I’ve been looking forward to taking the kids on a trip to Europe for what feels like forever. Ever since they were little, I imagined celebrating their high school graduations with a big family adventure overseas. Nathan graduated from high school a couple of years ago, and with Autumn entering her senior year this fall, it finally felt like the perfect time to make that dream happen.
This summer, we packed our bags and headed to London and Paris for an unforgettable family vacation! In this first post, I’m sharing everything from our new direct flight from St. Louis to London, our stay at The Montague on the Gardens, exploring Borough Market and the Tate Modern, and ending our first day with an incredible dinner at Hawksmoor.
We arrived at the airport early for our flight to London, and Nathan snapped this photo of us while we were waiting to board. Can you tell he’s excited?
We were especially excited that St. Louis Lambert Airport now offers a direct flight to London (which launched this spring). It made getting to Europe so much easier! In the past, we would have had to fly to the East Coast first before catching an overnight flight across the Atlantic.
Unfortunately, a line of strong storms rolled through after we arrived at the airport, so our flight was delayed a bit. Takeoff was a little bumpy, but once we climbed above the weather, the rest of the flight to London was smooth. We were so happy to finally be on our way!
I always love watching our flight’s progress on the screen throughout the trip. It’s fun to see exactly where we are over the Atlantic! One of my favorite parts of international flights is the warm meal, too. I had a marinara gnocchi with crackers and cheese, a roll with butter, an orzo side dish, and a delicious fruit-topped cheesecake for dessert. Everything was really good!
Our flight was about eight hours long. I always hope I’ll be able to get some sleep on overnight flights, but I never seem to. Instead, I just stay awake until bedtime once we arrive. I’ve learned that if I take a nap after checking into the hotel, I’m usually thrown off for the rest of the trip.
We booked our trip through Mix and Match Travel Agency, and they recommended reserving two rooms at The Montague on the Gardens. We chose this hotel because of its fantastic location, beautiful decor, air conditioning (a must for us!), and the included hot breakfast each morning.
Both of our rooms were wonderful. One overlooked a lovely garden, while the other opened onto this charming little courtyard. You can see it in the first photo of Nathan and me at the beginning of this post!
After we checked in, the staff brought our suitcases up to our rooms. We were also welcomed with a fruit bowl, cookies, and a few dessert bars. They made the perfect snacks to enjoy throughout our three-night stay!
After a short break at the hotel, we were ready to start exploring London! Our first stop was Borough Market, one of the city’s oldest and most famous food markets, with roots dating back to the 12th century. We loved wandering through all of the different stalls. There were artisan cheeses, fresh produce, British donuts, pastries, flowers and plants, and so many unique vendors. You could easily spend hours browsing and sampling all the delicious food.
One thing I really wanted to try was the Ogleshield cheese melted over new potatoes, and it did not disappoint! It was absolutely delicious, and even the pickles served on the side were so good. I also wanted to try the strawberries covered in melted chocolate, but the crowds were huge that day, so we decided to skip the line and keep exploring.
In addition to all of the delicious food, there were plenty of charming little shops to explore, like this cute plant shop. And can we talk about those British cherries? They were enormous!
We were trying not to fill up too much since I had reservations at a steak and seafood restaurant for dinner, but we couldn’t resist stopping for gelato at Gelateria 3Bis. They make their gelato fresh each day using local British milk, and there were so many delicious flavors to choose from! I also loved that they drizzled liquid chocolate inside the cone before adding the gelato. It was the perfect sweet treat before we continued exploring.
Since Borough Market was so crowded, we decided to take a walk over to Tate Modern, which is a free art museum nearby. Along the way, we spotted this plaque marking the site of Shakespeare’s original Globe Playhouse, which stood here from 1598 to 1613. I loved how you could be walking down an ordinary street and suddenly come across a piece of history like this. There is so much history around every corner in London!
Tate Modern is housed in a really unique building that was once the Bankside Power Station before being converted into a museum. I loved its modern industrial look. Inside, you’ll find several floors of contemporary and modern artwork, and admission to the permanent collection is completely free. It was also a nice place to cool off for a bit since it was air-conditioned on a warm summer afternoon.
One of the highlights of Tate Modern for me was seeing Andy Warhol’s famous Marilyn Diptych in person. It’s one of those iconic works of art that I’ve seen in books and online, so it was really neat to see it up close. I also loved Vessel by Helen Frankenthaler. The painting was absolutely massive, and I was drawn to its bold colors and abstract design. I’m definitely not an art expert, but I enjoyed seeing these well-known pieces in person.
After exploring the museum, we headed back to The Montague to relax for a little while before getting ready for dinner.
Our travel agent suggested making dinner reservations a little earlier on our first night since we’d likely be tired from the overnight flight and jet lag. It ended up being great advice because we were definitely ready for bed after dinner!
Since both of our kids can be a little picky, I had to be careful when choosing restaurants for this trip. I knew a steak and seafood restaurant would be a safe bet for our first night, so I made reservations at Hawksmoor Seven Dials. Hawksmoor got its start in London and now has seven locations throughout the city, one in Dublin, Ireland, and has even expanded to the U.S. with restaurants in New York City and Chicago. They also have a Boston location opening soon. Dinner was absolutely delicious and a huge hit with all four of us!
Hawksmoor is also known for its creative cocktails, so I started with their Ultimate Champagne Cocktail. It was the perfect way to toast our first night in London! For our appetizer, we ordered the charcoal-roasted scallops, and wow… they were incredible. They were perfectly cooked and one of my favorite things we ate that evening.
We had our waiter snap a photo of the four of us before dinner. You can probably tell we were all a little tired and jet-lagged after our overnight flight, but we were so happy to finally be in London! Thankfully, Hawksmoor didn’t have a strict dress code because comfort was definitely the priority on our first night.
For dinner, I ordered one of the evening specials, a filet with lobster. They brought out a whole assortment of fancy utensils for the meal, which made it feel even more special. It was absolutely delicious!
For dessert, I had to try a classic British treat, the sticky toffee pudding with clotted cream and ice cream. It was absolutely fabulous! I also ordered a cappuccino to finish off the meal. Don’t worry, the caffeine didn’t keep me awake. After our overnight flight and a full day of exploring London, I slept like a baby that first night!
That’s a wrap on our first day in London! Next week, I’ll be sharing all about our second day, including Westminster Abbey, the Changing of the Guard, afternoon tea, and more. Stay tuned!
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