We were only in London for three days and thankfully got to everything on our list. If you have a short amount of time here make sure you do a little planning of where things are and what you really want to see. London is pretty spread out so we made sure to get an Oyster card for getting around by the underground and those famous red buses.
A trip across the pond to…
London, England
(1) Piccadilly Circus is London’s time square, head on over sometime at night to see it lit up.
(2) Buckingham and Kensington palace are royal must dos. Faces are pressed against the gate at Buckingham to see the changing of the guard.
(3) Oxford Street is the place to be for the shoppers; around here you can find any pub for some fish and chips in case you’re about to drop. In London you have to visit Primark, a staple UK store that has ridiculously low prices.
(4) As for the Markets… head to Camden for some Diagon Alley vibes. If you find this vintage/ hipster area not your scene, go to Borough Market and get some Bath Soft ice cream, it was amazing!
(5) Trafalgar Square was a nice place to sit and rest our feet for awhile in the midst of our tourist day. Take a moment and just ponder your amazing life that you get to be in London right now!
(6) Big Ben and Westminster Abbey can be knocked out in one go. You haven’t officially been to London until you’ve seen these. Some other touristy things to see are: Hyde Park, Tower Bridge (what the London Bridge should be… Fergie would agree), the London Eye (not worth the wait to actually go on), and St. Paul’s Cathedral.
(7) See a Broadway play and if you catch an early showing head somewhere for afternoon tea afterwards. Our show was absolutely wicked.
(8) We went to Soho House Dean Street for our tea and then continued to do a little Soho House tour of London. This members only hotel originated in England, so London has many related places around the city. We went to a bar near Dean Street called Café Monaco… then there was Pizza East, The Chicken Shop, and so many more… just ask the places you’re at where your next Soho stop should be.
(9) We also had another tea at Harrods. Take the time to get lost here for awhile. Excellent. The Parent Trap fans can then take a double decker bus over to the house on 23 Egerton Terrace, Kensington, London. Even more excellent.
(10) Duck and Waffle! Go and you will not be disappointed. I am sure by the name you’re thinking of some quaint little restaurant; it is anything but. This restaurant is on something like the 40th floor and you get a view of the whole city. Head over for dinner and drinks. The cocktails were so unique and the duck and waffles, well it’s in the name so you know it was good.
(11) The next morning you can plug in some headphones and listen to the Beatles as you find Abbey Road and walk across the famous crosswalk… just know, it could be about a 20 minute wait to get your perfect album cover picture due to the crowd and traffic.
(12) Notting Hill, not the one with Julia Roberts but the London neighborhood. Walk around; you’ll feel so extremely British. The houses are perfectly lined up ranging from the classic whites to beautiful pastel colors.
(13) If you don’t get a chance to take the Harry Potter studio tour, don’t sweat it. Take your own. Go to Camden Market aka Diagon Alley, find the Millennium Bridge, and just walk around London soaking up the UK atmosphere. For Butterbeer, go to the Blind Pig in SoHo or the London Cocktail Club, both bars will make you the famous drink… if you don’t have time for that then just head to Starbucks and search for how to make a Starbucks Butterbeer! If you choose the later you might as well head to the one in Kings Cross Station and take it on over to Platform 9 ¾. We sat on a bench by the platform finishing our drink and making fun of everyone taking their picture, then we got in line to do the same!
Cheers.
by Ashton Anderson, Guest Contributor
The Bohemian Mermaid 