Most of our friends have probably already heard us raving about Rick Steves. He writes the best travel guides for Europe, and we are actually disappointed when we go to other continents and have to use other travel guides. He does a great job of suggesting things to do and places to visit to feel more like a local.
One of our all-time favorites was his pub crawl in Venice which took us to a bunch of back street pubs away from the tourists. Although many of his walks cover the touristy stuff too, he does it in a unique way providing other interesting tidbits, and even better, they often come with a free audio guide.
The first walk was through the old city area where London first began and provided a glimpse of the London of Shakespeare and Dickens. We got to see and hear about the history of a few of the beautiful churches built by Sir Christopher Wren. The highlight being St. Paul’s cathedral.
We saw the old tiny tea store Twinings that has been family owned since opening in 1706.
The Royal Courts of Justice: Britain’s highest civil court
Official Entrance to “the city”
Church of St Dunston’s
My favorite area, the narrow lanes of 1700s….
that lead to Dr. Johnson’s house, most famous for writing the first English language dictionary, and his beloved cat Hodge.
Just around the corner is the Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, a tavern since 1538 and rebuilt after the fire in 1667, that was frequented by Dr. Johnson. A great place to immerse yourself in a world that hasn’t changed much for centuries, we couldn’t help but stop in and get a pint of cider and beer.
Last stop on this walk was the Monument for the fire of 1666
The second Rick Steves’ walk was through Westminster with some of the most well-known London sites.
Big Ben
Houses of Parliament
Westminster Abbey
Horse Guards
Trafalgar Square
Have a blast!