By DAVE GJESTSON
My wife, Laura, and I have been to London a dozen times or more in the past 4 years because it is only 3 miles north of where we live in Cambridge, Wisconsin. But in April 2026, we flew to the much older London in Europe to enjoy the city for a week while visiting our grandson, who is earning his master’s degree at Queen Mary University. It was our first European adventure.
Crossing the Atlantic in a huge Boeing 787-9 was like flying on a cloud; 288 passengers joined us!
This was our first trip as “special needs” travelers, and American Airlines provided us with wheelchair assistance, which allowed us to breeze through security, get to the gate easily, and board the airplane first. Interestingly, while tipping was O.K. in the U.S., it was refused in London for all services!
Wheelchair assistance is a nice travel benefit if the assistant shows up on time (we barely made our Chicago departure). On the London end, our wait time was in the executive lounge, and help to the plane was on time!
Traveling in business class was chosen because it allowed passengers privacy and comfort.
The electronic seat allowed the passenger to sleep fully reclined to endure the 7 1/2-hour journey completely enclosed in the compartment.
While a pricey option, the individual compartments and amenities like hot wash towels, meal menus, free alcoholic beverages, free Wifi, and free movie selection, along with a variety of gifts (slippers, sleep mask, and toiletry kit), coupled with constant flight attendant attention, made the flight quite pleasurable.
We took our melatonin at the recommended time to help us sleep and minimize the jet lag that comes with international travel. I watched the flight attendant show Laura how to open the two bulky packages containing a sleeping cushion, pillow, and blanket. I had just started a movie as we took off, and soon was enjoying my menu selection of beef Wellington!
Once the cushion was added to the seat for comfort, a push-button lowered the seat and back as your feet slipped easily under the table of the passenger next door! Genius! A headset could be retrieved from a small compartment for music or movie entertainment.
Because our plane landed in London before we could access our hotel room, we hired a Black Cab touring service to meet us at the airport and show us the historic city.
We think of our Declaration of Independence (1776) as old in the U.S., but London was established in 47 AD, almost 2,000 years ago! Today, the city is home to 9.1 million people!
House prices for rental and purchase were mind-blowing. The average rental cost is $2,650-2,900 a month. The average house cost is in the $750,000 range, with many like these shown approaching $1.5 million.
This city block displayed stores on one side of the street dating from the 16th century, while those on the other side of the street, leveled during WWII, were constructed after 1945!
Many historic monuments scattered throughout the city reflected ties to America and WWII. This small plaque identified the war headquarters of General Dwight David Eisenhower.
It should come as no surprise that “Brits" would pay tribute to the United States because of the war role taken. One park we drove past displayed large statues of Washington, Lincoln, FDR, Eisenhower, and Reagan! A stunning highlight was when we got a brief glimpse of a residence off to one side that our driver described as follows:
"Do you see the number 9 on that house? That house was the residence of the first American Ambassador to Britain. He lived there for about three years with his wife and two children. He really loved it here, but his country called him back to become the second president of the United States…John Adams!"
Buckingham Palace is the official residence and administrative headquarters for the British monarch. It attracted large crowds daily, but the palace fence and grounds’ security kept everyone from getting too close.
Approaching Clarence House, King Charles’ primary residence in London since 2003, “Bobbies or Peelers" were everywhere, and the grounds were sealed off from the public.
A very rare treat. A quick picture of the King's Rolls-Royce revealed the King himself in the back seat!
Returning to our hotel, we met our grandson, Miles Forest Richman Gjestson, our tour guide for the week.
For the next 5 days, we walked to “The Tube” (London Underground) for easy access to everything we wanted to see. We also learned why cash was never used in the city. We paid for everything by tap-and-go with our credit cards!
Miles proved to be an expert in finding our way across London. On the rare occasions when he needed help, guides in blaze yellow vests, fellow travelers, or push-button “help stations” gave him directions.
Riding the Tube was very much like the New York subway or the San Francisco BART. The travel was fast, and people had their collective noses in their cell phones!
