Exploring London

If you missed yesterdays post, you can give it a read here to see what I got up to in the first half of the week, but as I previously mentioned; it was a very full on week. All nice things but still full on. After returning from the spa trip, I had to unpack and repack for two days/one night in London the following morning.

Getting the train down to London wasn't too much hassle and we arrived before lunch, ready to enjoy the trip. We started in Nandos (how cultured!) and had a lovely meal; it was actually my first trip to Nandos so I'd definitely consider going back. After enjoying the meal, we decided to walk to our hotel in Hyde Park (Grand Park Hotel) but my brother thought it was a good idea to take us on a diversion towards the center so that we could see some sites on the way... we did not end up seeing any noteworthy sites but did add 2 miles to our journey before progressing at all. What should have been 2.9 miles was 4.9 miles (with mini suitcases/bags!). Nevertheless, we reached the hotel, just about in one piece, which was lovely. It was a little far out from things but the hotel itself was very pleasant. Once we'd wound down a bit with a drink and a change of clothes. We got a taxi to Piccadilly Circus where 'Comedy About A Bank Robbery' was and then walked to Leicester Square whilst deciding where to eat. We found a nice Italian to sit outside and eat at, who did lovely pasta dishes, I had my trusty Arrabbiata (spicy tomato dish), which is one of my favourite meals. Once finished, the group split and three went to 'A Comedy About A Bank Robbery' who all seemed to really enjoy it, and mum and I went to see 'Mamma Mia' in Covent Garden. Prior to going, I hadn't been particularly excited to see it as I didn't think I was that bothered about the theatre, but it was amazing! It made me giggle and was just generally a very jolly performance that can't help but put a smile on your face. The actors performed wonderfully- singing, dancing, acting... the lot. It's definitely made me want to see a couple more shows. To finish the evening, we met back in TGIFridays for a drink. If you're over 18 and have a TGIFridays near you, I highly recommend going and trying the 'Honey Kist' cocktail. It's very sweet so it's good as an alternative to a pudding but as sweet as it sounds, it isn't overpoweringly sweet and one glass isn't too sickly. It's made of Jack Daniels Honey, Baileys, White Cacao, Ice Cream and Toffee Popcorn. I believe it's still available although not all seem to have it on the menu as it's part of new Jack Daniels range where three have been introduced but I believe only one will stay depending on which sells best. Even my mum, who doesn't have that much of a sweet tooth, loved it so much when I tried it the first time that in London she ordered one herself too.

The following day three of us popped to Primark on Oxford Street to pick up a four wheel suitcase as after the antics the day before, I didn't want to lug my other one around all day and we'd thought that the hotel would have been closer. Unfortunately, we were low on time as we had to get back to meet the other two and check out, so I didn't browse the store but would love to go back, even if just for the huge Primark! We picked up some breakfast in Pret a Manger (another first for me and one I definitely want to go back to!) and got the bus back to the hotel. As it was on a hop-on-hop-off bus, it took a while to get back to the hotel, especially as we'd waited ages for it to get there (we were going on the smaller, less popular route) so we were late for check out and had a rush of a morning (although luckily the hotel were fine about it). Eventually we got back and got our stuff ready for the afternoon. After grabbing some lunch in Garfunkels (I had another Arrabbiata, told you I love it) we pretty much stayed on the bus for the rest of the afternoon- the traffic was particularly bad that day so it took a long time to get anywhere) however we saw some great sights and learnt a lot from the bus tour guide (I want to say his name was Kenny but I think I'm wrong), who made the trip interesting and amusing. Once we got to the Tower of London, we hopped off and got a boat back up the river Thames to West Minster. The guide on the boat was lovely as well and made the trip very entertaining as well as interesting. At this point, we pretty much got the bus to the train station and then the train home. Although we didn't fit everything in that we wanted to do, we made the most of the time we had there and had a lovely trip.

London was a fun trip and left me with a much more pleasant experience than last time as although it was busy, it was nothing compared to the first time I visited London. I had some lovely company and did some great things so it really felt like a little holiday.

Thank you for reading this post, I hope you enjoyed hearing about my recent trips. Have you been anywhere nice recently? If you enjoyed this post and want to see more from me, you can follow my social media links in the top right hand corner of the blog to see when I next upload.

Love, Steph x