Our next adventure has officially begun!
We left home early Sunday afternoon and arrived at Boston Logan Airport with plenty of time before our 7:00 PM EDT flight to London. Other than a slight delay leaving Boston, the overnight flight was thankfully uneventful and landed at Heathrow around 7:00 AM local time.
One of the biggest surprises of the trip so far was how seamless international travel has become. Thanks to new “touchless” facial recognition technology, we only had to physically show our passports twice: once while checking our bags in Boston and once upon entering England. Security and boarding felt oddly futuristic with the TSA agent greeting us by name.
After collecting our luggage, we grabbed breakfast and coffee/tea at the airport to kill some time since it was still far too early to begin sightseeing. With only a few hours of sleep on the overnight flight, we knew the key to surviving the day was simple: keep moving and absolutely do not sit down anywhere too comfortable.
In true Hammond family fashion, we decided to start sightseeing immediately.
We took a rideshare to Windsor, about 25 minutes from Heathrow, stored our luggage at a local gift shop, and began exploring the town. After a late morning snack, we headed uphill to Windsor Castle for a self-guided tour.
(the Keep)
The admission included an audio guide, which turned out to be excellent. We explored the castle grounds, visited St George’s Chapel, looked out from the North Terrace, and walked through the State Apartments filled with incredible artwork, ornate rooms, and centuries of royal history. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed inside the chapel or the State Apartments, so you will simply have to trust us when we say it was impressive.
One highlight in the Lower Yard was the lone castle guard standing watch while tourists took turns taking photos and selfies from about ten yards away. We suspect there is a “short straw” system among the guards to determine who gets assigned to that particular post each day. Naturally, we contributed to the ongoing tourist photo tradition.
By the time we finished touring the castle, the missed night of sleep began catching up with us. We stopped at a local pub for a quick pint and sandwich to refuel before continuing the adventure.
After retrieving our bags, we took another rideshare into London, a roughly 45-minute drive thanks to afternoon traffic. Once we checked into the hotel, we knew sitting down would be dangerous, so we forced ourselves back outside for a walk.
We found a nearby bubble tea shop and, drinks in hand, wandered through Hyde Park, which reminded us a bit of New York’s Central Park, only with more royal history and no hotdog carts.
The park was beautiful, and the sun even made a brief appearance as we passed Kensington Palace, the former home of Diana, Princess of Wales. Behind the palace sits the Sunken Garden and a memorial statue dedicated to her.
Continuing our walk, we circled Round Pond and stopped at the impressive Albert Memorial, built in honor of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband and first cousin. Albert played a major role in organizing the Great Exhibition of 1851, a massive international event showcasing industrial innovation and culture that attracted more than six million visitors. After his sudden death in 1861, Queen Victoria commissioned the memorial as a tribute to him on the center axis of where the Great Exhibition took place.
At this point, exhaustion finally started winning the battle. Between the overnight flight, the time change, and a full day of sightseeing, we were officially running on fumes.
We returned to the hotel, enjoyed a nice dinner at the restaurant downstairs, and happily called it a night.
Mission accomplished: we made it to bedtime without crashing.
Hammond Adventures 