Touching Down In L Town

Hello Friends!

Writing these travel posts are harder than I planned. Trying to figure out how to organize my thoughts and not put you asleep is challenging. I hope to help you plan your own adventures to these amazing destinations and learn from my mistakes. Welcome to London! The Queen, the views from The Eye, and time with people I love made this trip amazing. Bryce and I explored this massive city for only three days and let me tell you… it was quite the experience. I didn’t realize how big London actually is until we got there. It has so many unique little pockets that I could have spent days in. We ate so much, walked ourselves to death, and saw every tourist attraction that there is to see but I wouldn’t have wanted our first trip to London to be any different (I’m going back—just you wait). This post however, is going to be about everything we did in London. The where’s, what’s, and how’s.

Where We Stayed:

Since we were rolling on a budget, Bryce and I stayed in Camden Town with my friend, Ian in an Airbnb. I absolutely loved this Airbnb because it was so clean and the owner left everything that we would ever need in it. He even placed out Cadbury hot chocolate mix for us. After going from an odd shower in Spain, this place was just dreamy. One night, we accidentally left the keys in the apartment and had to meet up with the owner. He was so kind and gave us wonderful recommendations.

Where We Ate:

Aside from the plane ticket over there, food is by far the most expensive thing. Bryce and I try to be foodies on a budget, so we live on the word “Balance”. Before arriving to London, actually let me rephrase that… before LEAVING THE USA- we planned all of our must eat ‘s at restaurants in each city. I researched and researched to figure out what and where the places to dine were. Doing this keeps me on track so I know what kind of meal I’m expecting price wise. Aside from Sketch and Inamo, we wanted to keep our meals pretty affordable. You may think that 15 pounds is affordable for an entree until that exchange converts to USD. It is terribly sad… and I’m here to warn you about post food money depression.

To be completely honest, I do not remember every single place we ate at in London. I am going to tell you that the ones I listed are the absolute go to’s. As an added bonus, they are all instagram worthy locations too.

-Inamo.

Okay probably the coolest sushi restaurant ever. Don’t order a whole meal though, because it will definitely bite your wallet a little. Instead go for drinks, appetizers, and dessert. This place was crazy cool with their interactive tables. Each table lets you draw on it, play games, or even see every option on the menu and what it would look like on your plate.

-Borough Market.

Bryce heard a lot about this place before we went and O-M-G it is the best market I have ever been to. It beats Pike Market in Seattle on food. We went there to just check it out and came out with desserts and coffee. I was in heaven! If I lived in London, someone would probably have to cut me off from going there so much. THEY EVEN HAD ARRANGEMENTS OF MUSHROOMS. Needless to say… a piece of me was left there.

-Sketch.

I am absolutely positive that this is the most instagrammed restaurant in all of London. Each room is completely different and has a different menu. Ian, Bryce, and I had brunch there which was nothing short of incredible. Ian and I both got a mouthwatering banana coconut oatmeal that I have tried to replicate twice now at home. I do have some recommendations about this place though. You must place a reservation and do not go there until noon. They have bathroom pods (read further for more info) that do not open until this time. You must go see them!

Side note- If you can afford it, do their Afternoon High Tea. It looks like the most incredible dining experience ever.

-Tapas Brindisa.

This is a chain restaurant throughout London, but honestly you can never go wrong with tapas. This place had fabulous food that was so affordable. Highly recommend if you are ballin’ on a budget like me.

What We Did:

-Iconic London Bus Tour.

I am convinced that this was one of the best ways to learn about the city. We did an actual bus tour rather than a hop on hop off bus and it was so worth it. Our tour guide knew all the best spots for photos and told us so much about each part of the city.

-Changing of the Guards.

This was included on our bus ride and it is one of the most memorable things we did in Europe. We stood so close to the new guards that were changing in with the old that I could have touched them. It was such a chilling experience.

-Buckingham Palace.

I’m not going to explain this because you just have to go see it.

-Got Lost in Harrod’s.

We literally got lost in Harrod’s Department Store. I could have been in there for hours looking at the furniture, designer clothing, and the kids toy department. You have to at least check out the kids toy area. It will make all of your younger self dreams come true.

-Knotting Hill.

This area was very high on Ian’s list and it was so fun. The vibe in this area is unlike any other pocket of London. The homes are all painted different bright colors, and market center is so unique. It reminded me a lot of California. The strip of shops had everything you could ever imagine and the people looked so laid back compared to everyone else.

-Tower Bridge.

We had to see the most iconic bridge! I thought the entire time that it was called the London Bridge… it’s not. Fergie led me to believe otherwise.

-London Eye.

It’s like London’s version of the St. Louis Arch, but still worth it! The views you get from being in the glass pods are unreal.

-Walked by Big Ben and Westiminister Abbey.

Next time I have to go into Westminster ( we didn’t have enough time) and hopefully Big Ben will be done. It was so weird to see the iconic tower all covered in scaffolding.

-Piccadilly Circus.

Some of the best shopping in all of London is right here! Definitely feels like a smaller New York with the jumbo tron and all of the people.

Things I Missed:

We crammed a LOT in for the short amount of time that we were there. Like I said earlier, I will definitely be going back to London. The next time I’m there I’ll hopefully be able to afford my Burberry Raincoat I’ve dreamed about for ages.

-The Bathrooms at Sketch.

-Peggy Porschen’s Bakery.

-London’s Muesums.

-Westminister Abbey.