When I was a college student at Tyler Junior College, I had a history teacher who was an avid admirer of Winston Churchill. I’ll never forget the day he strode into the classroom bellowing the words: “Never give up!” I may not have learned much about the war, but that quote stuck with me.

I got a better look at the life and accomplishments of Churchill when we visited the Churchill War Rooms in Westminster, not far from Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament. The underground bunker where the British planned and conducted their strategy during World War II has been preserved just as it was left that day in 1945 when the war ended.

We wound our way from room to room, down tiny hallways, wearing earphones which told us the story of the war rooms and the shelter it provided Churchill, his family, and government officials. Some staff lived down there for two thousand days, never going above ground until the war was over. It is remarkable how resilient people are, and how the war planning and communication was conducted with such primitive equipment.

An expansive exhibit shows highlights of Churchill’s life and the timeline of the war. This tour was definitely one of the highlights of the trip, and I urge anyone visiting London to check it out. Tickets are timed to prevent too many visitors at one time, which we appreciated after experiencing the limited space.

From the Churchill War Rooms, we headed to the Red Lion Pub for lunch, a frequent meeting place for English Prime Ministers and politicians, though we didn’t recognize any. Our order took longer than expected, so we didn’t get to tour Westminster Abbey.

Once we reached the entrance to the Abbey, we learned that tickets had been sold out, and it had closed for the day. Lots of attractions in London require tickets bought in advance, and we learned this the hard way that day.

It was Memorial Day weekend in the States, and also a holiday in London, so the streets were crowded. Trisha suggested we take a boat tour on the Thames and then a bus tour to escape the heat, so we purchased the twenty-nine-pound ticket and boarded the boat.

It was a nice, air-conditioned ride, although shorter than I would have liked, but we were able to see some famous London landmarks like the London Eye, the Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, the Shard, the Globe Theater, and the Walkie Talkie building.

Upon disembarking the boat, we boarded a hot sightseeing bus but were unable to stay long because the driver told us it was time to get off, that his shift was up. I think we didn’t get our money’s worth on that deal!

We walked to a train station, waited forty minutes at the wrong platform, asked a staff member about it, and she directed us to the correct one. Who knew there were two Platform Ones–one above ground and one below?

Anyway, before we reached our hotel in the Bayswater area, we stopped at another pub for a refreshing drink–Trisha had her favorite passion fruit martini and I enjoyed an Aperol Spritz. Unfortunately, they had run out of the sticky toffee pudding she had anticipated. Botheration.

It would be our last night in London. Stay tuned for departure day!

XOXO