London

We were on the very, very last row of a Virgin Atlantic flight (787) from Seattle to Heathrow.

Taking the tube from Heathrow to South Kensington:

Walking to our hotel from the tube station:

Adorable British neighborhoods! Also, this was our first real outing with the new ultra-wide lens we got, so be ready for lots of wide pictures:

Just a cool building on the way to church (some kind of museum):

The famed Hyde Park chapel:

First meal in London was a big hit at Honest Burgers:

A stop at one of Amanda's favorite patisseries (Paul's):

The enormous and delicious vanilla bean macaron we got from there:

Hyde Park the park:

First ice cream stop of the trip. It was... acceptable:

Green London streets everywhere:

Baker Street, of course (we actually just happened to pass by, this wasn't a pre-meditated stop):

Stunning roses in Regent's Park:

Dinner at Nando's (an Afro-Portuguese chain restaurant from South Africa). I used to eat here all the time as a missionary. It was as delicious, spicy, and satisfying as I remember:

Back garden behind our hotel (taken after breakfast the next morning):

Trafalgar Square:

The National Gallery (we spent the morning in here—saw paintings by da Vinci, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and many others):

Lions of Trafalgar Square:

A glimpse at the Eye through to St. James's Park:

We had an afternoon tea sitting at The Rubens at the Palace. This was probably our favorite meal from the entire trip and Amanda was able to find us a great deal for it as well. This is my tea (lemongrass ginger):

Amanda's was a fancy rooibos from South Africa:

The pastries in front are The Crown (in honor of the Queen's platinum jubilee was a white chocolate and coconut mousse on top of an orange chocolate brownie) and an orchard fruit (cherry compote, vanilla cream, and chocolate crumble):

And here you have the lemon tart (lemon curd, raspberry jelly, and crispy mint meringue) and pear & chocolate torte (chocolate sponge, pear jelly, chocolate ganache):

Strawberry and peach preserves with four different types of scones (plain, fruit, chocolate, and cheese):

Sandwiches (Lobster & King's caviar on brioche, roast beef & horseradish cream on beetroot bread, cucumber & lemon créme fraiche on Norfolk crunch, and smoked salmon & chive cream cheese on bagel):

Jam pennies (chocolate biscuit, strawberry jam, chocolate ganache) and flowering tea:

Closer shot of the flowering peach-marigold tea. They literally dropped in a little bulb that flowered as the herbal tea infused the pot. Quite delicious:

At Platform 9 3/4 in King's Cross station (you'll notice that Amanda and I are both Ravenclaw 🦅):

King's Cross:

The play we would see later that night:

Just London looking like it ought:

An old and storied church that had been transformed into a food court (beer and cocktails served at the front by the altar):

Fish and chips at The Mayfair Chippy (only got in on our second try—sauces top to bottom are tartar, mushy peas, and curry):

Piccadilly Circus on our way to the theatre:

Noël Coward theatre waiting for Dear Evan Hansen to start (we sat on the front row and the production was excellent. The teenage boy who sat next to me mouthed every lyric and wept openly throughout):

The next morning on a tour at Shakespeare's Globe:

Outside the theatre:

At the Borough Market for lunch and snacks and lunch:

Some of the food we got at Borough Market. Truffle mac and cheese:

A cheese straw:

Almond croissant:

Paella:

Amanda's favorite thing, strawberries smothered in chocolate. Both the berries and the chocolate were astonishingly good:

And my favorite thing—a passionfruit eclair:

Tower Bridge:

Big Ben:

Westminster Abbey:

The architecture here was pretty incredible! Probably our favorite site in London:

We got a lot of mileage out of that wide lens in here:

The Coronation Chair:

Then we were off to the Churchill War Rooms:

We did some shopping and then had dinner at Flat Iron. Quite good—the roast aubergine with tomato, basil, and parmesan (above the salad in the picture below) was amazing:

Lime and fresh mint in-house soda:

The next morning, making our way to our train at King's Cross:

English countryside out the window on our way to Edinburgh!