London is home to more than 200 museums! Choosing one to visit was a coin flip, but Miles thought the British Museum was among the best, so that’s where we went on our first day.
The museum was massive and not too crowded for us to enjoy a leisurely exploration.
The centerpiece of the museum was a huge, circular library. Established in 1560, it serves as an appointment-only research facility containing over 14,000 books printed before 1801, some dating back to 1250!
Being Norwegian, I couldn’t pass up noting Viking settlements and Viking “influences” (read pillaging areas?).
Like most museums, we could have spent a few more days looking at endless, historic displays, but our stamina was not up to the task!
O.K., take a look at this Tube map. Tell me, “How can we get to Westminster Abbey?”
Laura purchased tickets to visit Westminster Abbey well in advance of our trip. An obvious London highlight, it is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture and has served as England’s coronation church since 1066.
The crowds funneled through two lines into The Abbey. Security was tight, and the viewshed was awesome!
There are 30 kings and queens buried in The Abbey over a 700-year period from 1066 to 1760. Each tomb featured their likeness posed in prayer.
The Abbey contains over 3,300 burials and 600 monuments, serving as a royal mausoleum for Britain's most celebrated figures.
We walked over many tombs encased in the flooring, and were surprised to find this one of a musician, and another of a plumber! The Abbey was used to bury important staff members, headmasters, and clerics, along with their families.
Looking at the architectural features alone makes touring The Abbey well worth the effort!
Back on the Tube, because I was using a cane, I was overwhelmed by the number of people who stood and offered me their seats! In fact, some were rather put off if I didn’t select their seat!
One day, Laura injured her back and had to stay in our room to heal while Miles and I headed across town to ride the London Eye (Ferris Wheel) for a splendid view of the city.
Unlike the 2-3 passenger Ferris Wheel back home, these plexiglass enclosures held 15-20 passengers each!
Going up gave us a nice overview of the Wisconsin Dells-like atmosphere below, consisting of souvenir stores, restaurants, and many street vendors.
Ah ha! My first overview of the city! I could finally see how huge it was, and that clusters of skyscrapers were scattered throughout the city rather than concentrated in one downtown area.
I was amazed by this view of the Houses of Parliament, AKA Westminster Palace, an UNESCO heritage site. Initially constructed in the 11th century, it was rebuilt after a 1834 fire and contains 1,100 rooms! It is surrounded by numerous governmental buildings.
A 3-block walk took me to this cool view of Big Ben (along with about 1,000 tourists!).
Laura, all healed up, joined us the next day for another Tube adventure and lunch in a 17th-century tavern recommended by an Arizona friend.
What better English food can you have but fish and chips with a pint of tasty English ale?
A stroll after lunch along the River Thames shore was somewhat shocking to see boats lying in the mud near the shore. Is the river drying up? Nope. Even though we are 50 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean, low tide produces a 25-foot drop in river levels!
At the end of each day, Laura’s pedometer showed that we had walked up to 3 1/2 miles, and up 6 flights of lengthy stairways; we were beat!
Our final day featured a tour of the famous London Tower, where queens were imprisoned, and heads were chopped off!
A glimpse of the White Tower over the Tower wall was our destination, and contained the King’s armory of battle equipment as well as serving as a prison for those he wanted to punish.
A model of the London Tower complex lets the visitor see how the walls enclose many structures with the White Tower in the center.
The armory function seemed to be the primary mission of the White Tower, although we viewed the winding steps up to prisoner rooms, and a spectacular view of the Crown Jewels (no pictures allowed).
The armor of several kings was displayed along with numerous, life-sized horses!
Only one display of the grim beheading process was shown (typical of the English not wanting to show such violence).
A short additional walk to our Uber ride home gave us this spectacular view of the famous London Bridge! A bridge has stood on this site for nearly 2,000 years, but this bridge is only 53 years old!
One more picture of our guide before we end our very memorable tour of London.
Goodbye, London! While our trip was short because of aging bodies, our London memories are everlasting, and earned our endorsement for your bucket list!
