Hi there!
For the second half of spring break, my friends and I spontaneously booked a trip to London! The minute we got to our AirBnb in Paris we sat down and booked everything. I am so happy we did; I have wanted to visit London for so long (probably due to my obsession with British Youtubers) and it completely lived up to my expectations.
Our first day there we really wanted to relax, so we spent the day shopping around Oxford Street and Covent Garden. We went to a lot of the typical British stores: Primark, Boots, Lush, etc. We walked all through Soho, Carnaby Street, Covent Garden, and Leicester Square. The weather was super nice compared to Paris and we had a really chill day.
The second day we did literally all the touristy stuff. Our hostel was in a pretty good location (right near Kings Cross Station) so we walked mostly everywhere, and this day was completely exhausting. We started by walking to the Tower Bridge, then along the water, which has a beautiful path leading past loads of tourist attractions. We wandered around the Globe Theater for a bit, and passed Millennium Bridge and the London Eye, before heading back over the river to see Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham palace. We sat in the park next to the palace for a few hours to recharge, and then went back to the Covent Garden area to see a West End show! We saw The Woman in Black, mostly because it was the cheapest, but it was actually pretty good. I hate scary things so I was terrified, but objectively speaking the show was pretty great.
We spent the majority of the third day wandering around Portabello Market in Notting Hill. This market had been particularly high on my list of things to see ever since my boyfriend sent me a picture of vintage cameras for sale there when he visited a year ago. And the market didn't disappoint; there were tons of vintage things, food, jewelry, and other random knick-knacks, and the neighborhood was beautiful. I ended up buying two vintage cameras and I love them so much.
The hostel we stayed at was in an amazing location and was very cheap, but it was a very odd experience. It was in a converted court house, so they had actual prison cells to sleep in. It was also a bit of a party hostel, so it was incredibly loud and filled with people at all times. But breakfast was free and overall it wasn't the worst hostel experience ever!
London was one of my favorite cities I have visited so far and I cannot wait to go back!
xo, Sophie
