In a city most often characterized as “too grey” or “always rainy”, I found that while visiting, the rain was a welcome force in helping me discover hidden gems all around the city. In late October, one of my best friends from home (Sarah) had a work trip to London, so I popped over for the weekend to see her and explore the city. I arrived late on a Friday and left Monday morning so it was a super quick trip but we packed a lot into the 2 days and had so much fun. There is so much to offer and all the buildings are beautiful and have defining individual character. Some neighborhoods are a bit more grungy with graffiti and a punk feel and some neighborhoods are a bit posh - and there is everything in between. And the London accent is the cutest thing ever :) The public transportation is easy enough to navigate, but we did end up ubering around about half the time as well.
We stayed at the Standard which is right across from St Pancras Station (& hotel), a beautiful building that used to be Midland Grand Hotel .
We started out at Camden Market, we arrived a little bit earlier then it opened so we found a local coffee shop and had some oak milk lattes and croissants.
Pretty much anytime I travel to a big city I try to find some type of market. I love any type of craft, boutique, or vintage market and the Camden market has EVERYTHING.. we could have spent an entire day here but we limited ourselves to a few hours.
There are a bunch of shops that have thousandssss of vintage levi jeans and jackets.. I found a pair that fit perfectly and then had a custom patch sewn on.. it was so fun and I wear these jeans all the time.
All the pictures above are from Camden market.. next stop- Hackney!
Hackney is a super cute & trendy neighborhood and we had a huge feast for brunch. Crab benedict, mac n cheese, corn bread, avocado toast, and of course bloody's. We might have over done it, but treat yo-self!
Sarah and me! We totally thought this bridge was "The London Bridge" but its actually the Tower Bridge, classic tourist mistake...
Tower Bridge
Spitalfields Arts Market. This is another market but its mostly indoor, so much cute stuff! My favorite booth was a designer named Kervin Marc who designs and makes unique leather products. His pieces are works of art, I am still saving up to get one of his coats... Check out his work, https://www.kervinmarc.com/
Right after we left this market it started pouring so we ducked into the cutest little restaurant and had a few glasses of wine. It was so cozy and we felt very European :) We can't remember the name of it though, whoops
The above three photos were all taken in South Kensington. It's a very nice, posh neighborhood. Gorgeous houses, and lots of cute shops.
On my last day I spent 3 hours walking solo around Hyde park as my friend Sarah had already left to fly back to America. It was so peaceful and dreamy. The park is massive and I walked all the way to Buckingham palace (pictured below).
I will definitely be back to visit London again soon!
XOXO travel girl
Comments