The giant 2020 trip finally happened! It only took two years of postponements, but it actually happened. It feels unreal to even write that because everything has been so abnormally bad for such a long time, it felt hard to anticipate anything good. I know things aren’t exactly 100% better now (in fact they might be worse), but the fact that this trip could be a reality is something that I’ll forever be grateful for. Here’s how I spent my first leg of the trip!
So a bit of packing advice I followed was to plan each outfit for each city, so I could easily find them in my suitcase. And then I used freezer sized Hefty bags (large Ziplock would also work) to store each outfit. If this seems a little excessive, can I just tell you how incredibly helpful it was?
Obviously I made a master list of what all the outfits were just incase I needed to adjust things depending on weather or mood (am I insane? or are you into it?), which helped a ton incase I forgot what the outfits were. In each city, I would unpack the corresponding bags and keep those in the hotel drawers so I wasn’t trifling through my suitcase at all times. (Keeping two empty bags to put any dirty undergarments kept the rest of the bag smelling clean since I wouldn’t be near a washing machine for quite awhile.) I’m hoping I keep this habit up when I travel in the future because it made getting dressed in the mornings so much easier and faster (also, next time I must remember to pack a few dryer sheets in with the clothes just so there’s not that damp/sitting-in-luggage smell).
ANYWAY, the first leg consisted of going from JFK in New York with a layover in Portugal and then heading to Gatwick in London. My kinder-than-hell brother Gary upgraded me to business class and it was too good.
And look, I get that this doesn’t need to be said, but airport private lounges are great. The main appeal? They are quiet and have free food. They’re worth it if you travel a lot. And honestly, with what they’re charging at airport restaurants these days, you may be better off just getting an individual lounge pass for the day since at least then your options are unlimited and better.
I also don’t need to tell you how great business class was. I ended up switching seats with a woman who wanted to sit next to her husband, so I got a seat that laid flat. The food was great, the TV options were plentiful. Couldn’t have had a better time.
I was only in Portugal for about an hour before I arrived in London. As soon as I landed, I got a UK sim card at the airport to put in my unlocked iPhone because I didn’t want to be without WiFi (especially alone in a foreign place). I had pre-bought my Gatwick Express train ticket (it’s cheaper online & in advance) and headed into the city. I stayed at the Sidney Hotel, which was very clean with no frills, and since I was barely going to be at the hotel it didn’t matter that much. Although I should mention: it’s absolutely insane for a hotel to have rooms in a basement. I landed at 5pm and had already planned to see The Glass Menagerie at 7:30pm that night, so I quickly dropped my stuff at the hotel, showered and changed to get on a double-decker bus to The Duke of York Theatre. What’s that? Didn’t I think of jet lag? I’ve been waiting literal years for this trip, so there was nothing that was going to stop me. I penciled in the jet lag for sometime next week.
I was a little nervous to take public transportation, but I just tapped my credit card onboard and it was easy as hell. I’ve never seen a Tennessee Williams play on stage before, so that was the main draw here. I can’t tell if the first half of the play was just a bit boring or I’d just traveled for almost 24 hours, but the second half was immensely better. Amy Adams was great, but the real standout star was Paul Hilton. What an incredible actor. Also the theatre opened in 1892 and was obviously stunning. I’m so glad I got to see this on my first night. Afterward, I just took the bus back to the hotel to unpack and plan the next day.
Was I the only person wearing a raincoat on a day that predicted rain? Of course I was. Do Londoners not wear raincoats? Is it a sign of weakness? I’ll never know.
I really hope they never get rid of these phone booths. Had no idea they also came in black.
I knew that my plans for the day were lofty, so I decided on getting the £14.40 unlimited day pass to use the subway and bus, which worked out perfectly. I woke up and took the subway out to Shoreditch to have breakfast at The Cake Hole Cafe (which is at the rear of a vintage china, glass & fabric store). I chose this place mainly because I wanted to have a scone with strawberry jam and clotted cream - and christ almighty, it was heavenly. Clotted cream really shouldn’t have such a disgusting name, it’s a thing of beauty. Everything from the food to the people to the precious placemats on each table made it worth the trek.
Afterward, I walked through the Columbia Road Flower Market that was on the same street as the cafe. I didn’t plan to go, but it was right there and it’s rude to ignore the presence of flowers.
Shoreditch is such a beautiful area, I’d love to go back.
From here, I got back on the subway and headed to The Postal Museum to ride the mail rail. Was it as fun as it sounds? You bet your ass it was. MONEY WELL SPENT. I booked it, like, a month in advance I was so jacked to do it. I think you only need to book a few days before you go, but I wanted to be safe. It takes you through the mail tunnels of London and talks about the history of UK mail throughout the ride. If that sounds dreadful to you, we aren’t compatible as friends maybe. Another plus of the museum is that you can buy stamps here! I can’t stand when stamps are hard to find - correspondence should never be a struggle.
After the museum, I walked past a Poundland so I had to go in. Love a foreign dollar store.
Is there anything better than a fun potato chip—excuse me, CRISP flavour? Not on this planet.
From here, I wandered around Borough Market and got some anchovy paste as well as a few cans of rum & ginger from East London Liquor Co. for Nathan and I. In hindsight, I definitely should have bought more food gifts from here because the selection was fantastic.
