Sorting out what to do in London: Big sights and small moments make this an endearing city

London is a world-class city that makes a great vacation destination. It has such a rich history, vibrant social scene, shopping, restaurants and architecture. Still, what one remembers from visits are not always the big tours, but the small moments.

That's how I feel about the six days I recently spent in London. My husband and I began our honeymoon there 40 years ago. We returned with our three teens in 2005. But I feel like this was the first time I saw London. We didn't have to go to the theater (not that it isn't fun) or see Buckingham Palace, The Imperial War Museum (which is memorable and amazing) or Harrod's (though in truth, I may have missed that).

I so enjoyed the little things. That includes the lovely and always polite phrases the British people have adopted.

"Mind the gap" is just one. It's a gentle reminder not to fall into the uneven space when you get off the subway cars of the London Underground. I also like the way they promise to "sort it out" if there is a problem. And "takeaway" is a nice change from "takeout," isn't it?

One of the themes of the week was the roundel. I realized that when I got an order of onion rings at a pub and one was shaped just like one.

The roundel is the London Underground logo. It is immediately recognizable and visible on the streets, as well as below them, deep below them. The tube brought us everywhere from the London Bridge station next to our hotel. It's the quickest, easiest way to great around London and beyond.

On the tube

We went to the furthest point on a northeastern line for a visit to the adorable town of Epping. If you can't find me soon, I'll be living there.

There we rode the heritage Epping & Ongar Railway along Epping Forest and the other stations. My husband is a rail fan, so this was my gift to him. But I loved the long tube ride out there, and even the antique double-decker bus, on which we felt every bump along the way. It was a fun day spent with locals who brought their kids along for a day of trains.

Another day, we went to the end of another tube line, southwest to Richmond, the setting for "Ted Lasso," one of our favorite shows.

That ride took us past rows of homes with multiple chimneys that made me think about "Mary Poppins."

In Richmond, we walked through the lovely downtown to have lunch in Prince's Head. That is the pub used for the Crown & Anchor in "Ted Lasso." We were not the only Americans there. A family from Southern California tried to chat up the server, but he had never seen the show.

We walked the nearby Richmond Green and along the lovely alleys with their quaint shops. These included the Italian boutique Reale Camiceria. The proprietor has her luxury items embroidered with Ted Lasso-inspired images, and we bought socks and a scarf. Amazingly, Warner Bros. does not sell its Lasso items through the pub or other outlets.

Dining in London

On the main thoroughfare, we found the most wonderful French patisserie, Orēe. I love England, but was truly delighted at finding French food. I had an éclair with a perfectly crisp pâte à choux outside and delicious chocolate cream inside.

Pubs in London are a great place to have a pint of Fuller's Pride, a beef and ale pie, and make new friends. We did all of that on a pub crawl on our first full day in the city. I have a new pen pal, a 'true' Cockney woman born within earshot of the Bow Bells from the Church of St. Mary Le Bow in Cheapside, the East End of London.

We went back a second time to Barrowboy & Banker (an old bank repurposed as a two-story pub) for the Steak & Ale Pub with potato puffs on top and bone marrow in the middle.

We enjoyed a tour at the Tate Modern art museum and were inspired by so much of the work. I will share one of the Picasso paintings we saw. He also painted the frame, which is kind of cool, isn't it? But most of the art we saw was inspired by social commentary and reflects the good and the ugly of this time in history.

The Tate Modern is the reason for the vibrant neighborhood around Southwark (pronounced suh-thrk), which was near our hotel at The Shard (the tallest building in Western Europe).

The Tate Modern is located in a redundant (that's another great word) Bankside power plant that was closed down after just 20 years. Many developers wanted it, but the philanthropists of the Tate secured it for their modern art. A footbridge links it to St. Paul's Cathedral.

On each of our previous two trips to London, we stayed in Hyde Park. This time, we went to the other side of the Thames and loved it. We still walked around Soho, and visited Foyles, the bookstore. But we were happy with the change and the chance to explore new spots.

On our first trip here, we visited the London Transport Museum, where we bought an old retired rollsign from the subway. It hung for nearly four decades in our two-story loft until it disintegrated beyond repair last year. They don't sell them anymore, but have them on display at the museum which was greatly expanded, interactive and now includes a café.

I made one reservation for lunch at what some food writers call the most beautiful restaurant in London. Jacuzzi opened earlier this year in Kensington. The restaurant is indeed beautiful, on three levels. The roof was open as we dined on the second level. The cocktails were special, but the food could have used seasoning. But then, I'm spoiled by the great food I enjoy here in Rhode Island. I'm glad I went, though.

My Cockney friend directed us not to miss the Nell Gwynne Tavern tucked into an alley in Covent Garden. It's been there since 1890 but replaced another tavern. The beer choices were perfect, including Fuller's. How they did the cheese and charcuterie trays, I'll never know. The place is so small. There I met Joan Kench, an artist who came to London from Toronto 17 years earlier and never left. Her career is sign painting, but with chalk. She writes up the menus on blackboards at pubs all over London. She loves it and is good at it. You can see her work on Instagram.

The Nell Gwynne shared something with virtually every spot we ate in, including Jacuzzi. That is: the bathrooms are in the basement, down winding stairs of death. It became a joke. After my husband returned from the water closet at the Richmond pub, he told me it was on the first floor. But the ladies' room was not. The door led to another scary staircase.

Of course, this is because the size and ages of these buildings don't leave room for adding the facilities. It's just another reminder of what a very young country the United States is. Even here in New England, where things are as old as they get in the U.S., it's not the same as in the U.K.

What I will remember most fondly about this trip was the stunning view of the Thames and Tower Bridge that we had from our room at the Shangri-La. It's always a dream to look out on the big, beautiful world in a new place. Seeing the sunrise before 5 a.m. and then set after 9 p.m. over the Thames fed my soul.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Things to do during 6 days in London: Pubs, people and polite customs