London Pass Review: My Choices and Recommendations

The London Pass is a service where you can make a onetime purchase of a pass and then go to an unlimited amount of places that accept the pas. This includes museums, historical monuments, and more. I was given a special type of London Pass by my university which gave me five places I could go out of the list and I could do it anytime over the entire semester (as opposed to an unlimited number of places over a limited time frame). I spent a lot of time choosing where to go and scanning the list and so I want to give you my honest reviews of the places I went and my top options for someone buying the pass.

The places I went were:

Hampton court Palace: This was a very interesting palace to see, but it took a long time to get there since I used a bus and a transfer I would not recommend to tourists. If you want to see it I would recommend paying for the train. This will still take almost a whole day.

Windsor Castle: Once again, a really interesting castle and you can view the changing of the guards. This is very far out from central London though, and while the London Pass does provide free transportation here it will take almost a whole day. Not recommended if you are on a really brief visit unless its something you really want to do.

Kew Gardens: A beautiful (and huge) garden necessary for any plant lover. You can either stretch this to most of the day or only pop in to see some famous sights (like the palm conservatory). Will take you outside central London but easy to get to by the tube.

Beefeater Gin Distillery: A little weird to find but overall highly recommended if even slightly interested in gin! A great museum and gin tasting that will only take two hours out of your day.

Movie at Curzon Theatre: There are several Curzon theatres you can use you pass at and I recommend getting in a movie. This is great for the evenings after everything else is closed and great for when you just want to relax and sit down.

The other places I would definitely recommend are:

Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Kensington Palace, Churchill War Rooms, The Queen’s Gallery, The Courtauld Gallery, The Banqueting House, and Apsley House

These are all in central London and so very easy to find and quick to get to. They are also the type of places you “have to see”, especially, the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey, and you can either spend an hour just popping in or spend a good chunk of your time depending on how interested you are.

The Hop on Hop off London bus tour is also free with the London Pass and a great way to see and travel through the city.

I also recommend while you are in the Victoria and Albert Museum (and you WILL go to the V&A) to get your free cream tea with the pass.

I also recommend you get the app where you can see quickly the different offers; not only getting in places for free, but also extra things and free attractions (like audio guides and guide books.)

Overall, I think if you want to get the most out of your stay in London, I would recommend getting the London pass.  I think the three day pass is probably the best offer because at 85 pounds (~$120) you will be able to see all the attractions you want plus have some free time. Even if you just want to do a few things (Like Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, London Zoo, and the Bus Tour) you’ve already made up the price of the pass!

London Bubble Tea Ranking

Bubble Tea is one of the most beautiful foods in the world, at least in my opinion. Delicious and cold with the little surprise tapioca at the bottom! Since I love Bubble Tea so much I decided to go on a little quest to see what bubble tea in London is really the best based on recommendations and online rankings.

I have these places in no particular order and go over where you can find the shop, the prices, variety of flavors and more!

Cuppacha:

This brand has a few locations including Soho and Spitalfields. The prices of the drinks are a medium is  £3.55 and large is £3.85 plus 50p for extra toppings. But the first topping seems to be free because I wasn't charged for topping. You can choose level of ice and sugar. I didn’t have the best experience because mine was Sakura green tea with ai-yu jelly. This tea had no Sakura taste, and was a weak green tea. The jelly was tasteless. My friend though had peach oolong with boba, very good, and very sweet even though half sugar.

MooBoo

They have a few locations, including Camden, Soho, and near Bayswater tube station where I went. The pricing was a medium £3.50, £3.99 large. You can choose ice level and sweetness. There is a good range of toppings and a wide range of flavors. I had Taro which was very good, and there was a good chew to the boba.

Wasabi

This chain is well known for their sushi and are adding bubble tea at select locations. This makes this tea a lot easier to find than some of the smaller shops. Unfortunately, they are pre-made so no customization, no ice, and  limited flavors and toppings. I once had one that was luke warm so check the temperature with your hand before you buy. I had regular milk tea which was good and not too sweet or milky. I also had a lychee fruit tea with popping boba that was also nice. The boba also had a good chew.   At £2.95 takeaway its cheap; the price goes up to ~ £3.20 if eat in.

