinner at Gregory's

Day 3:

After waking up in our royal rooms, we had a nice breakfast in the "Refectory" and then with brochure in hand, I led the family on a tour of the manor gardens. The owner of the manor traveled the world and wanted his travels represented in the gardens. There was an Italian garden, Dutch Canal, and French-style grass terraces. The gardens were beautiful and certainly a retreat for students studying. After our garden tour, we rented bikes from the college and headed on a six mile ride along the Grantham Canal. The ride was beautiful, winding through the English countryside and passing old bridges and meandering cows. We stopped at the Rustic Arms pub, part of our final destination, and I enjoyed some apple honey cider while Dad and Derek tried another beer. We biked for another five minutes until Derek and Dad decided they were thirsty once again. We enjoyed another beverage on the sun-drenched patio of Chequers. This concluded our bike tour as we then retraced our steps back to the manor. That evening, we ate a nice dinner in Harlaxton's cafeteria before taking a cab into the city of Grantham. After taste testing at two more pubs, we called it a day and headed back. Four English pubs in one day... Dad's dream come true!

Gardens in back of Harlaxton

Dad and Derek taking in the view.

On our way to the Grantham Canal

Biking along the canal - we had perfect weather!

Pub stop #1

Picturesque pub along the canal.

Initially, we wanted to bike to this castle. This picture sufficed.

At Chequers - Pub stop #2

Cute English pub

One of many photos I took of the cows. 

Harlaxton Village Church

We concluded our England visit with a restful Sunday morning at the manor, a walk around tiny Harlaxton village and an afternoon ride to the airport. We arrived to our home in Germany around midnight to start the next adventure!


Side notes about our England Trip:

• If you want to visit all main sites, you must by the London Pass! Each site is at least 16 pounds for entry, but the pass gets you in to all sites for a discount.
• We didn't realize you could buy an all-day pass for the Underground at first! 7 pounds for an all-day pass versus 4.50 pounds for a one-way.
• Pear cider was my favorite - highly recommend trying it.
• The Bayswater area of London was very convenient and felt safe at night.