London

Dec 27-Dec 31
AC856 YYZ-LHR, AC859 LHR-YYZ

For our second trip to London, we had originally planned to stay over the New Year, but with recent changes to the Air Canada Aeroplan program it was better for our flight home to be in 2025, so we just got to experience London between Christmas and New Year’s Eve Day. We again took advantage of the opportunity to experience some uniquely London theatre experiences.

Dec 28

After our overnight flight to London, we freshened up in the arrivals lounge before heading to our hotel in the suburb of Stratford on the East end of London. Conveniently connected by the Elizabeth line, it was a very easy transfer, and we were checked in and had a quick nap before walking around the area.

Christmas decorations in Endeavour Square as we walk towards Olympic Park

Modern exterior of Gordon Ramsey Bread Street Kitchen Restaurant

London Aquatic Centre, built originally for the 2012 Olympics

Exploring the ABBA Voyage Theatre and merchandise shop

ArcelorMittal Orbit is known as the largest piece of public art, an operating slide and a legacy for the 2012 Olympics

Back at the Aquatic Centre and the promenade along the Waterworks River

With the short winter days, the sunset was around 4:00pm, and we were back at the hotel and had a bit of time to explore the large Westfield Mall attached to our hotel and get in a little after Christmas shopping.

Dec 29

Other than plans to meet my University friends for drinks and dinners, we didn’t have a lot of tour plans for our day, so had a relatively slow start to the day. After breakfast, we headed to Tottenham Court to explore the area.

Large video display walls of the Outernet London has a number of connected interactive capabilities

Giant crowd controlled Tetris game

The British Museum was a little too busy for us to visit

Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church (1848)

Soho mural advertisement

Public art outside a Soho restaurant

Portuguese tarts (pastel de nata) temptingly on display

Our first visit to London’s Chinatown

More of Chinatown as we head towards Trafalgar Square

A preview of Wyndham Theatre where we were seeing All My Sons the next day

Marble statue of William Shakespeare in the centre of Leicester Square

Canada House (embassy) on Trafalgar Square

After an express tour of some highlights of the National Gallery

Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square and Nelson’s Column

Looking across Trafalgar Square towards The National Gallery

Some of the lions protecting Nelson’s Column

July 2025 Monument to the Women of World War II commemorates the vital work done by over seven million women during the war

Big Ben seemed to be the apex of tourists as we were shoulder to shoulder

Crossing the Thames on Westminster Bridge

Making our way along the Thames toward The London Eye

Up close with the London Eye

Somehow many of these heaps of candy are sold

Colourful graffiti in Southbank under the Waterloo Bridge

Looking across the Thames to St Paul’s

Millennium Bridge and the London City skyline

Over the Millennium Bridge approaching St. Paul’s Cathedral and their Christmas tree

Making our way deep into the Tube and back to our hotel in Stratford

After recovering at the hotel from our long walk, we headed to the East End to catch up with my friends at a pub, ending up at a terrific curry restaurant for a great catch-up visit.

Dec 30

After our previous late night, we had a relaxing morning at the hotel. The main activity for the day was the matinee performance of All My Sons, a terrific new production of Arthur Miller’s 1946 play. I first heard of the revival when Bryan Cranston was discussing the production on Graham Norton, and was pleased to see that the run aligned with our trip. I knew it would be great, as it was directed by Ivo van Hove, who had previously directed Cranston in the 2018 Broadway production of Network, which we saw on our trip to New York in 2019. Before heading to the theatre, I also booked tickets for the ABBA Voyage that I had been considering, but finally locked in after recommendations from the previous night.

Without a lot of other touring plans we caught the Tube to the west end with just enough time for a brief walk before heading to the Wyndham Theatre.

St Giles in the Fields, Anglican church dating from 1733

St Martin's Theatre, famous as the home of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, the longest running play in the West End

1900’s Hippodrome, originally a music hall, now housing a casino

The Palace Theatre, originally an opera house, has been adorned for the production of Harry Potter’s the Cursed Child since 2016

Bryan Cranston and Marianne Jean-Baptiste put on a fantastic performance; enjoying a well-deserved standing ovation

Waiting for the last minute to buy tickets, we got access to amazing seats just in front of the large dance floor

Our ABBA Voyage show coincidentally and inconveniently aligned with the West Ham United match at the nearby stadium

After having thoroughly enjoyed All My Sons, we also really enjoyed the spectacle of ABBA Voyage. Not having a chance to ever see ABBA in concert, it was a fun alternative. The giant screens with the virtual performers synched with a live band and light show resulted in not quite a perfect recreation, but it was very well done and a lot of fun.

With a full day of entertainment, we were anxious to get back to the hotel. Unfortunately, with the football match getting out at the same time, we were caught up in the crowd. In addition to being part of a slow moving mob of people, we were blocked from heading directly to our hotel in the Westfield complex. Apparently the local retailers weren’t anxious to welcome a potentially rowdy mob of footballers, so we had to navigate our way through a car park on the far end of the mall to get back to the hotel.

Dec 31

Before our day of flying, I decided to head out for a walk in the area around the hotel. After breakfast, we headed to the airport, where I lounge-hopped between the Air Canada and Singapore Airlines lounges before our flight home to Toronto, for a low-key New Year’s Eve.