ChaTime

A few locations like 11 old Compton street in Soho, You can customize ice and sugar levels. The prices range depending on what cariety you get;  £2.95- £3.40 medium £3.45- £3.95 large plus 50p per topping. I had a Medium roasted milk tea  with boba for £3.70. Boba was cooked well, tea tastes good and fresh but, I found it to be too milky, and while I got half sweet it was plenty sweet. My main problem with this place is their different prices per drink.

Bubbleology

This is a popular and easy to find brand that has shops near South Kensington Station, Notting Hill Gate Station, and Soho. This is a “new to Bubble Tea” friendly place and very westernized where other places still are very focused on the Asian market. It is set up like a laboratory with the mixers in lab coats which is cute. A regular is £3.45 and a large £3.75. There fruit tea is good, their matcha latte was a little grainy but not too sweet or artificial tasting. A big negative was the boba was undercooked.

Biju

I think has more than one location, but I only know their 45 old Compton street, Soho shop. A regular is £3.45 large £3.95 plus 50 p. for extra topping after standard boba. (At least I was only charged £3.45 for fruit tea with boba.) Their peach tea is very delicious. They make all their tea fresh per order using little espresso looking machines so it tastes super fresh and all their fruit syrups are made with only real fruit. I also had a Thai milk tea which was also very nice. Their boba has a good chew and the drinks are not too sweet.

Best deal for medium: Wasabi

Best for large price : Bubbleology

Favorite for convenience and ease and price: wasabi: This is the place I go when I just want a quick bubble tea fix because they are so easy to find (There is one in the Hammersmith tube station which I use a lot). I just wish they had a wider range of flavors or you could customize.

Biju is my second most frequented because it has a really cute cafe, and has super high quality and fresh tea and a good range of flavors.

 Well, I hope my Bubble Tea mission helps you decide what Bubble Tea places to check out next time you are in London! This quest sure was fun for me (though I drank so much bubble tea!)

Event Review: London Symphony Orchestra

Through my school I was able to go to a few “cultural events” that I could choose. One of them was a trip to see the London symphony orchestra. The orchestra takes place in the Barbican center, which if you go to Barbican tube stop there will be large signs telling you which way to go. 

The area the symphony was in was three tiers, and when I first walked in I expected there to be many empty seats, but a large amount of people came in the last few minutes, and when the show started there were no empty seats in sight. This is probably partly because of the price; my ticket was only 12 pounds.The show itself was very enjoyable; there was also a chorus and two opera singers for a song. 

I have to say my experience wasn’t extraordinary, but some people seemed really excited about the conductor and the guest pianist so maybe they are big in the circuit. I just enjoy classical music casually so I have no idea if it was a good, excellent or whatever performance. Overall, if I lived in London these 12 pound tickets would be a good alternative to a weekend movie. 

A Trip to Dublin (including Guinness Tour)

My big trip this year was to go to Dublin, Ireland for three days. While I will spare you the fine details, I would like to say a few things about the top places I went to eat and entertainment and my accommodations.
Since, I'm cheap, I took a Ryanair flight for £15 each way  from Gatwick to Dublin. The plane ride itself only took an hour or less and the airport security etc. wasn't too horrible. I then took a bus to the city center which was only €7 bought at the airport. The hostel I stayed at was called Abbey Court it it was on Bachelors walk in a fantastically central area of town. Maybe a 5-10 minutes walk from temple bar and trinity college. The rooms and bathrooms were clean and the breakfast was free (cereal, toast, coffee, fruit, sausage rolls). For only €15 a night for a shared mixed dorm, it was definitely a good deal.

The first day I got there pretty late, and as I shall learn, everything closes by 5pm in Dublin so there wasn't much to do.  I took a walk through temple bar and the trinity college area and around Dublin castle (which isn't really a castle.) After that I went to a nice little pub a bit out of the way called T. P. Smiths that had a cool brass spiral staircase to the first floor.

