When booking a flight home from Italy, the cheapest option allowed me to have one night and a half a day in London, so I booked an accommodation and planned to do as many touristy things as possible in the short time I had available! (Or what I thought would be a short time...Keep reading...)
I walked down picturesque streets and watched the city come to life as I made my way towards Hyde Park which was bustling with exercise enthusiasts!
My favorite part of the morning was going to Tower Hill, which is a cute area where the Tower of London and Tower Bridge are. The Tower Bridge was spectacular!
I am glad that I could see London in the spring time, because I loved seeing beautiful flowers blooming and adding color everywhere - for example the pink tulips and purple wisteria at St. Paul's Cathedral.
It was around this time that my mom asked me my flight number for my 4:00 flight to Chicago, so I decided to look online for the specifics... This is when I found out that my flight to was cancelled. Nooooooo... At this point I was emotionally exhausted from leaving Italy, and was just ready to be home. After spending an hour on hold with the airlines (while walking around and taking in the sights) I learned that there were no other flights until the next day at 4:00 pm...
Clearly out of my control, so after a phone call to my mom and a few tears, I of course was going to make the most out of my extended time in London. (And the airline said they would pay for my accommodation, food, and transportation for the next day as long as it was "reasonable." Reasonable according to whose standards I'm not sure, but I tried my best...)
After having lunch at a cute restaurant, relaxing a bit, and walking around Trafalgar Square, I went to Piccadilly Circus (a road junction similar to a square). Since it was around 4:30, it was the perfect time for the infamous Afternoon Tea! This was definitely a positive of having a full afternoon in London. I found an adorable (and fancy) restaurant that served (a probably overpriced and not under the airline's "reasonable" classification) afternoon tea, and of course ordered the special (that came with enough food to last at least four people)...
The other perk of having more time was that I was able to go to other areas around London. I went to Camden, which was not my cup of tea...
That evening I chose to stay in a hotel in the Notting Hill area, which would allow me a full morning the second day of exploring the area. SO colorful and lovely.
I found a walking tour of Notting Hill online from A Lady in London that would take me to all the prettiest buildings. It was so beautiful!
I went down all the streets and took pictures, stumbled upon many bright flower shops, shopped Portobello Road Market, and of course found some cute boutiques to go shopping at.
I am glad for the extra time spent in such a beautiful place! (I promise there are many buildings other than just pink...But I clearly favored the pink!)
And finallyyyy after a closed train station, busses that didn't show up, trains that didn't make stops where I was planning on getting off, wayyyy overweight luggage (so heavy that they wouldn't even let me me pay the overweight fee), and quite a few tears of reality hitting me that I was leaving Europe, I made it on the plane (barely!) and 9 hours flying + 5 hours driving, I arrived home!
Xoxo,
I walked down picturesque streets and watched the city come to life as I made my way towards Hyde Park which was bustling with exercise enthusiasts!
Next on the list was Buckingham Palace - such a magnificent sight! I then walked through the beautiful Saint Jame's Park to the Westminster Abbey and Palace of Westminster. Poor Big Ben, but the London Eye was really neat to see.
I am glad that I could see London in the spring time, because I loved seeing beautiful flowers blooming and adding color everywhere - for example the pink tulips and purple wisteria at St. Paul's Cathedral.
It was around this time that my mom asked me my flight number for my 4:00 flight to Chicago, so I decided to look online for the specifics... This is when I found out that my flight to was cancelled. Nooooooo... At this point I was emotionally exhausted from leaving Italy, and was just ready to be home. After spending an hour on hold with the airlines (while walking around and taking in the sights) I learned that there were no other flights until the next day at 4:00 pm...
After having lunch at a cute restaurant, relaxing a bit, and walking around Trafalgar Square, I went to Piccadilly Circus (a road junction similar to a square). Since it was around 4:30, it was the perfect time for the infamous Afternoon Tea! This was definitely a positive of having a full afternoon in London. I found an adorable (and fancy) restaurant that served (a probably overpriced and not under the airline's "reasonable" classification) afternoon tea, and of course ordered the special (that came with enough food to last at least four people)...
There were scones, jams, clotted cream, petite fours, tea sandwiches, macaroons, and so much more! I took a small bite of everything and then shared the rest with a couple sitting next to me haha.
The other perk of having more time was that I was able to go to other areas around London. I went to Camden, which was not my cup of tea...
I walked around for maybe five minutes and then walked to the Primrose Hill which had adorable and colorful buildings. The Primrose Hill Park was also so pretty, and it offered a nice view of the city.
I found a walking tour of Notting Hill online from A Lady in London that would take me to all the prettiest buildings. It was so beautiful!
I went down all the streets and took pictures, stumbled upon many bright flower shops, shopped Portobello Road Market, and of course found some cute boutiques to go shopping at.
I am glad for the extra time spent in such a beautiful place! (I promise there are many buildings other than just pink...But I clearly favored the pink!)
Xoxo,
