My London Bucket List

On a crisp Autumn day, my friend and I took a day trip to London with one purpose – to tick off three of my very own bucket list items!

Before we left the UK for good, I wanted one more chance to visit my country’s capital. There are so many things to do in London, and as a UK resident, I had done most of them over the years. There are still more London attractions that I have yet to see, but on this particular day, I was excited to tick off three. How did I choose to spend my time in London for my final visit, before travelling the world for good?
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The question is, are any of these London bucket list items on your list?

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London England is one of the most famous capital cities in the world. The UK is not a large Country but its multi-cultural capital is bursting with exciting places to see. It has been a major settlement for two thousand years, and is jam packed with history, culture, old buildings and secret alleyways and, if walls could talk, would tell a thousand stories. With so many things to see and do, it’s easy to see why it’s the world’s most-visited city (measured by international arrivals).

Hampton Court Palace - The Great Gatehouse, home to many Kings and Queens since 1529. Henry VIII was the first monarch to live here

London Tower Bridge

On my London bucket list, these are just a few of the famous London attractions I have already ticked off.

London Eye
London Bridge
Tower Bridge
Big Ben at night
The Houses of Parliament
St Paul’s Cathedral
Hampton Court (Henry VIII’s home)

Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament at night

View of The Houses of Parliament and London from high up on the London Eye

Buckingham Palace (home to the Royal family)
​Westminster Abbey
The Tower of London
Shopped at Harrods
Visited Greenwich which defines GMT/UTC from which most of the world’s time zones are based
Took a ride in a Black Cab
Ride on a red London double decker Bus
River Thames cruise
Watch a West End Show (Phantom of the Opera was my favourite)
Dinner at the Ritz

So what else was left for me to do?

Is riding on a red London double decker bus on your bucket list?

Westminster Abbey at night

The Ritz Lobby and staircase

The Ritz Dining Room where we had dinner. Photo Source: The Ritz

Nothing fancy, just a few simple things I have wanted to do over the years yet never made it, until this fine sunny Autumn Day. It was a perfect day – everything slotted into place nicely. Planned with military precision, I wasn’t leaving anything to chance, there was too much at stake! This was my last visit to London for the foreseeable future.
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I started with tea at a Cat Café. There is nothing more British than having a cup of tea when you arrive at a new destination, and if you know me, you know I am cat crazy! A Cat Café was the puuuuurfect bucket list tick-off for me.
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Cat Café - Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium
Location: 152-154 Bethnal Green Road, Nearest Overground Station: Shoreditch High Street Nearest Underground Tube: Liverpool Street or Bethnal Green station on the Central line (Red)

Although I had already been to a Cat Café in Nottingham, Lady Dinah’s was the first Cat Café which was brought to my attention, and was the one I longed to visit the most. A clue is in the name; who doesn’t want to visit an establishment named Lady Dinah, my name is Lady Angie Briggs you know. It didn’t disappoint! 

Lady Dinah’s was the first UK cat café to open in March 2014, and is named after Alice in Wonderland’s small red cat before she climbed down the rabbit hole. 

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​It was advised to book online, so I did! Upon arrival, we were shown to our table and allocated our own server. Our Lady was called Lara. I will refer to her as Lady Lara, it has a nice ring to it. Lady Lara was very knowledgeable about the cats; she would tell us little things that they loved. In the short time we were here, we really got to know the personality of the felines, largely due to Lady Lara’s love for them and the stories she told, but also by observing their behaviour.

Inside Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium

​We were here for lunch so ordered a simple sandwich, we already knew where we were going for dinner and didn’t want to be too full. If you want an extra special treat, you can order High Tea at Lady Dinah’s, how marvellous dahling. But it was the coffee which pleased me, it was served with a delightful little paw print.

How can you resist a cute little paw print etched into your coffee!

​In total 13 cats lived here, many were donated by people leaving the Country and could no longer look after them. We wandered around upstairs and downstairs, watching as cats do what cats do – which is not a lot really! Some were sleeping, some were playing, others were perched up high looking down on the hoomans as if they were members of the aristocracy. Clearly they were letting the name “Lady Dinah” go to their heads.