The next day was the big day, even though things were not opened until around 10 am and, as always, closing at 5 pm. First, I went for a walk around the trinity college campus and the national gallery of Ireland. The national gallery had a nice collection, but the museum wasn't very big, but it was free. I also went to see the Oscar Wilde statue which is near the museum. Then, I had lunch at Cornucopia which is a great little vegan/vegetarian café where you can get a selection of three salads for around €6 which was a lot of food. The next thing was the big one, the Guinness Factory Tour.

The tour was €16 for a student and definitely worth it. The tour is self directed so there is no limit for the amount of people allowed or times to enter so there is not need to buy ahead of time. The tour is spread out on 7 floors and involves both reading and interactive exhibits. It goes through the entire process of brewing beer and the history of Guinness and Guinness advertising. There is a room where they give you a small sample of Guinness and teach you the correct way to taste it. Then, you get a free pint of Guinness. You can either have it poured for you in the sky bar or you can be taught how to pour it. I would definitely take the class which is entertaining and that bar is less crowded than the sky bar. I would still go up to the sky bar for the view (you don't have to buy a drink). In total, I spent about three hours there. After that I just went to dinner and then to the hostel.

The last day was only really a half day since I had to take the flight home. So, I just went to St. Patrick’s Cathedral for €5 which was a nice little trip, the architecture and funeral monuments were very nice to see. Then, I just had time for lunch and caught another bus for €6 to the airport and went home.
Overall, it was a nice trip. The flight and hostel was cheap and clean and the city was small and easy to navigate. I only wish that things stayed open past 5 pm because there were a few museums I wanted to see but couldn't because they were closed. The Guinness Tour was definitely the highlight of the trip and worth the money for the quality and length of the experience. I couldn't see spending a week in Dublin but another day would have been nice.

A Trip to Windsor Castle

One of the trips you can chose to take using a London Pass is to go to Windsor Castle, the family home of Queen Elizabeth II and the burial place of King Henry VIII among others. At first I was a little hesitant to go because it actually isn't in London proper and you have to take a national rail train out. But, it turns out to be very easy and a great trip for a Saturday.

To get to Windsor on a London Pass there is one route which is luckily the fastest one. First you have to take the train to Paddington. At Paddington you must go from the underground side to the national rail side where you will see a variety of trains. Now, you must find a train going to Slough. The main ones are to Oxford or Reading which stop at slough But it's good to double check they are stopping. Next, simply go up to the ticket barrier. Once there there should be an attendant that will let you through if they see your London pass and you say you are going to Windsor. They must be used to it because there was no questions asked and they didn’t scan my pass. Next, you take the train to Slough which takes less than 30 minutes and when you get on further down the same platform there is a special train that goes straight to Windsor in about 5 minutes.

At Windsor Central Station, as soon as you walk out you can see the castle. Then, you just walk in the pre paid ticket line and then go through security. I went in at around 10:20 which is a very busy time for them so it took over 30 minutes to get my ticket and go through security.
Once in, I really recommend seeing the changing of the guard at 11 am on most days. They shout a lot which is funny and play modern songs: they played the frozen movie song “Let it Go”  when I was there!

Next, I went through the church and then the state apartments. Everything was well organized and there were people to ask question to all over the place. Unfortunately you can't take pictures inside the chapel or any of the exhibits so I don't have any pictures of the amazing interiors to show.
Overall, I had a great time. The trip took less than 90 minutes and then I spend a nice 2 hours or so in the castle. I would recommend it if you have time and a London pass, but normally it would be pretty expensive since the tickets are £20 and then the train would be another £20 probably.

A Trip to the Beefeater Gin Distillery

I'm a gin girl, there is no doubt. My go to drink is a gin and tonic or a gin fizz. I kept a liter of gin in my dorm room at university; I could go on and on. So, as soon as I saw my London Pass had an option for me to go on the Beefeater Gin Tour for free, I knew I had to go.

