For me, the travel bug never seems to leave. I can't help but constantly add new countries to my list of places to visit and at this point, I'll be pretty busy for the next few years. I'm not one to be your typical tourist with an itinerary to follow and reservations to make. I like to just wing it and do most of my plans by way of trekking the city I'm in and just stumbling on neighborhoods, meeting locals, and really getting a feel for the environment as if I'm living there. It would probably be stressful for most, but the non-schedule approach keeps me in the moment and focusing on just enjoying being in a new place... even if I do spend a lot of the day lost.
As I mentioned last week, I made my way over the pond and into beautiful London with ultra-lux men's shoe brand, Hydrogen-1. This was my second visit to the bustling city, but my first visit was a short one-day stint and just about ten years ago... whoo, time flies... so I was definitely excited to spend a bit more time there. After a short overnight flight [and a couple too many mini-bar wines in flight] we landed in unsurprisingly rainy London and hit the ground running. The city was definitely geared up for the holidays which only made the experience that much better. Historic buildings, cobble stone streets, traditional pubs - it was all like I remembered but even better with the twinkling Christmas lights that covered their facades. We managed to do just about everything we wanted to over the four day weekend thanks to some luck from Mother Nature so feel free to check out some of the highlights of things we did from 'where to sleep' to 'where to shop' below. My biggest tip is to just be prepared to walk. There is transit by way of subway and bus but the best way to discover the smaller pockets is just walking through the narrow streets. Cheerio!
TO SLEEP
The Hoxton Hotel, Holborn - Without a doubt one of the coolest hotels I've stayed in. The rooms can be a bit small but are clean, modern, and have everything you need. The best part of the hotel is the lobby though. It's always filled with tourist and locals so it's a great place to mingle with a coffee during the day or dancing with a cocktail in hand at night. Make sure you have some grub in the restaurant there too.
TO EAT/DRINK
Fish and Chips: Poppies Fish and Chips
Sceney: Tramshed, Shoreditch
Gents Afternoon Tea: No. 20 at Sanctum Hotel
Coffee: Holborn Grind
Historic Pub: The Churchill Arms
Indian Food: Brick Lane - This street has tons of Indian restaurants so pick up a bottle of wine [most are BYOB] and just choose any that looks fun!
Wine and Dine: Gordon's Wine Bar - London's oldest wine barn
Sunday Roast: Roast
TO SHOP
Oxford Street, West End
Carnaby Street, West End
Portobello Road Market, Notting Hill
Boxpark, Shoreditch
Harrods, Most known department store in London
