by Wendy

Part of a trip is often deciding where you want to wait in line.

I think my Disney-loving family would agree, and I’ve marveled at their strategic planning of activities and rides, considering newness, popularity, and Fast Pass options. But this applies to any destination with beloved tourist attractions, as well as any big city.

You can avoid some lines by going off the beaten track, visiting during an off-peak season, or booking in advance. A few years ago, Jack, my parents and I strolled right past a long line for the London Eye because we bought tickets in advance. This method is effective but since it holds you accountable to a schedule, requires careful consideration. You don’t want to lose your timed spot because of travel delays, or feel like you’re rushing through your vacation.

On this trip, Jack and I threw caution to the wind and didn’t book anything in London except the hotel. We set out for the Tower of London after a leisurely breakfast and walk. It was July and approaching midday, so we expected to encounter a long line.

We stepped into a queue to buy tickets and it wasn’t bad at all. Even with the lady in front of us asking 100 questions and purchasing multiple guidebooks, we only waited about 15 minutes.

It was busy, but we moved with the crowd through the entrance. We decided to join one of the informal guided tours, led by one of the Yeoman Warders, aka Beefeaters, who serve as guards to the Queen of England. Would highly recommend. The guide provided an informative overview of the historic grounds and medieval buildings, often darkly humorous as he described some of the battles, royals, prisoners and creepy events from centuries past.

Once that was over, we could choose various other queues to continue exploring. We waited in several short lines to tour the White Tower, built over 900 years ago by William the Conqueror, and the museum and armory inside. We saw the fortress battlements, memorials, former prisons, and pens for the ravens who also guard the tower.

We considered the longest queue to see the Crown Jewels and decided, nope. I love a good sparkly gem, but the wait looked extensive, so we moved on.

What we did choose to queue for was dinner at Dishoom. There are several of these Indian restaurants in London; we went to the one in Shoreditch. The wait was estimated to be 90 minutes (better than the 2 hour wait we declined in 2016). The first part of the wait happened in an alley outside the restaurant, where staff persuade you to stay with offers of complimentary chai tea or lemonade. We were given a buzzer, which is usually a good sign that you’re officially on your way to a table.

We quickly neared a checkpoint at the entrance where we were granted passage to the bar, where the bulk of our wait occurred. It really did take about 90 minutes, but we had fun. We each tried a Viceroy Old Fashioned, a bourbon tea infusion cocktail, studied the menu and people watched. The lively crowd in the huge space included the trendy and not so trendy, families, couples, several different accents.

By the time we sat down we were pretty hungry, but the food was exceptional. To start, we ordered prawns and some kind of stew with a bun (I don’t remember the name but the menu claimed no dish was more Bombay, so we had to try it). We ate chicken ruby and lamb biryani for the main course, sopping up almost every bit with naan bread. With a bottle of wine the dinner was just over $100.

More often than not, you’re going to end up in a line somewhere on your trip. Often you can decide when and where, but not always. London traffic, for example. In our effort to avoid the mess of morning rush hour with luggage on the tube, we hailed a taxi to Paddington Station, where we would catch the quick and easy Heathrow Express to the airport. We spent more time than we thought we would in the taxi, even as the driver expertly snaked through streets as he chatted amiably about politics, travel and growing up in the East End. Yet we still arrived at the airport in plenty of time to move through those lines, as well as grab coffee.