The gin tour takes place at the Beefeater Gin distillery at 20 Montford Place, SE11 5DE. To get there I took the Jubilee line to Westminster, took exit 5, turned out the exit to the right and took the 159 bus from stop G at Westminster to the stop Kennington Park Post Office. Then, I crossed the street (backtracking the way the bus went) until I reached a fork in the road and took the smaller left side that took me to a residential street. Once I turned the corner at the end, I could see the beefeater gin sign. It is a bit hard to get to, but since it is the actual distillery, it makes sense it wouldn't be in the center of London.
The tickets usually cost £12 and includes a free gin and tonic (which will set you back at last £5 in London). There is an option to buy tickets online (but you can't use your London pass, at least no so far as I can tell) but I just showed up and went on a tour with only four other people (the max is 15). What I would do is check online the day you want to go and see how many tickets are available. If there are a lot for two tours in a row (they go every 30 minutes) then I would just show up. For the tour, there is also an option to pay extra for an iPad to help guide you but you really don't need it.
The tour set up is as follows: 30 minutes self guided tour through their museum and then 30-40 minutes of a guided tour and then your gin and tonic.

The self guided museum exhibit was actually very nice, with the walls constructed to look like the time period it is walking about as it tells the history of London gin. There are also a lot f touch screens you can play short informative movies on. I walked through at a normal pace, reading all the signs and watching all the movies at it took my exactly 30 minutes. This is why I think the iPads are pointless to pay for; you don't have that much time to fill and there is plenty of information available.
The guided tour included a very nice and entertaining tour guide who discussed the botanicals of gin while giving them to us to smell. Then she talked about the distillation process. You can look up through the glass ceiling to see the actual stills that are being used! Then, she makes everyone a gin and tonic. Afterwards, she encouraged us to go downstairs and ask for “the secret stash” I don't know if this is only available to small groups or what, but they gave an extra small sample of beefeater gin 24 and beefeater London garden (a gin only available at their distillery!)

Overall I had a nice hour and a half at this distillery with a fantastic guide and a good Museum experience. The gin and tonic was nice too! I would really recommend this tour to anyone interested in learning about or drinking gin!

A Trip to the Skygarden

On my first tour around London, one spot the tour guide made sure to point out is 20 Fenchurch Street, more commonly known as The Walkie-Talkie, and it's infamous Skygarden. It's infamous because part of the reason the Walkie Talkie was allowed to be built was the company’s promise to create a public garden in London. What they didn't tell anyone was their plan to built it at the top of their skyscraper.
To get your free enterence to the SkyGardem you have to book online on their website I would advise booking the first day of the month when they release the tickets for that month because they get booked up quickly. Online, you simply choose the day and time you want and book with your name and email. It is perfectly free. Then, you get sent and email with your ticket that you can save on your phone. Just make sure to bring an ID that matches the name you gave on the ticket. They really do check IDs.

To get to the Skygarden, I took the tube to Monument station and honestly just kind of wandered around until I saw the building. It's very tall and obvious as long as you look down the right street. You can also always just look up an online map, but it is very close to Monument and Bank station. Then, do not go in the front door. This is for general business. If you go around the right side (or ask one of the security guards) you will see a little area with benches and a café and a door labeled SkyGarden. You really should get their about 10 minutes early; do not get their late because your ticket is only good for your time and the next time is 15 minutes after the first. Once their, they check your ticket and ID and you go through security, a airport style scanner for bags and coats and a metal detector. Then, you take a very fast elevator up to the 36th floor.

I really would not go to the Skygarden if all you want is a garden experience. The garden is pretty but really just a few large planters with some plants. The real reason to come is the view. You can walk around the perimeter of the building and so get a 360 degree view of London. They also have a viewing platform that is open air that has a great view of the Shard. What is also great is that this is all free and many of the other high views in London like the Monument and other skyscrapers you have to pay to go up.



They also have a few cafes in the Skygarden and tables and couches that you can lounge around the garden for a while. The prices also are not that bad; you can get a party and a coffee for around Five pounds. Also, as an FYI there is apparently an one hour time limit, but I do not know how they enforce it. Really, if you do not eat, you only need around a half hour.
Overall, it was an enjoyable way to spend my morning. It was free, easy to find, and provided a great view of London. I would like to come again around sunset next time, I'm sure the view would be great.