London Travel Diary May 2019

Monday, September 2, 2019

The London Eye in the background
London had been on my bucket list for a long time and I am glad I finally made it out there this summer! We spent four days in London and one day on a trip out to Windsor Castle, Bath, and Stonehenge. Here are a few snaps from our trip along with a list of what we did and where we ate. 

Day 1 

Dishoom Kensington 
We arrived at Heathrow around noon and we were starving! We took the tube into town, checked into our AirBnB, freshened up, and headed out for lunch at Dishoom in Kensington. We ordered Chili Chicken, Spicy Lamb Chops, Chicken Ruby, Garlic Naan, and Basmati Rice. Everything was so delicious! With full stomaches, we headed out to explore London! 

Kensington Palace 
Hyde Park 

In my opinion the best way to explore a new city is on foot. We left lunch and walked towards Kensington Palace. We didn't have a chance to go inside but walking around the gardens was well worth it! We went through Kensington Gardens and straight into Hyde Park. There were some beautiful rose gardens in Hyde Park. 

Buckingham Palace 
Westminster Bridge
Westminster Abbey 
We exited Hyde Park and walked to Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately the palace wasn't open for tours so we only got to enjoy it from the outside. We made our way through St James Park where I met the friendliest squirrel. Well to be quite fair, I was scared by the squirrel a bit because it jumped onto the fence right in front of me and stared me down, but immediately after it ran off and onto someones shoulder to be fed. It wasn't scared of people at all! 

After our walk through St James Park we explored around the Westminster area where we saw Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Big Ben (under construction), and walked across Westminster Bridge. By the time we were done walking around Westminster we were exhausted from our long day of travel so we headed to our AirBnB in Kensington and called it an early night. 

Day 2

The Churchill Arms 
We slept in a little on our first full day in London because we were still exhausted from our long travel day. It felt good not to be in a rush. Our first stop of the day was a walk by the Churchill Arms. Unfortunately it wasn't open yet so we didn't get to go in for a drink, but it sure was pretty on the outside. From there we made our way to Portobello Road. 

The crowd on Portobello Road on Saturday
At the corner of Portobello Road and Denbigh Terrace 
It was Saturday so the Portobello Market was crowded! The entire street was a sea of people. I don't like such crowded places so we walked through as quick as we could and made our way to some of Notting Hill's quieter streets. 

Colorful Houses on Hillgate Place in Notting Hill 
Colorful Houses on Hillgate Place in Notting Hill 
Everywhere you looked there were beautiful and colorful houses in Notting Hill. Hillgate Place was especially charming with its quiet streets and pretty homes. 

Bob Bob Ricard
Bob Bob Ricard

For lunch we had reservations at Bob Bob Ricard in Soho and I must say it is a beautiful restaurant! We ordered the peppercorn steak, lobster Mac and cheese, truffle fries, cocktails, and the signature chocolate glory for dessert. The service was great and the food was good. It was one of the pricer meals we had in London and while we enjoyed our food and experience there were definitely other better meals.

Flowers outside of Liberty London
The British Museum 
After lunch we walked down Carnaby street and did some window shopping at Liberty London before making our way to the British Museum. 

At the museum we decided to see the main attractions including the Rosetta Stone, Pantheon Marbles, the Egyptian Mummies, Enlightenment Gallery, and the Great Hall. 


We spent the rest of the evening bar hopping before having Fish and Chips at The Mayfair Chippy. For dinner we each had cod and I ordered the cheese and truffle chips - yum! 

Day 3 

View of Windsor Castle Gardens
We technically spent the majority of the day outside of London, but since it was only a day trip I am still including it in my recap. We decided on doing a bus tour of Windsor Castle, Bath, and Stonehenge. 

At Windsor Castle we toured the State Apartments, walked along the North Terrace and saw the gardens, and saw the changing of the guards. I would have liked to go into St. George's Chapel, but since a mass was going on at the time of our tour they were not allowing visitors.

The Roman Baths

View of the River Avon in Bath
We made our way back to our bus and headed out to Bath. When we pulled up I instantly knew that I would love Bath. The city and country side surrounding it is so beautiful and the town itself was very quaint. We only had a few hours to spend in Bath and if I could do it again I would at least spend an entire day there. We spent our time doing a tour of the Roman baths, having lunch at The Cornish Bakery, popping into shops, and enjoying the view of the River Avon.

Stonehenge 
When we arrived at Stonehenge it began pouring. We didn't let the rain stop us from walking the grounds. Honestly we did a quick lap around the ring before heading to the visitor center to get out of the rain. Out of our entire day trip, our visit to Stonehenge was my least favorite part of the day. 

We made it back to London in time for dinner at Punjab in Covent Garden. I ordered the Lamb Vindaloo and it was spicy and delicious! 

Day 4 

The wining installation during Chelsea in Bloom 2019 

J.Crew during Chelsea in Bloom 2019

Chelsea in Bloom 2019

When we were planning our trip I noticed that Chelsea in Bloom would be happening during our time there and I was beyond excited to check it out. Sight seeing + flower displays= yes please! I downloaded the map and Steven and I made our way down each of the streets to see what the different installations looked like. I was blown away by the intricacies of some of displays including the "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea" display at Hackett which I later learned ended up being the winner of Chelsea in Bloom! 

Peggy Porschen in Chelsea 
Maitre Choux Chelsea

After lots of walking, we decided to get dessert at Maitre Choux. We got a table along their flower wall, ordered coffee, and pastries. Everything we had was delicious! 

View of Tower Bridge from The Tower of London

After exploring Chelsea we decided to go to the Tower of London. We toured all the different sections, but may favorite was the Crown Jewels! No photos were allowed but believe me the jewels were incredible! 

Dinner at The Mayflower Pub

For dinner we decided to go to The Mayflower Pub. To get there we walked across Tower Bridge, through Butler's Warf, and along some residential streets before arriving at the pub. It was quite the walk and we probably should have taken the tube, but at least we arrived hungry at the pub! We enjoyed a delicious dinner of fish and chips and bangers and mash. We sat inside for dinner and it was very cozy. Before leaving we walked out onto the terrace for a view of the River Thames. 

Mr. Fogg's Tavern
After dinner we took the tube to Covent Garden where were explored and did some bar hopping. I really enjoyed my drink at Mr. Fogg's Tavern. 


Day 5

St. James's Park Lake
Our last day in London was actually at the very end of our trip. We took the morning train in from Paris and proceeded to drop off our things at our Airbnb. We loved our meal at Dishoom so much that we decided to eat there again, only this time it was at the Covent Garden location.  I am pretty sure we ordered all the same things since we loved it so much the first time around! 

After lunch we walked around Knightsbridge, did some shopping at Harrods, explored Mayfair, and ended the day (and our trip) with beers at The Goat Tavern before heading home to pack. Overall I would say we had a very great time in London! 

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