Starting off a blog post with a Friends reference is always a bonus, so… LONDON, BABY!!
This trip… gosh, it was so incredible. 14 days spent abroad with my best friend… it doesn’t get any better! I’m going to be dishing all things traveling abroad, budget traveling, and England, Scotland, and Italy in my next few blog posts (because I totally can’t squeeze 14 days into 1 post).
I always grew up watching the Mary Kate & Ashley movies (where are my 90’s babies at?!), and when I saw “Winning London,” I promised myself I’d go one day. 1st grade me is so proud!
I wish I could say, “here are a few of my favorite things to do in London,” but… LET’S BE REAL! Here are 14 things that were absolutely incredible about our trip to London:
1). First step, in planning your trip overseas (or really anywhere): scout out Google flights for days… weeks even. We bought one way tickets from D.C. to Toronto and Toronto to London (only $400 total!!!). It might be a pain, but it’s SO worth it!
LOOK HOW GREEN IT IS!! I will never forget the feeling of flying across the ocean and seeing England for the first time. It’s just so unlike America and reminded me that there is so much world out there to be explored!
(Free tip: if you can’t sleep on planes (hi, totally me), then carve out some time to sleep when you first arrive. I thought we could just get there and go at it, but we ended up sleeping from 6am to 2pm).
2). Stay a little outside of London. It was so much fun living in Crawley for a few days (about a 40 minute train ride from the city) and walking through our own little neighborhood to get home every night. Check out Airbnb for some awesome homes around London!
3). When you get to London, buy a TFL (Transport for London) pass. This gets you on the tube (subway), train, and buses. We bought ours at the train station in Crawley and it was way cheaper/more convenient than trying to Uber and walk everywhere (although trust me, we walked PLENTY).
4). Have dinner at Byronaldo... Oh. My. Goodness. Best burger, fries, and cider I have ever had!
5). Buy tickets to go on the London Eye… because, it’s London, and you kinda have to. You get a sweeping bird’s eye view of the city and it’s absolutely remarkable!
(Pro travel tip: you can buy your tickets at the London Eye, but they’re often cheaper and you can get the “Skip The Line” tickets for the same price on Viator).
6). Take a tour of the Harry Potter Warner Brothers Studio! If you’re even remotely interested in Harry Potter (I’m actually obsessed and have already received my acceptance letter to Hogwarts, but regretfully declined to follow my dreams as a wedding photographer), you MUST go! It’s in Leavesden, England, about 45 minutes to an hour outside of London, but they have a bus that picks you up right in the heart of London. Again, you can buy your tickets through them, or through Viator (about $30 cheaper).
This was the ACTUAL Great Hall. I mean… PINCH ME. (Notice is has no roof).
THIS was actually the roof to the Great Hall. It hangs from the ceiling in a different studio and they digitally place it onto the roof of the Great Hall in post-production! SO CRAZY!
We went at just the right time, because it was the anniversary of the Sorcerer’s Stone (Philosopher’s Stone in the U.K.), so Privet Drive was open to us! This was the scene when the Dursley’s kept hiding Harry’s acceptance letters and they all burst through the fireplace!
They filmed ALL of the movies on this mini scale version of the castle in the studio and digitally placed all of the characters on the grounds in post-production. The detail was absolutely incredible.
7). Hop off at a random bus stop and explore. I’m a total planner, but sometimes spontaneity brings the best memories. Georgia and I randomly hopped off and found ourselves strolling down Oxford Street and grabbing an early dinner at the cutest Italian bistro.
8). Sit on the fountain at Buckingham Palace. We were lucky enough to catch the changing of the guards, too! It was so beautiful as the sun went down to sit down, relax, and take it all in! By the end of the day, our feet were hurting pretty bad, so we were super thankful for the rest.
(Amateur travel tip: don’t wear combat boots all day if you’re planning on walking an entire city…)
9). Stroll along the River Thames (we especially enjoyed the south side) and spend time exploring the Tower Bridge, City Hall, Shakespeare’s Globe, going in and out of the shops, restaurants, and alleys. It was my favorite morning in London!
Always had to stop for Costa coffee in the mornings 🙂 Loved the Costa inside of Hay’s Gallery!
10). Eat fish ‘n’ chips on the River Thames. You just gotta do it. We loved Founders Arms! They had the best cider, too!
11). Check out St. Paul’s Cathedral on the other side of the river… absolutely STUNNING!
12). Hang out in London’s MASSIVE Trafalgar Square and then head over to Covent Garden for shopping and Ben’s Cookies. Their motto is “Baking with chunks, not chips, since 1983,” so I mean… there’s a reason we stopped almost every day for them in England and Scotland.
(Funny trip memory: I had to go to the bathroom in this square… yeah, there wasn’t any toilet paper. And the doors were sealed top to bottom, so that’s my luck HAHA).
13). Watch the sunset on the River Thames (can you tell I love being on any body of water yet?). We walked over the Tower Bridge and grabbed dinner on the river, where yet again, they didn’t have toilet paper… haha – what is it with these London bathrooms?! 😉
14). See Big Ben, Palace of Westminster, and Westminster Abbey, and then hang out in Parliament Square to take it all in. (Any green grass there is to be found in a city, you can totally find me there!).
Saying goodbye to London was so sad, but our next stop was Scotland and it was my FAVORITE city of them all!! Each place we went to had something so unique to offer. I can’t wait to share Scotland and Italy with you guys!
Have you ever been to London?! Leave me comments of things I might have missed 😉
xo, Demi
