The Titans have Landed - in London!
When the Tennessee Titans' 2018 schedule was announced, and we found out that they would be playing the Los Angeles Chargers in London, we immediately started making plans to travel for this game! We visited London once before, 5 years ago, while we were on a Tauck tour, and we became so fond of this city that the thought of coming here for the Titans game was irresistible.
All the plans came together on Monday, October 15, 2018, when we left Nashville on a 7:00 p.m. flight to Atlanta, with a tight connection to a flight that left at 9:53 p.m. No problem! We made the terminal switch with time to spare. There were quite a few Titans fans on both flights, so that was fun to experience. As we approached London, the pilot circled the city and gave us a tour of the major attractions from above! Before our flight landed in London (around 10:40 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 16), we passed over Wembley Stadium where the Titans will play on Sunday, the Globe Theater where Shakespeare played in the 1600's, the Tower of London where heads were lost and jewels are still kept, and an amazing and vibrant city of both past and present, rivaling any in the world!
In no time we had our luggage, breezed through customs, and were sitting in a taxi on our way to the Chesterfield Mayfair hotel in downtown London. Our travels could not have gone smoother. And we were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by a warm, sunny day! It was so warm, over 60 degrees, that we had to ask the cab driver to roll the windows down.
We checked into our hotel early (noon) and were impressed by the extremely friendly and helpful staff. The hotel is in a great location on Charles Ave., near Buckingham Palace, the shopping district of Oxford Street, and many other tourist attractions. This is what the hotel looks like from the outside:
We unpacked quickly and found an area near the hotel called "Shepherd Market" (recommended to us by the staff) which has lots of shops and restaurants. We chose to eat at a great pub called "The Kings Arms". I had to have the fish and chips (with peas), and Brock had a Bacon Cheeseburger. Both were great!
From there, we walked to our favorite London department store, Selfridge's!
Along the way, we passed other Titans fans, which was fun, and this pretty display outside a shop:
And here we are at Selfridge's!
They were already decorated for Christmas. From the minute you enter the store and step upon the escalator, your sense of wonderment expands:
Brock wanted to check out the "package store" in the basement. It features lots of bourbon, which pleases him! When he saw this display of bourbon, he declared that he was on his true path!
The displays in this store are a feast for the eyes. Here is a display of tequila, I believe, waiting for the "Dia de los Muertos" to be consumed:
The theme was carried throughout the department:
The tea department was lovely and colorful:
Here is a colorful display of teapots:
I enjoyed this display in housewares:
The store has a restaurant on every floor, it seems. There is even a bourbon bar in Women's Accessories! In the basement, there is an appealing restaurant, and you have to walk past this display to be seated:
I imagine that they sell quite a few desserts here.
Not your usual department store, is it? Au contraire, it's the best in the world!
Brock slept quite a bit on our flight, and I slept a little bit, but we were still pretty wiped out from our travels. So we returned to our hotel early, cleaned up, had some delicious room service, and turned in early to sleep off our jet lag.
It was the first truly gourmet room service meal we've ever had. Homemade chicken noodle soup with a puff pastry on top, soft shell crab with sweet chili sauce, fresh bread with salted butter - wow!