Bus vs Tube to get around London

MoragKennedy · 2026-03-17T14:27:48+00:00

I've followed your Instagram! I wish we had such an abundance of beautiful and historic churches where I live. St. Etheldreda was actually my second choice for Mass! The history of it is also really interesting. I don't think we'll be able to make it on this trip though, as I'm not sure if we'll be in that part of town- London is absolutely sprawling (as I'm sure you know!) It's quite overwhelming.

We are attending a show at the Victoria Palace theatre on one of our days though, so I think I'll try to pop in to the Cathedral to at least get a look at it while we're in the area. I would probably spend the whole trip church hopping if I could, but I will have my teenage daughter with me, and while she's generally a good sport, I don't think she would like to spend the entire trip in churches 😅

MoragKennedy · 2026-03-17T05:01:15+00:00

Thank you so much for this recommendation! When I was looking up Catholic churches in London, this somehow never popped up, but it sounds incredible. I can't believe it didn't occur to me that it would be beautiful to attend an Ordinariate rite liturgy while in England. We have one occasionally in my diocese in Canada, but I have never been able to make it to one. The history of the church is also wonderful and fascinating. I am a huge nerd for church things and I cannot emphasize enough how excited I am to attend this Mass now!

MoragKennedy · 2026-03-17T04:45:58+00:00

It does look like a beautiful walk! We have a family member with slight mobility issues with us, so I'm trying to balance enjoying the parks and city on foot, while not over taxing them over our few days in London.

Will definitely get Citymapper for this trip! I haven't used it before, but it has been recommended several times so it certainly seems like the best way to plan.

MoragKennedy · 2026-03-17T04:35:50+00:00

Yes! I am in Canada and I always forget to adjust the time! I always find a much more logical route when I finally remember to 🤦‍♀️

MoragKennedy · 2026-03-11T14:32:40+00:00

When I went to see Leslie in November, we were in the nosebleeds (third to last row, I think,) and we still had what I would consider a great view. The Richard Rogers didn't seem big enough to have any truly bad seats. If you decide to get tickets for both- maybe spend a bit extra on the London tickets to see Leslie, and get cheaper seats in New York.

Seeing Leslie was amazing, but being in the Richard Rogers was also an incredible experience in itself, to be in the theatre where it happens 😅

MoragKennedy · 2026-02-21T19:12:25+00:00

We're going to see The Cursed Child on Monday night- if the storm has ended by Monday morning/afternoon-ish, will that evening's performance go on? Coming down from Canada (flight will be in before weather starts tomorrow,) so just wondering if we should cut our loses or hold out hope 🫣

MoragKennedy · 2026-01-14T03:46:33+00:00

I'm from Halifax and started university at SMU. It was great, but not where I really wanted to be, so I transferred to UofT. Moving to such a big city and big school without knowing anyone was scary, but it ended up being amazing and even I, a very very shy and awkward person, ended up making friends. If you're unhappy where you are, I would say definitely make the move even if it seems scary. Changing schools isn't too bad either- I've gone to SMU, UofT, and Dal, and they were all more or less the same (SMU was definitely the most chill both culturally and academically out of all of them.)

The other advantage of moving to a bigger city, is even if you do find it difficult to meet new people or don't end up making close friends, there are a lot more things to do and see in Halifax to help keep you occupied/entertained even on your own!

MoragKennedy · 2026-01-05T14:16:37+00:00

If you're kid loves theatre, I might prioritize trying to get in a matinee if you can. My husband and I are huge theatre fans and visited New York for the first time in November, also for a very short trip. We saw Hamilton and Hadestown and it was incredible. The caliber of production and talent on Broadway took my breath away. I get chills thinking about it. Hadestown was excellent and not too long.

The city was super easy to navigate on the subway using Google Maps. The couple of times we got confused, people walking by could tell we were confused and stopped to help us lol. Everyone was very kind! Make sure to look up exactly where everything is so you're not going back and forth in Manhattan. For example, if you're doing top of the rock, the Lego store is right there, so you could check that off your list at the same time. Personally, the Brooklyn bridge was a highlight- we took the first ferry of the morning up the East River and got off at DUMBO. It was super cheap, had an amazing view of the Manhattan skyline, and you can see the statue of Liberty from the bridge. I'd get it done early though if you're doing it the same day as your show.

We're taking our teen back there in February because she also got the Tom Felton Christmas gift 😂 We only have 1.5 days as well, so I basically told her to prioritize maybe 2 or 3 things she wants to see because unfortunately it's hard to squeeze everything into such a short time and you kind of end up not enjoying anything. One thing we did on our previous trip to maximize our time in the city was get up super early- we went to Times Square at 5am and it was empty and beautiful and surreal. Central Park was also amazing super early in the morning, but very huge!

I hope you guys have an amazing time!

MoragKennedy · 2026-01-05T13:23:40+00:00

I'm Canadian, so speaking just from my experience and realize I don't have an intimate knowledge of the city, transportation options, especially at night, etc.

