Well hello there! Happy Tuesday to you! Last week - I was writing to you from London. If I had a little flag with the Union Jack on it, I would be waving it - That's how excited I am about our time in London!
We are now back in "Paradise Island" (Kefalonia!), and after five jam packed days of exploring - I keep thinking, "How am I going to even begin to comprehensively list what we experienced and what we did?!" The thought alone overwhelms me, and excites me at the same time. "Which photos am I going to post?!" Between Matt and I - We took way too many photos. How could we not? Ah, the joys of taking photos of every interesting detail... *Insert shrugging emoji here*
WHERE - TO - BEGIN, DEAR READERS, WHERE - TO - BEGIN.
*Kefalonia, Greece to London, England - Approximate flight time: 3 to 3.5 hours
*Time spent in London - Five full days
My oh my - London was truly marvellous. I'm not sure that I can properly articulate how impressed I was - We all were! By "we all were" - I'm referring to family. London was a family affair. There was, Matt of course, my dad, mum, brother, sister-in-law and our baby nephew. Every day was filled with sight seeing, tasty food and adventures, together and apart.
Are we ready? (Warning: London may need to be a "to be continued" situation - Lets see how we go, shall we? Anything is possible at this point. Wish me luck, and above all else - We hope you enjoy our highlights!)
What I do want to mention first is that - Let's get this out of the way - London was unbelievably cold. We were looking at 6 degrees celsius during the day, 10 degrees at best. Picture this. It's Spring, and (almost) everyone we walked by was wearing winter boots, gloves, a coat, a beanie, and a scarf. Even though we all knew it would be "cold" in London, we did not come even close to being properly prepared, clothing wise. We underestimated just how cold it would actually feel. Being from Melbourne, we are no strangers to needing to layer up, but wowza, talk about getting comfortable with being uncomfortable *Insert laughing emoji here* We layered as best as we could with any items that we had packed, seeing as we only came with a carry on bag from Kefalonia. We very quickly surrendered to the icy air - (It was what it was, and we weren't going to let it stop us!) - There was no way we were going to stay indoors either. There was way too much to see!
Let the London adventure begin!
*Accomodation: Z Hotels, Trafalgar - https://www.thezhotels.com/ - Super central and walking distance to all major attractions. Perfect way to explore!
DAY 1 - SIGHTS, MOMENTS, HIGHLIGHTS
*Total distance walked = 26.8km + 33, 240 steps taken
Highlight #1: But first - Let's fuel up. By fuel, I mean food.
- In search for our morning coffee and breaky, we came across Caffe Concerto. Not a far walk from where we were staying. Beautiful interior and the pastries in the front window - Oh my! They looked like artwork! Wonderful and attentive service, and our food hit the spot! You will find many Caffe Concertos around town! Check out their very enticing food and drinks here -
Highlight #2: Food and coffee in our bellies - Time to explore!
- Taking a walk on the Hungerford and Golden Jubilee Bridge where you get a great view of the London Eye, Thames River and Big Ben. (We actually walked this area twice that morning. We walked it again with my parents!)
- On our way back we stopped to take a look at a few of the gift and souvenir shops. (Always so mesmerised. I love seeing what different countries offer in the way of what has become iconic for them!) It's always such a visual feast. We were presented with Harry Potter, Mr. Bean, The Union Jack, The Royals, Paddington Bear and more - It was fabulous to witness. I can totally be a sucker for caving in to how cute knick knack items are, but I've appreciated the "minimal" approach for sometime. Eh hem - Consumerism* - So I stepped away with just a cute notebook to journal in. Thought process - Functional* - Need, not want *Wink*
Highlight #3: St. James Park and Buckingham Palace
- I haven't mentioned yet but... The London Marathon was on! We didn't realise this until we got to London. The event was all set up, and they were running the TCS Mini London Marathon for the children on this day. The following day was the event for adults. What a vibe! There was great energy surrounding us as we walked around. Walking through St. James Park to get to Buckingham Palace was slight mayhem but it was exiting seeing the set up.
- These gardens are immaculate and the bird life is magical. One of our favourite highlights of the day was seeing a squirrel! Never have we seen a squirrel in real life. Many people stopped to watch the squirrel dart around. Fair to say - It was so very cute!