After a delightful couple of hours, it was time to move on to bucket-list item number two which was only a short tube journey away.

The Beatles “Abbey Road” zebra crossing
Location: Just off Grove End Road, Nearest Tube: St John’s Wood on the Jubilee Line (Silver)

The Abbey Road sign, made famous by The Beatles

“Do You Want to Know a Secret”? I have always been a Beatles fan. When asked the question “Beatles or Rolling Stones” I would always respond “Oh! Darling” it’s the Beatles (despite the Rolling Stones naming their song “Angie” after me which I play every year on my “Birthday”). With a couple of hours to kill, “There’s a Place” called Abbey Road, and as a London “Day Tripper”, it was time to visit. I was here on a “Magical Mystery Tour” and kept thinking “Don’t Let Me Down” but in reality, I knew it would “Please Please Me”

Along a leafy road five minutes’ walk from the tube station was the corner of Abbey Road: the world’s most famous zebra crossing. It wasn’t a “Long and Winding Road” but at first glance, I wanted to “Twist and Shout” with excitement. It needs no introduction, but for non-Beatles fans, let me just explain: this zebra crossing was used on The Beatles album “Abbey Road”, arguable the world’s most famous album cover in pop history.

The Beatles infamous album cover for "Abbey Road"

In December 2010, the crossing was given a grade II listed status due to its cultural and historical importance. To walk where the fab four had done is surely “Something” any discerning Beatles fan wants to do. People travel from “Here, There and Everywhere”, “Across the Universe” for this opportunity.

Sadly there were roadworks as they were “Fixing a Hole”. A sign stated “crossing not in use”, but do you think that stopped me? Hell no! I wasn’t passing up this chance “For No One”, I certainly do not plan to return “When I’m Sixty-Four”. 

Abbey Road crossing had roadworks around it, but did this stop me? Absolutely not!

But where was I to have my bucket-list photo taken? On the side of the road? But that wasn’t what the Beatles did so I asked my friend “Why Don’t We Do It In the Road?”.

Wearing my black Beatles socks purchased at the Cavern Club in Liverpool a few years ago, my feet travelled quickly across those infamous black and white stripes as cars waited to use the road. It didn’t matter that this section was famous; these London motorists didn’t care that the Fab Four had walked this stretch immortalising it forever. This was London peak time, traffic travels along here “Eight Days a Week” and it wasn’t going to “Slow Down” for me.

Thankfully no one yelled at me to “Wait”, “Get Back” “You Can’t Do That”.

Visiting The Cavern Club in Liverpool

​The time was 14.20; the iconic photo was taken around 11:30am 8 August 1969. outside EMI Studios on Abbey Road. “The Word” is that the photographer (Iain Macmillan) was given only ten minutes to take the photo whilst he stood on a step-ladder, and a policeman held up the traffic. It took them five attempts to get it right. With no policeman to “Help”, it was just the “Two of Us”, me and my “Wild Honey Pie”. I “Let It Be”, and accepted just the one photo opportunity (or maybe two … in between the lights turning green)

My opportunity to quickly get that iconic photo!

Playing it safe, this was a quick “Hello, Goodbye” and it was time to make our way back to the tube station. We bought a “Ticket to Ride” onto bucket list item number three and, as we disembarked at St Paul’s tube station, a busker sung The Beatles “Here comes the sun”– clearly a sign our visit was meant to be!

​Dine at the “First Date” Restaurant
Location: Paternoster Square, Nearest Tube: St Paul’s

First Dates is one of my favourite TV shows! I am a sucker for romance and this dating show makes me swoon almost every episode. The premise of the show is simple; couples meet for a real live first date at a restaurant, and are filmed getting to know one another. As in real life, some dates work out, others not so much, but often the conversation is hilarious.
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The First Dates restaurant is called Paternoster Chop House, a stone’s throw from the famous St Paul’s Cathedral.

If you watch First Dates, you will recognise this front door!

A photograph taken in the toilet will only make sense to fans of the show!