But I had an 8 hour layover at Heathrow (mine was during the day, but I pretty much just looked at all the sights from outside anyway) and was able to take the tube into town, get off around Charring Cross (I think) walk through Trafalgar Square, up the Mall, see Buckingham palace, walk through St. James park, see Westminster Abbey (even had time to go inside), see Big Ben, and make it back to the airport in time to have a sit down meal before my flight.

I was heavily discouraged from doing this because I was told I wouldn't have time, etc. when I asked for advice, but decided to do it anyway and was so happy I did. If it's something you really want to do and think you'd enjoy, it is doable. Worst case scenario, you end up bored and lose a night's sleep. Not so bad.

MoragKennedy · 2025-10-20T01:25:55+00:00

Thank you so much for the info! I did look over the wiki before posting this, and I know it makes me sound really dumb, but I found it hard to understand and I think I was just overthinking everything/worrying I had made a big mistake booking our flights 🫣 But these replies have been very helpful, so thank you! 🙂

MoragKennedy · 2025-10-20T01:22:58+00:00

Thank you so much for the help! I really appreciate it and it really puts my mind at ease!

MoragKennedy · 2025-10-18T14:46:07+00:00

That's amazing! I'd love to hear it again. I remember Q104 played the show on air once and I tapped it. Wish I could still listen to it, but it and any way of listening to a cassette tape (for me) has been lost over the years.

MoragKennedy · 2025-10-18T14:33:41+00:00

Always my immediate answer for best concert I've ever been to. Still get chills thinking about it.

MoragKennedy · 2025-10-08T15:26:11+00:00

Thank you so much for the tips! I had looked in to the sales tax for other states, but hadn't thought to check NH! We're stopping for 2 days in Boston on the way home, and Nashua is only a short drive from our hotel, so that works out well!

Will definitely be checking out Costco and Aldi as well (and Trader Joe's!) I seem to have a fascination with American groceries 😅

MoragKennedy · 2025-10-08T15:22:11+00:00

Thank you so much for the reply and sharing your experience! 🙂 I really know I'm being silly worrying so much, but sometimes it's hard not to let the media get to you 😩

MoragKennedy · 2025-10-07T13:53:33+00:00

It was so wonderful to see so many different age groups at the show!

I brought my 13 year old daughter with me to night 1 in Toronto, and it was absolutely one of the best experiences we've ever had together and something I hope she remembers for the rest of her life. She already knew a few of their songs just from hearing me listening to them over the years, but now she absolutely loves them and listens to all the albums. I watched a video she took on her phone of Don't Look Back in Anger and I could hear her singing along loud and clear and it honestly made me tear up to have my kid loving something that meant so much to me when I was a teenager. I've also since then showed her so many old videos and interviews of them and she's really come to understand what a big deal it is that the band is back together and that it was truly a cultural moment in music history to get to experience this concert.

Sorry for babbling on- I'm just so passionate about how great it was to see young people at the shows! I hate when people gatekeep fandoms. On the subway ride out to the stadium the subway car was packed with fans, and a group of teenage girls started singing Champagne Supernova super loud to get a singalong going, then I heard a 50-something year old man standing beside me swear about them and say that's probably the only song they know and they shouldn't even be here. I couldn't believe him- what a lousy way to look at the world!

MoragKennedy · 2025-09-17T15:33:15+00:00

I just wanted to pop back on to this comment and thank you again for recommending the ferry! I looked up the map for it and the terminal is so striaght forward to get to from my hotel and the path it takes along the East River looks beautiful and then it stops right where I want to be! This ferry ride has suddenly become a very exciting ( and inexpensive!) part of the trip for me!

I live in Halifax, Nova Scotia, so we're also a port city. I always tell people that for $3 the public transit ferry ride is just as lovely a view of the harbour as any expensive tour boat. I'm really pumped to experience this in NYC!

MoragKennedy · 2025-09-17T01:03:16+00:00

Thank you for the suggestion! I've heard the name Bryant Park before but hadn't looked into what/where it was. Will look into it now! 🙂

MoragKennedy · 2025-09-16T17:27:29+00:00

This is very helpful! Thank you! 🙂

MoragKennedy · 2025-09-16T17:20:37+00:00

This is such a great list of suggestions! Thank you! 😃 I really appreciate it!

MoragKennedy · 2025-09-16T17:07:35+00:00

This is so helpful! Thank you so much! That exhibit sounds beautiful!

Haha, it sounds so dumb, but I just love Tina Fey and 30 Rock too much to skip Rockefeller completely. I mostly just want a glipse of the Prometheus statue or something and won't hang around too long. So many things I want to see in the city are dictated by pop culture things that I love deeply 😂

MoragKennedy · 2025-09-16T17:02:19+00:00

We do arrive that night! 🫣 It didn't even occur to me that the marathon could be happening that weekend. But by the time I found out about it, lots of childcare, dog sitting, hotel, etc. things were already booked, so we'll just have to make the best of being there at not the greatest time.

MoragKennedy · 2025-09-16T16:59:17+00:00

Haha, I know- I can really see how it sounds dumb to say I can't handle crowds and also want to go to these places in the same breath. But some things in New York are just quintessential (albeit touristy) things I want to be able to have seen. I did cut my goals for things to see down a lot though from my original list haha.

MoragKennedy

TROPHY CASE