Are you planning to write the 2018 chapter of your life full of travels and fascinating experiences with an assortment of cultures, food, adventures and more? Let me help you make those choices & give my two cents on how to make the most out of them
Being a Travel enthusiast myself and the world being full of amazing destinations, I bring to you a series of travel blogs covering cosmopolitan, adventurous, picturesque, touristy & many more types of Vacations which will surely help you in getting started with your travel goals for this year! Here is my first one on one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the World- London!
A city known for its Imperial Palaces, delectable food, exclusive shopping and a never-ending list of things to do is a perfect destination for your dream vacation! My first time to London was an absolute delight starting with a warm & romantic welcome by the luxurious Marriott County Hall Hotel with their alluring Towel art with a touch of rose petals, and not to mention the Wine & Chocolates!
While reserving our hotel, we mentioned that this was our delayed Anniversary trip (our Anniversary is in winters and we wanted to visit London in spring), and they surprised us with a spectacular view from our room & the decor! If you are celebrating a special occasion on a vacation, always mention the same in comments while reserving Hotels/Restaurants, you never know when you might be lucky to get a wonderful surprise!
Being as Touristy as we could be, we started our London tour with London eye! The views from London eye can be highly influenced by weather, so we reserved our tickets just a couple of days before our trip after looking at the weather forecast. Since all of our days were going to be a mix of sunny & cloudy, we reserved the ‘Flexi Fast Track’ tickets, which lets you visit anytime during the day of your choice with a dedicated fast track entrance, thereby making it more flexible to take the advantage of the sunny time of the day for better views! There are multiple other options for ticket packages and can be found here: https://www.londoneye.com/
As it was still early in the day, we decided to get some pictures at the Westminster Bridge with Big Ben in background as the bridge can get really crowded later in the day!
Our next Destination was Trafalgar Square which is another happening place bustling with restaurants, live music and plenty of picture spots! The Trafalgar square intersection buzzing with Red Buses gives you a true postcard feel of London!
Buckingham Palace is magnificent & an absolute delight to the eyes! If you want to attend the change of guard ceremony, I suggest getting there at least by 10:00am to get a front spot for good views. The actual change of guard ceremony starts usually at 11:00am but before you plan your trip to the Palace, be sure to check the dates and time of the ceremony here: https://changing-guard.com/dates-buckingham-palace.html
Another postcard fascination for me was the Tower Bridge, it looks as breathtaking in reality as it does in the movies! We took a few pictures on the pathway to the bridge and also climbed up to walk on the bridge, crowded but a good experience!
While you’re in London, British style afternoon Tea is a must! We really wanted to have the same at Fortnum and Mason, however it was closed for a private event that day. We ended up at Georgian Restaurant at Harrods but we were not at all disappointed. It was a classy restaurant with a lovely Tea collection!
We also treated ourselves at a Michelin Star Indian restaurant ‘Amaya’in London. The food was scrumptious and although it is an Indian cuisine restaurant, it has amazing dishes for all palates. We opted for the tasting menu & some of our favorites were Cabbage & Noodle salad, Tandoori Chicken Tikka, Grilled Asparagus, Tandoori Paneer, Dahi (Yogurt) Kebab & the Dessert platter.
Another great area to explore is London’s Leicester Square which is home to many West End Theater shows such as Harry Potter, Lion King, Les Misérables and more! We opted for a Lion King Musical which was truly mesmerizing and the presentation was mind blowing! Photography & Videography isn’t allowed in the shows, which I think is great because all your attention should be given to the intricate details of these wonderful shows put together brilliantly. The Theater district also has Cafes and restaurants of various cuisines, Casinos and Street shows, which makes it a lovely place to spend the evening!
Shopping in London is a true joy for Shopaholics like myself, be sure to keep space in your luggage when you pack for a London vacation as there is no way you can resist the amazing Collection! Spend an evening at the Oxford street and you’ll know what I’m talking about! There is plenty of known brands as well as local brands available to shop depending on your budget! If you like everything in one place, Harrods is the place for you, their collection is unique and beyond amazing!
I also rode a black cab on my way back from Oxford Street to get the Sherlock Holmes feel 😉. Amongst other places we visited were Hyde Park and Canary Wharf which is the financial center of London but can be avoided if you have less time in the city.
My shopping in London was all about self styling outfits and I had an amazing time doing that, check out my post on how to customize outfits to match your style here.
Until next time…. xoxo