- We reached Buckingham Palace but the crowds were quite impressive so we decided what we would return once the Marathon was all done, and the set up was taken down.
Highlight #4: Joined the rest of the family and kept exploring!
- Walking the streets, we realised that close to Trafalgar Square, the crossing lights displayed different symbols. The Mars symbol doubled up, the Venus symbol doubled up, Mars and Venus together, as well as two women walking, holding hands, two men holding hands and walking, etc. I loved this feature, (and I loved it even more once I found out what it represented). I was so intrigued that I had to Google it - This is what I found - Read more here: https://www.roads.org.uk/photo/rainbow-signals
- We witnessed our first rally in London. This rally was for Trans Rights. There was a see of people wearing the colours of the Trans Flag. It felt like an inspiring and powerful moment.
- Next up - Strolling through Westminster - Sight seeing galore! We stopped by at Big Ben, Westminster Cathedral (We sat and observed the service taking place and lit a few candles), The Victoria Tower and Westminster Bridge. We enjoyed a hot dog from a street vendor on the bridge - It was exceptionally windy at this time, and the warmth of the hot dog was perfection for a cold day! (I should add, although super tasty, we paid $60 AUD for x3 hot dogs! To be fair, they were triple the size of a "normal" sausage, and they were very generous with the serving of fillings - But perhaps check prices before purchasing. We did not... Rookie tourists! Still, we don't regret it. Delish!)
- Of course - We had to stop by one of the iconic red telephone booths to take a photo! (We opted to choose one that was not so crowded. The telephone booth featuring The Big Ben in the background had an exceptionally long line. Understandably so. After seeing some of photos on Instagram - I see why people are fanatical about getting that shot. Us? We were more than happy to keep exploring the city.
- *Do not be fooled by Matt's outfit by the way (Scroll down). Shorts and a t-shirt were his choice for the first few days. On the other hand, we were all frozen, even with all our layers! You'll notice that my lips look blue in the photo below!
- (Very small mention. We walked passed the King's Guard where the horses stand stoically. If I can highlight anything it's that if you are a tourist admiring this display - Be mindful of the horses and treat them with respect. Keep your distance and be quiet. It was unsettling to see how many people found this opportunity as a form of "entertainment" - These creatures are living, they aren't a statue. I can only imagine the overwhelm that these animals feel on a daily basis with hundreds of people gathering around. There's no need to get right up close and personal. Give them some space. That's my two cents!
Highlight #5: Yep. You guessed it. More sight seeing!
- Covent Garden - Another magical spot! (I will most likely keep saying this. There are so many spots that just seem... Magical. I don't know how else to describe it. You can find out more about Covent Garden here: https://www.coventgarden.london/ or here: https://www.instagram.com/coventgardenldn/?hl=en
- Time to stop for a mid-afternoon snack. We chose randomly. The sweetest interior and selection of vases on display, as well as unique light fittings, which seemed to be quite the thing in London. These light fittings had a tea towel over them in substitute of a light shade - Super funky! We enjoyed The Rustico and a cheese and salami platter to share. Beautiful food - Highly recommend! - Check out their Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/capilungolondon/ or their webpage here:
Highlight #6: Our first dinner in London followed by London's lively nightlife!
- I didn't take any pictures of our dinner meal but it's so worth the mention! Super fast service, coolest interior where the restaurant kept expanding and expanding, very friendly staff too. Have a squiz at their story here: https://poppiesfishandchips.co.uk/ and have a looksy at their fun page here: https://www.instagram.com/popsfishnchips/?hl=en
- Don't forget, it was a Saturday night! We walked around Soho, Chinatown and the Theatre District, taking in the liveliness and vibrancy of this city. No matter where you looked - There was always something to see. Colours, detailed exteriors of buildings, food, unique shops and no matter the cold - People were out and about, chatting, strolling or enjoying a beer or two.
And that concludes our first day in London!
*Our day started at approximately 8:00am and finished at 9:00pm.
We were beyond satisfied. It was time to rest in preparation for Day 2!
Stay tuned - Highlights for Day 2 coming very soon. (I did say that this would probably take a few posts didn't I? Eek!)
Until then - Be well, be safe, be curious and explore mindfully.
We thank you for being here.
One half of Joopiter's Sun,
Vicki.