London, England

London Bound avec les filles!…Starting 2025 off strong, I finally got a chance to go to London & couldn’t be more grateful to have celebrated my birthday there & with good company. The days consisted of seeing main monuments, park walks, exploring areas, shops and of course trying new foods. Capping almost 30k steps a day we saw a lot….so let’s dive in! 

                                                                                  //Foodies start here//

I’ll start with my birthday dinner which took place at Carlotta, Italian cuisine in a retro, chic and welcoming environment with the most authentic food. They may be known for their incredible interior design and I am not surprised by that after visiting. The bathroom alone was an experience for itself. For an afternoon tea & pastry we stopped at the famous Sketch. Again, another place with an incredible interior design. At this point you may question wether we went for food or just the decor of these places but I promise both were satisfying. We topped things off with Anita Gelato, which apart from being one of the best gelatos I’ve tried, also has special flavours that would suit a lot of different palates. 

As a matcha connoisseur now….I must mention the places we tried. Starting with the most common cafe Blank Street, the white chocolate matcha and the daydream were consumed literally daily. It is very common to find Blank street in any area & everytime we did…..it was time for a matcha. Jenki was next, and I would recommon the earl grey matcha which is only available at the Borough market location. Bird&Blend is a tea shop that offers coffee, teas, and matcha to go. This is such a unique store as it has an insane variety of teas & matcha flavours you probably have not seen before such as birthday cake, ice cream, banana, carrot cake & more. If your looking to try something different than a traditional matcha start here! 

If you’re in the mood to try all kinds of foods offered by wholesome people then you need to visit Borough Market, which is one of, if not, the best food markets in London. I was very intrigued to try everything and this is coming from someone who is not a foodie….(however that is subjective to change after this trip) The people working are so lovely and friendly, we would always end up chatting with a few workers who would offer us samples & discuss all kinds of topics with. Another market we went to was Camden Market, which is also a unique experience as it offers a lot of food options with indoor/outdoor seating. The market also has a wide variety of vintage shopping from clothing, cameras, accessories, candles, and more. Portobello market at Notting Hill…do yourself a favour and go! Again a lot of variety of products, however it is set in the famous and lovely neighbourhood of Notting Hill. What’s great about all these markets is how unique each one is, offering different types of products form all kinds of vendors. 

Last place to mention is Harrods on Knightsbridge, aside from the famously decorated Ancient Egyptian escalators, my friends and I headed straight to the food hall…all I will say is, try the Honey Cake…

                                                                        // Monuments, Events & More//

The main monuments we saw were Big Ben, London Eye, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar square, & Piccadilly circus, however Tower Bridge stood out the most to me. I think the photos do not show how truly beautiful it is. The details and colours of the bridge are so captivating in person and out of everything listed I highly recommend seeing it! 

My dear friends surprised me with a musical theater night, as I have never been to one and have been speaking of it for months ever since the film Wicked came out…so you’ve guessed it they took me to Wicked at the Apollo Theater in Victoria. It was surreal, an incredible show with amazingly talented people. Words truly can not describe the experience, if you have not been to a theater before please go…asap. Sunday night we opted for stand-up comedy at the JK comedy club, apart from the comedians doing their jobs well, the crowd had great energy and interacted well with the performers. Surprisingly we also learned a few things about London, apart from laughing most of the night. 

I only had time to visit one bookshop and that was Daunt books. I think it is a very unique bookshop due to its interior and layout. The organization of the books are also very clever, they shelf books based on the city they’re set in or the nationality of the author. This gives shoppers a wide variety of books referencing the same location. Other shops on my list I’ve yet to visit are Waterstones, & Hatchards, I’ve saved them due to their popularity and heritage. 

                                                                                  //Final Thoughts//

One thing that completely shocked me about British people is their blunt sarcasm, whit and friendliness. All features combined created quite a character…we were constantly entertained when interacting with anyone. I truly loved the environment and it felt so genuine and easy to communicate with others. I need to mention the ads in London…who ever is making them needs a raise. I never notice ads or read them as I find them dull yet in London their wit and clever humour caught our attention often. 

The energy during this trip was sublime..I am so grateful for the people in my life, I truly am surrounded by the greatest people anyone could ask for. So here’s to my dear & lovely friends, love you always! & London..I will be back very soon…

Xo, DK.