Sister Trip to London

When my sister Patty said, “There is a stage show of Midsomer Murders (the British TV show) taking place in London, let’s go.” I jumped at the chance. I don’t watch the show, but my sister is a huge fan. Yes, I had seen a couple of episodes when visiting my sister on the East Coast, and I enjoyed them. But all that registered in my mind was “A sister trip to London.” “Hell yes,” I said. We have not traveled abroad together since we were kids.

Sister Trip to London

*Tea at Caffè Concerto Covent Garden Piazza*

Our mom got a job when my sister and I were pretty young just so we could travel every summer to Europe. This is when both Patty and I caught the travel bug. We were shocked when our husbands said, “You should go to London with your sister.” So we ran with it – a sister trip. As a travel writer, it takes some time to arrange a trip and organize lodging for barter in any country, but we really didn’t have time. Next thing we knew, our older brother James stepped in and hooked us up with a free hotel and some air-miles to travel with. Then we started begging him to come with us as well to make it a sibling trip, but alas, he could not get away.

*At the Swan Restaurant at the Globe Theatre just before the show*

A Memory Making Trip

It quickly started turning into a big fantastic adventure. I started reaching out to attractions, theatres, as well as restaurants. Soon we had several reviews scheduled. It all came together so fast. I just knew our mother (who has long since passed on) had a hand in it. She wanted us to be close, and that we are. I usually speak to my sister who now lives in Connecticut at least once a day. So it was so much fun for us to meet in NYC and stay at her son’s apartment the night before we left. We were like school girls chattering about what we would be doing and where we would go.

When we were in our twenties, Patty and I (who both lived in New York City at the time) would go shopping almost every Friday. Then we would go to lunch and have a margarita. I remember in the restaurant, we’d be pulling off price tags. That way we could easily slip our new purchases swiftly into our closets when we returned home. This way, when our now ex-husbands remarked about the new clothes, we’d say, “This old thing, I’ve had it for years.”

Sister Trip To London — *Afternoon tea at the the Savoy Hotel*

Best Time in London

Needless to say we had an amazing time. We stayed at the Thistle London Trafalgar Square which was lovely – Thank you James (our brother). In addition to attending the theatre, we also enjoyed several afternoon teas. Of course, we did a lot of shopping. Boy did we shop! We loved Covent Garden and went back another day just to do even more shopping. We also enjoyed a fabulous tea at Caffè Concerto.

It was so much fun to spend all that time with my sister. Of course, after we shopped it always included some sort of fabulous lunch with drinks – just like the old days. We saw art and all the big attractions. We also ate – just about everything, and all types of food. London’s food scene has become so much better than it used to be. Back in the day, basic fish and chips at the pub, Chinese, or Indian were the best options. Now there are a ton of options: Italian, Mediterranean, Thai, Japanese and much much more.

We had a particularly incredible time in Richmond. It’s a lovely suburb…so pretty and great shopping. Plus the show – Midsomer Murders was fantastic. We had drinks in the Ambassador lounge, with nibbles and ice cream too.

Our Mother’s Presence

We talked about our parents often, especially Mom. When we were at the Savoy Hotel having Afternoon Tea, we both could feel her presence.

Prior to leaving for a show at the Globe Theatre, we spoke to a woman at the front desk of our hotel. Her name just happened to be Dolores, (our mother’s name). She was incredibly helpful and actually walked us down to the corner to show us where the bus stop was. When we returned late that night, Dolores was there. She welcomed us in and wanted to know all about the show. Little things like that kept happening throughout the trip.

I am so glad we decided to do this. Friends come and go, but sisters are forever. And of course brothers are forever too. I have documented everything on our ETG instagram so our brother and husbands and the rest of Patty’s family can see what we are up to. So feel free to follow @EatTravelGo

See EatTravelGo.com for more articles about our trip. Some reviews are up already, but I’ll me adding more. So, stay tuned! I’ll let you know on instagram.