(Above: me stomping around close to our flat in Islington wearing my Eugenia Kim hat, old pleather jacket, canvas tote, Madewell jeans and Hunter Boots)
Cath and I are nutty about London: the history, the Englishyness and the non-Englishyness (so diverse!), the food, the book shops, the shop shops, the old mixed with the new. . . we love it to bits and pieces. Last week when I visited for the first time in eight years, I really, really missed not having Cath there with me. So this post is a bit selfish (or twin-ish): a way to bring Cath with me on my trip!
“Licking the windows” (faire du lèche-vitrine = window shopping). Thrifitng and marketing abounds in London. So even if you don’t have gobs of money to spend you can do more than window lick:
I stopped by Fortnum and Mason to drool over their champagne and caviar picnic hampers and feel poor (cheapest thing was a £13 tin of tea – lordy!). Kate Middleton and the Queen were here just a week ahead of me. Our experiences differed slightly (I was shocked when no one offered me a free hamper!):
Even though it’s an incredibly congested city, the air quality (as far as cities go) is marvelous in London. Could it be the congestion fees, public transport and biker-friendly ways? I would be terrified to bike in London traffic, but almost convinced if I could lock my bike to one of these planters:
My highlight to the trip (apart from seeing old friends) was going to the super-hyped David Hockney exhibit at the Royal Academy. After hearing so many amazing things about it I thought it couldn’t be all that wonderful. Holy schmoly wholy, it was! Amazing fantasticness! I’d go so far to say it was the best exhibit I’ve ever seen (and I’m quite the museum-goer). The show was £14 which seemed steep until I saw it. Now I would gladly pay that daily to go back again and again:
London has amazing fast food, and I don’t mean hamburgers and pizza. Matt and I could easily stick to our vegetarian/gluten-free routine while going to a fast food chains around the city! This photo is from Itsu, but we also ate delicious healthy things at Leon and Pret A Manger:
Freshly juiced apple, lime and mint at Leon:
On our way to Spitalfields Market (upcoming post all about that glorious place!):
Have you guys been to London before? Where are your favorite places? Does it rank as one of your favorite cities? I love every big city I’ve been to (SF, NYC, DC, Chicago, Madrid, Paris, Rome, etc.), but London takes the (tea)cake for me!
—–
Dear Cath,
London (just like Edinburgh) does not feel whole without you. Everything we saw I tried to catalog in my head and tell you about — this blog post works much better than my old noggin.
Hope you had fun in class yesterday! See you on skype soon!
xoxoxox,
Lar
Oooohhh, what a wonderful, wonderful post, Lar! I love how you went to places that we’ve never ever been before. I suppose in the past few visits to London we’ve stuck to pretty touristy stuff. I can’t wait to go back with you when you can take me to that amazing thrift store you found and we can “lick the windows” together.
Those planter bike racks are brilliant. Don’t you think they’d look great in Decatur?
Can’t wait to read your post about Spitalfields!
xoxoxo, cath
Oh my gosh I’m sooooo jealous!! After studying abroad there it is by far my favorite city in the whole world!! Ugh.I want to go back!
🙂
Julia
I visited London in 2008 and have very fond memories of it! The stuff I did was a lot more touristy though; it looks like you and Matt discovered some great gems off the beaten path.
I’ve never been, but my husband has. Posts like these make me want to visit all the more, but Scotland would be first. Gotta get in touch with the Motherland!
~F
Yowza, I didn’t know the city was so vegan friendly! That’s awesome! 😀
It’s been almost 10 years since I visited London. I honestly don’t have the fondest memories because I was on a backpacking trip (i.e. slept on the train station floor one night because we were too cheap to pay for a 2nd night at the hostel) and I just remember it being very expensive. I loved the vibe and window-shopping, so I vowed never to return until I could afford to stay in or 4 or 5 star hotel. Haven’t been back since, that’s for sure 😉 I’d like to, though!
I desperately want to live in London. Or somewhere in Europe where I don’t have to learn too much of the language 🙂 But my husband isn’t too fond of Europe, which makes me very very sad. I think he’s just a wuss when it comes to living too far from his brothers/family. And Tex Mex. I’m not even kidding.
♥ laura
the blog of worldly delights
Oh man, i love London and those pics look awesome. I’d bike around there if I could. I have never been to anywhere in Europe/ UK before.it is my dream to go there and I adore the visuals your pics give me to one day go there.
I went to London in ’07 and have wanted to go back since. Not that I could live there, but it was amazing to visit. I wanted to eat at Wagamama so bad, but it was so crowded. Looks like you guys had an awesome time!
i *heart* london!!! thanks so much for sharing these photos!
Ah, London looks so amazing! I’ve never been but it’s definitely in my top 5 places to visit soon. The city streets look pretty vibrant with the the store fronts and planters.
Great photos!
xx, becs
Gorgeous post Lar!!! So glad you had a good trip and thank you for bringing us along! 😀
Wowza! these pictures are amazing.especially the first one. I kinda love it. I’ve never been to London, but I hope to visit one day!
I love Pret a Manger, too, but I think my favorite “fast food” cafe in England has to be FOOD. They have great sandwiches and coffees and fruity drinks at such an affordable price!
I love these photos, Lar. it feels so much like we were with you.
me ke aloha, Mae
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