London and Dover
United offered an amazing deal on 2/22 to London and I jumped on it by throwing a dart on the calendar to choose my dates to come to London and it came up in Fall! Interestingly enough, United now allows you to upgrade award tickets and after taking the full flight to London, I did opt to pay the upgrade on the return flight home after having to deal with the overnight flight in economy plus. With age comes a lack of patience and also it helped that the points were really low for redemption.
Greenwich Market - Cutty Sark is within the same area as the Market. So you can make a day of it and on the weekends, the green space is occupied by food trucks/vendors selling cocktails or food.
London
Checked into the Moxy London Stratford. Over the months before coming to London, I had debated about the location of all the hotels within the Marriott portfolio. In the end, the redemption points needed won out the location and I ended up being happy with the choice. Between the lowest/cheapest point redemption, the Moxy was next to the rail and tube station making it the best choice for me to get about London. On the plus side, the local neighborhood also had a variety of restaurants that wasn't just European restaurants. As a first timer in London, it may not be the best but as I've been to London often enough, I found the hotel a good choice. It was also the first time I've stayed at the Moxy brand and I did like the breakfast option. It isn't 'free' but as a titanium member, I used my food credit towards breakfast.
Dover
After taking the train to Dover, checked into the Churchill Guest House. There are a few options in Dover and I decided on Churchill because it seems close to Dover Castle, midpoint between town and the castle. In addition, the room available was labeled as a garden suite and I was intrigued. The bed and breakfast was super cute and they even had afternoon coffee setup in the room. The 'suite' opened up to the ground floor garden. Given the dampness and weather, I didn't go outside to sit but it was nice to enjoy from the covered patio.
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| Doorway to garden from room - Churchill Guest House |
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| Afternoon coffee/tea set |
Activity
Royal Air Force Museum - Spent a day at this museum and checked out the planes. A pretty cool place if you are a fan of planes and/or war history. Lots of WWI and WWII. The museum is larger than the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in the DC area. I had thought the Smithsonian was large but the RAF was larger. There is a restaurant inside the complex and it was easy to get a good lunch.
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| Royal Air Force Museum |
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| Authentic bathrooms! |
Cutty Sark - Another museum, the Cutty Sark was cool to check out. I was impressed with this boat and its history. The museum cafe also offers an afternoon tea set service and I found it quite a nice way to spend the afternoon.
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| Cutty Sark Deck |
Borough Market - There are a number of eateries and overall I enjoyed the bakery and deli shops. Nothing in particular to tell you to go to but everything was good. It just depends on your desire.
National Maritime Museum - Given England's power came from the seas, it was only fitting to check out the maritime history. There are a number of museums in the area but I only had the bandwidth for this one.
Dover Castle - In the trek down to Dover, I had hoped to see both the Cliffs and the Castle. Of course being Fall, I unluckily got a rainstorm while in Dover which limited me to only visiting Dover Castle. You can spend a whole day wandering around. There were some places closed off due to filming but we got a good sense of the castle. The restaurant also offered pretty decent food and a good option for lunch.
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| Dover Castle grounds |
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| Dover Castle Cannon |
Eat
Chinatown Bakery - The mall across from the hotel has an asian "oriental" market and I picked up some backed good from this bakery. Often grocers will have local bakeries supply their stock and I found it tasty.
Market Porter - While at the Borough Market, popped into this pub for a cider. It seems popular but I didn't stay long.
Bread Ahead - Inside the Borough Market area, the bakery has filled donuts that seem popular. The donuts were good but I'd only buy one to snack along the way. I wouldn't necessarily buy to take home.
King Edward VII - Was feeling lazy around the hotel and wanted to get some food at the local pub. Unfortunately, my options were limited due to the timing and the food was very very average. I think I should have just gone to McDonalds.
Fortnum and Mason Diamond Jubilee - After searching for an afternoon tea location, I followed a colleague's recommendation and tried Fortnum and Mason. It is on the pricier side of things and definitely an indulgent experience. I enjoyed myself and even had the special cocktail for the Queen's Jubilee celebration. Would definitely come back again.
Goddard's - of course one must eat pies and mash and Goddard's is the maker of these pies. I stopped at the location outside the National Maritime Museum and indulged in a very large plate of carbs and protein.
Lord Nelson - A cute pub with an outdoor space in Dover. The charcuterie plate is delicious.
Nando's - A South African chicken chain, I only recently found out that there are locations on the east coast in the US. The chicken is tasty, reminiscent of El Pollo Loco but with a sauce that kicks. In some ways, similar to Charo Chicken if you know the chain in SoCal.
Elephant and Hind - this pub is in the middle of Dover with a great view of the town.
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