It was mid-day at this point, so I stopped for lunch at Padella. I’ve been following their Instagram for years, so I had to try the pasta finally. I got the pappardelle with 8 hour cooked Dexter beef shin ragu as well as a sparkling rosemary lemonade and it was, duh, heaven on earth.
After lunch, I walked to Tower Bridge to take some photos, then got on the train to find Fortnum & Mason.
I went here specifically to buy one of the jams from The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee collection for my dad. The store was established in 1707 (which is madness) and is such an elegant place to shop for small gifts. It was also great to hear the famous Fortnum's clock (with bells from the same foundry as Big Ben) out front as I headed back on the train to go to Harrods.
The Egyptian escalators were the highlight of the place for me, but I also got a double-decker bus magnet for myself and the Harrods chocolate gold bar for my mom. I was excited to get their signature green bag but they gave me a crappy brown bag instead. Total bullshit. (Thankfully there was somehow a Harrods location at Gatwick airport, so it was written in the stars that I must have that bag.)
From here I walked through Leicester Square to find the statues of Mary Poppins and Mr. Bean. Why would I do that? Perhaps some of us appreciate culture.
Finally I found Tesco (a British grocery store) and it was AMAZING. I’ve never been in one before, but I vow to return. In fact, if you’re in the UK visiting, you should really just get all of your souvenirs from here.
Since I was in the area, I decided to walk past the theatre that has shown Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap for 70 years. When I first visited London 20 years ago, my parents took me to see it and it was absolutely magical.
I also walked past a theatre that is doing a play with BILL PULLMAN and I really kicked myself for not getting a ticket to that. I love that man.
At this point, I headed to Twinings (opened in 1706) for some souvenirs as well as this incredible cold tea (I got the flavours rose lemonade as well as passionfruit/mango/orange). They are unbelievably good, but it’s a little annoying that there’s stevia in them so I guess I won’t get them again. Good iced tea needn’t be sweetened, I don’t know why that’s difficult for companies to understand.
Am I insane or does no one talk about how beautiful and old this city really is? I’ll never get over how perfect their cabs are.
If I find a mirrored window, I really can’t stop myself. It’s a sickness.
It was at this point in the day that my brother Gary arrived (!), so we met up and walked toward the Sky Garden.
Truthfully, other than the great view, the Sky Garden wasn’t anything special so if you’re thinking about going - I’d vote skip it. It’s a little crowded and there’s only one bar, so the lines are nuts. Instead of staying there, we headed for dinner at The Kings Arms. I had the Sunday roast (chicken) dinner and it was wonderful. Yorkshire pudding is a godsend.
After dinner, we took a car back to the hotel and drove past the most intense sunset over Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament.
It made sense that the sky was so beautiful that night, it was the perfect ending to the first leg of this trip.
That night at the hotel, my brother has this tradition of watching a terrible 9pm movie when he’s on vacation. Apparently in the UK and Europe, you can always find some awful movie at 9pm each night and so when he’s away from home, he enjoys watching them, whatever they may be. We switched between Jaws 3 and Timecop, and we truly can’t remember what we landed on that night, but I’m only noting it now because I love this tradition.
The next day I was able to get an English breakfast before we left and let’s just say… it’s not for me. That’s as polite as I can be about it.
So yes it was a bit rough, BUT when we came back a week later for a layover at Heathrow I had the breakfast buffet at The Hilton Garden Inn at the airport and that breakfast was literally the best hotel one I’ve ever had. They had these phenomenal “potato roasties” which are basically just ultra-crispy, triangular hashbrowns that I would sell my first born to have another bite of. And they also had a waffle bar and don’t judge me here, but I’ve never had a waffle before. They always seemed bland, gross and exclusively for children - but these were incredible! NO ONE TOLD ME. I literally just bought a waffle maker when I returned home.
All in all, London was a dream. I made a London highlights reel over on my Instagram if you’re interested. In all honestly, I truly have no idea how I did that many things in one city in the span of 48 hours. But of course there were so many things I didn’t have the time to do, obviously I have a list for when I return…
The Next Time in London List
Go inside Leytonstone Underground Station to see the Hitchcock mosaics & visit 517 Leytonstone High Road (Alfred Hitchcock’s birthplace)
Get a coronation chicken sandwich at Paul Rothe & Son
Visit the oldest hat shop in the world Lock & Co. Hatters
Roam Roupell Street
Visit Old Spitalfields Market and Camden Market
See The Mousetrap again
Eat a Dip & Flip sandwich
Visit Windsor Castle (book in advance)
See what’s on at Royal Albert Hall & The Playhouse
Do the Jack the Ripper tour
See an opera at The Royal Opera House
See a movie in The Castle Cinema
Eat at Bocca Di Lupo
Visit the Sherlock Holmes museum
Ride down the River Thames
Eat at Gail’s bakery
Visit the Maltby Street Market for duck frites
Visit the Novelty Automation museum
Get the fries & gravy at Blacklock
Visit the Tate Modern
Photograph the Houses of Parliament from up close
Go to Leadenhall Market
Drink at The Ten Bells
Until we meet again, England.
