New Year's in London

A Night to Remember!

Fireworks over the London Eye

My wife had fireworks on the Thames as a bucket list item, so the stakes were high. I've mentioned doing your homework to prepare for the trip and this is a prime example of how that pays off. In years past access to the viewing area was on a first-come, first-served basis, which obviously resulted in outrageous crowds and all the issues that go along with them. A couple of years ago the Mayor of London decided to make it a ticketed event with proceeds benefitting a non-profit. This year it was UNICEF, I'm not sure who it was last year. The first step was figuring out how to order tickets, and the initial answer was "not yet." I signed up for a mailing list on the Mayor of London website and eventually received an email notification telling me that they would go on sale October 2 at noon, GMT. Since I was going to be in Tennessee that day it meant that I needed to be awake with browser open by 6am, ready to go. There were only a couple of snags, the first being that we were a party of six, possibly eight, and they limit each customer to only four tickets. So I purchased four and my son purchased four. Making two online purchases back-to-back on an overseas website will make most credit card fraud detection algorithms go haywire, so have two cards at hand. The only other issue is ticket pick-up. They will mail them to you in the USA, but depending upon your travel plans you may not be home when they are delivered. Not to worry, you can pick them up at the ticket booth in Trafalgar Square a couple of days prior to the event. We had tickets in the Blue area, immediately adjacent to the Houses of Parliament and just west of the London Eye. Everyone tends to bunch up as close to the river as possible, leaving ample open space in the street. Make sure there isn't a tree or streetlamp obstructing your view of the sky and you're in good shape.

Pay attention to all the information you can find about transportation and access to the venue. The only people we saw who had any problems were the ones who thought the rules applied to everyone else. Getting to the viewing area is pretty seamless (assuming you selected an area somewhat adjacent to your lodgings,) To get home you should be prepared for a walk. We were staying in Shepherd's Market and it was a manageable walk from our viewing area. Yes, it was late and yes, we were tired, but the experience was more than enough to keep us going until we got home. Take something to entertain yourselves (we played Heads Up! on our phones) and, again, follow the rules. You will go through a security checkpoint and you will not be allowed to keep any contraband they discover. You will be rewarded with one of the most amazing fireworks displays you will ever see.

We had New Year's Eve lunch with friends from London at The White Horse on Parson's Green. It offers a range of seating options (we were a group of nine) and has an excellent menu as well as an outstanding selection of beers and ciders to choose from. If you're not sure what to try just have a chat with one of the fine folk behind the bar and they can either describe what they have available or match something to your tastes if you tell them what you like. They also have a complete selection of spirits and a respectable wine list, on the off-chance that beer isn't your first choice. Why beer wouldn't be someone's first choice is beyond me, but there you have it. We stayed until they booted us out to begin preparing for the evening festivities, but frankly I could have easily sat there and enjoyed the company until midnight. The White Horse is just a short walk south from the Parson's Green tube stop and well worth whatever effort is required to get there from anywhere in London. 

New Year's Day was also spent with friends. We had lunch at Belgo Centraal in Covent Garden. A Belgian-themed restaurant with several locations in London, each just a bit different than the other. Specializing in mussels, which are amazing, their menu has a bit of everything and ought to satisfy most any appetite. 

After lunch we went over to Regent Street, which had crowds rivaling the fireworks display on the Thames the night before. As we had a couple of youngsters with us that gave us a convenient excuse to stroll through Hemley's (you never know when you might find something of interest to older children...) Eventually we found a spot for afternoon coffee and took the opportunity to chat a bit more before calling it a day and heading home.