London calling!

Hi!

I have great news for you: Spring is officially here! For that matter I wanted to share you my last week’s adventure in LONDON!

Our trip started on last week’s Thursday (5th April). My friend and I arrived at the airport of Helsinki around 2 pm. Then we had couple of hours before the actual flight. We decided to get some coffee and sushi to celebrate our mini vacation.

Our flight was quite on time in London. After the landing the next challenge was to figure out what would be the easiest way to go to our hotel in the center. Eventually, it was a lot easier than we thought. We just bought the Gatwick Express train tickets from the airport, travelled by train to Victoria station and continued with the underground to Warren Street, which was the nearest stop to our hotel.

Our hotel was called Radisson Blu Edwardian Crafton, a four star hotel with a perfect location. The service was very good and the rooms were tidy and big enough. No complaints. It felt amazing after the long day to just lay down on the soft hotel bed and get ready for the Friday’s shopping day.

On Friday we headed straight to the Oxford Street early in the morning. As I mentioned before, the location of the hotel was great, so it didn’t take a long time to find the best shopping streets (thank you Google Maps). The atmosphere in London is always so refreshing. The red buses and black taxis create a unique feeling on the streets.

Well, of course I had to continue my tradition that I learned in the U.S..Victoria’s Secret never lets you down. Picture from the New Bond Street.

Picadilly Circus. Full of tourists as always.

One thing that I really looked forward to in London was shopping special cosmetics. When I had to face the reality after coming back to Finland from the U.S. and try to be content with the small supply of everything, I couldn’t wait for the next time to go to proper cosmetics stores.The Too Faced store at the Carnaby Street was my absolute favorite.

Carnaby Street with the cute signs. There were lots of cute small stores. High recommendation. This is quite close to the Picadilly Circus.

Lunching after brunching. We found this cute cafeteria on the Oxford Street.

Oxford Steet in the evening. This was the point when both of us couldn’t feel their feet anymore (we walked around 30 kilometers during the whole day). Well, it was my decision to wear those high heels all day long. Beauty is pain.

On Saturday we decided to do some sightseeing and check out the ”most important” places in London. The first stop was the London Eye and the Thames river behind. We travelled there by the underground, which turned out to be pretty handy. The public transportation system works so flawlessly in London.

Eventhough we had the underground one-day tickets, we wanted to walk around and see different kind of buildings and architecture. Whenever I travel I always think you see more by walking than just using public transportation.

The great Buckingham Palace. There were plenty of tourists again so we didn’t stay long.

The Westminster Abbey. We wondered how it would be to have your own wedding at this church. Pretty grandiloquent.

The Queen Victoria memorial. It would have been impossible to take a selfie with this one without any other tourists hanging at the background.

We walked through the Hyde Park towards the famous old mall, Harrods. Of course we had to go in and admire the luxury bags and clothes. If I won the lottery, I know where I would go.

We spent the rest of the Saturday by shopping. Both of us did amazing purchases and found so many things we had been dreaming of. Goodbye money!

Although we were a bit exhausted and our feet were pretty done, we wanted to check out the night life of London. Before heading to the center again, we tried to find out recommendations of the best places at the soho. There were couple places that seemed to be pretty cool so we decided to go ”cocktail hunting”.

The first place we went to had a laid-back feeling with loud music and lots of party people. The drinks were delicious.

The second place we went to was quite a mysterious place. When we searched for the information and directions to the bar, there was only a mention of a secrect sign you would need to find. This secretive cocktail bar was called The Blind Pig.

When we eventually got in, we were handed these super cute menus. Each cocktail was named by a special children’s story, like Winnie the Pooh, Harry Potter, Narnia, Peter the Rabbit etc. How fascinating!

Picture of our beautiful and super yummy drinks. Mine is on the right and it was called Mr. Tumnus. It was amazing how the drink captured the taste of the ”real” Narnia.

Lastly, a picture collage of our amazing trip. Early on Sunday we had to travel back to the Gatwick airport and wait for our flight back to Helsinki. Time flies when you having a good time. I want to thank you Taru for being the most amazing travelling company. We have such similar interests and both of us are true shopaholics, who like to walk their asses off. We had good laughs and never a dull moment. I really look forward to travel with you again <3

Now I can admire all the souvenirs I bought and continue the spring with a big smile on my face.

Catch up with you later!

💖: Siiri