This is a popular restaurant so we had booked our time-slot in advance. I was excited at the entrance – opening the door is part of the show, and I had a chance to do this for myself!
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Our Matre’D (which sadly wasn’t the delectable Fred, every man and women’s secret crush), showed us to the bar where we could order a drink. Well, that was excitement number two; it’s at the bar where couples sit and wait with nervous trepidation for their date to arrive. Obviously I wasn’t nervous, just excited to be here, so we ordered a glass of bubbly whilst people watching. Alas, it wasn’t Merlin who served us, the mixologist extraordinaire from the show.

Sipping a drink at the famous bar, where the dates' meet one another for the first time

​We didn’t have to wait long before we were shown to our table. After seating, we ordered our meal from a menu that looked similar to the one used in the show, then we waited. I kept looking around the restaurant, observing similarities to the show, and things that were different.

The First Dates Restaurant

If you have watched First Dates, you will know people always pop to the toilet to phone their friend. They discuss how their date it going, so of course I had to do the same! “My friend” was my husband, and whilst telling him how my “date” was going, he played along asking questions so the conversation flowed as it would in real life. A lady came out of the toilet; she was confused when I told her I had been speaking to my husband. She had heard me talking about my female date and confessed she thought I was a lesbian, until I explained I was copying the show, that I was here with a friend “phoning a friend” just as they do on First Dates. The penny dropped. She admitted she was also on a “first date” with her boyfriend pretending they had just met, and were having a lovely time. I wonder how their date ended … did they leave together in a taxi as all successful dates do in the show?

Dining at the First Dates restaurant - bucket list item number 3 ticked off!

I had an opportunity to speak with the Restaurant Manager who was kind enough to tell me a few details about the show, without actually giving away any trade secrets. I respected his discretion, and haven’t shared everything that he told me, just a couple of minor details below which you can easily find out yourself.

All too soon, my day trip to London was over and we were back on the train home. What a marvellous day I had. With a huge smile on my face for the entire journey, pleasant thoughts of my day ran through my head. Alas, I was unsure when I would ever be in London again, and the rest of my bucket list items will just have to remain.

Do you have any London bucket list items? Where do you want to visit and what would you like to do? Tell us in the comments section below … I may add them to my London Bucket List!

​*Spoiler alert: A few details about the show*

• The restaurant is owned by D&D Restaurants (Des & Dave) who have a chain of around 34 in London and Leeds, this establishment has been open for 12 years.
• 20/20 productions who run the show chose this restaurant because of its location – easy to get to, prime spot in London and a taxi rank close by. 
• The show in run in 5 instalments over 2 weeks, 6 hours a time, but sometimes they are filming for up to 15 hours a day. 
• At any one time there are up to 70 crew members on set.
• 42 cameras film the dates’ every move, including in the bathroom where people are shown “phoning a friend”
• Usually the restaurant and terrace can seat 120 people, but for the show, they only allow 9-10 tables. 
• Meals are not free in the show, contestants are given a £25 contribution to their meal.
• I discovered that the staff and the delectable Maitre-D “Fred” are all actors from a hospitality background. The rest of the diners are real diners served by waiting staff who work at the restaurant.
• Another fact about Fred Sirieix is he is the general manager at Galvin at Windows, a Michelin-starred restaurant at the London Hilton on Park Lane.
• There are a few stages to apply for the Show. Stage 1 is an Online Application form which asks for your height and body type, as well activities you enjoy from a list which include "social networking", "keeping fit", and "gardening". Stage 2 is a telephone interview with a Producer. Stage 3 is a Recorded interview where you are asked about your past relationships, likes and dislikes
• On the day of the show, participants are first interviewed, then they have time to go back to their hotel and change clothes, ready for their dates.
• Instead of going straight to the restaurant for their date, participants are sent to a 'holding room' one hour before their date. There are sweets, magazines and wine on tap. If some of the participants looked a bit tipsy … they probably were!
• They never deliberately try to mismatch anyone, and try to choose people who live close to one another.
• If your date is unsuccessful and you want another go, you can ask producers to set you up again. If Producers thing the date wen badly, they keep in touch with contestants to check they're OK
• If you want a First Dates experience without being on telly you can sign up to be a background dater. All the fun without the potential embarrassment in front of millions.
• After the first episode of the current series, Channel 4 received 1,500 applications to appear on the show.

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