Ringing in 2015, London Style

Last year we rung in 2014 at a local village hall with some of our newly-made friends. At midnight, we watched Big Ben in London strike midnight on the big projection screen (England's version of Times Square), everyone yelled Happy New Year, kissed their loved ones, then held hands and sang auld lang sign as we watched the fireworks over the river Thames on the big screen. Bill turned to me and said, next year, let's see that in person. Surprised, I asked if he was sure he wanted to brave the hoards and watch Big Ben strike midnight live, and he said and emphatic YES. So, I set the "NYE 2015 London" plans in motion. 

Fancy (blurry) dining room 

We took the train down to London on December 30th and spent a lovely half-day in London. We found a rather posh restaurant for our first dinner. More posh than we were expecting, as we were looking for a simple pub. But once you walk in and get seated, what are you going to do? There was a great piano player and the food looked delish, so we stayed. 

Liberty's of London

We spent the last morning of 2014 walking around some of the hoity-toity neighborhoods around london. We browsed through Liberty's and I drooled at their wonderful fabrics and high-end accessories.

Fancy hats!!

We stumbled upon a Phillip Treacy stand-alone shop that was sadly, closed. Phillip Treacy is the haberdasher to the Royal family and movie stars. My Royal Ascot friends would have been very jealous if (had it been open) I had braved going inside, trying on an outrageously expensive hat and taken a selfie. Oh, well, this photo of the window display will have to do.

Bubba Gump's

We found a Bubba Gump's. I teased Bill that it could be a portal to Cannery Row, and we could pop in to visit home, and all of our friends could easily visit us here. Would that's be awesome?!

Victorian arcade

We walked through a gorgeously decorated, high-end jewelry and watch arcade that was bustling with business. Because, you know, the end of the year is always the best time to buy your antique Cartier diamonds and last season's Rolex watches!  

After a morning of walking around, and a quick bite to eat in a pub, we made our way to a small theatre to see a matinee performance of The Woman in Black. The play was made into a movie a few years ago with Daniel Radcliff (Harry Potter). I hadn't seen the movie, but we enjoyed the play very much. 

We knew we'd be standing all night for the fireworks, so we figured a play and a nice, long dinner would be nice before braving the elements. 

Fancy dining room, New Year's Eve

Our dinner was at a rather fancy restaurant right next the the famous Savoy hotel. We booked dinner several weeks early knowing the number of people in town for New Years would make finding a good place with availability by chance very difficult. Simpsons on the Strand turned out to be lovely. They serve roast beef, cut table-side with all the trimmings as well as a bevy of other delicious items. Yum!  

Buckingham Palace

On our walk back to our Bed and Breakfast that night, we spied Buckingham Palace all lit up. It was beautiful and I had to take one last photo before we packed it in for the night.

As for the fireworks over Big Ben?  I'll save that story for the next blog post :-)