Returning "Home" to London and Lots of Walking
Our posts have been a little behind because we've been so busy doing things all day that we just get wiped out at night. We're writing this post on a train ride between Barcelona and Madrid, Spain.
This was the first FULL day of our trip. We were excited to be in London! Our hotel was fantastic. It's a boutique hotel called Malmaison Hotel. It's in the Northern part of London on a quiet street with a little park in front. There were lots of little shops and eateries around on side streets. Unfortunately, it was still around the holidays and a lot of these places were closed the night before and this day. It has great transportation connections with two different tube stations less than 5 mins walk away. The room was amazing with probably the best shower either one of us has ever used (had a rainfall function from the ceiling). We woke up early because we had gone to bed so early the day before.
Our first stop on our epic London walking day was to hit up some of my old places when I used to live in London. We got our customary pastries (croissants) and headed out on the tube. Our first stop was a Catholic church in the Kensington neighborhood. It's called Our Lady of Victories. When I was here, it was a nice way for me to connect to home (I grew up Catholic) and it provided a constant place for me to go when I was traveling and blogging and stuff like that. It was fun to see it again and check out the inside.
From there, we walked on Kensington High Street (picture a street with lots of shops along it, sort of like an outdoor mall). I saw the Whole Foods I went to quite often and some of the same restaurants and shops I used to see.
Our last Kensington stop was my old apartment building. It was very, very special to go back. I got kind of emotional from seeing it again. It was a special place for me where I really grew as a person and got to experience so much. Lacey was very kind for indulging me on this trip down memory lane.
Next, we walked. And walked. And walked some more. We walked from Kensington on the West side of the city all along Hyde Park. We stopped at Buckingham Palace for a quick minute then through St. James Park (my favorite park in London). We continued on to Big Ben (under construction, unfortunately) and saw Westminster Abbey. It was at this point that we both got a little tired. We stopped for a little lemon bread and water. The last part of this initial walk had us walk along the Thames a little longer to a beautiful pedestrian bridge.
By this time we had walked something like 5 miles. We were ready to eat! Lacey went to Camden Market many times when she was in London because she lived on the North side of the city. There were a few foods there that she loved so we needed to go there and try them.
The Camden Market area was incredible. On the walk to the market, you pass by tons of weird shops with crazy decorations on the top. The market itself has TONS and TONS of street food. Think the best food truck festival ever and then multiply by 10. We spent a good while walking around thinking about what to get but ended up getting mini Dutch pancakes, cheese spun noodles (they cook the noodles then put them on a big piece of cheese), and an areapa (a south american sandwich). They were all so good. We also stopped to have a beer and a cider at the bar there to rest our feet. It was an awesome part of the day. It's crazy because very little of this existed when I was here about 10 years ago. The market existed but not like that.
With full bellies, we took the Tube back down to Trafalgar Square where the National Gallery is located. Lacey and I both love this part of town. We kind of sprinted through the National Gallery. We stopped at the Impressionist paintings (like everyone else in London it seemed like, the crowds of people were crazy). We wanted to see a bit more so we walked through the Covent Garden neighborhood and stopped at Picadilly Circus. There was a street performer there who was really talented.
We headed back to the hotel and rested up for a bit. We spent a large amount of time deciding where to eat (what else is new). We decided on a pub called Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. As it turns out, it was closed for the New Year. We changed plans and found another small pub just a few blocks away. It ended up being an excellent decision. The pub was called Hack and Hop. Lacey had fish and chips and I had sausage and mashed potatoes. They were both so so so good. Sometimes things work out!
We ended the night by stopping at a Christmas Market on the Thames. There wasn't a ton going on there but we still walked around for a bit. Then we headed back to Malmaison exhausted. All told, we did about 30,000 steps and something like 17 miles of walking. OOF.
This was an amazing day. It was awesome being able to show each other our "areas" and favorite places around the city.
Cheers!
This was the first FULL day of our trip. We were excited to be in London! Our hotel was fantastic. It's a boutique hotel called Malmaison Hotel. It's in the Northern part of London on a quiet street with a little park in front. There were lots of little shops and eateries around on side streets. Unfortunately, it was still around the holidays and a lot of these places were closed the night before and this day. It has great transportation connections with two different tube stations less than 5 mins walk away. The room was amazing with probably the best shower either one of us has ever used (had a rainfall function from the ceiling). We woke up early because we had gone to bed so early the day before.
 |
| Outside my old apartment |
Our first stop on our epic London walking day was to hit up some of my old places when I used to live in London. We got our customary pastries (croissants) and headed out on the tube. Our first stop was a Catholic church in the Kensington neighborhood. It's called Our Lady of Victories. When I was here, it was a nice way for me to connect to home (I grew up Catholic) and it provided a constant place for me to go when I was traveling and blogging and stuff like that. It was fun to see it again and check out the inside.
From there, we walked on Kensington High Street (picture a street with lots of shops along it, sort of like an outdoor mall). I saw the Whole Foods I went to quite often and some of the same restaurants and shops I used to see.
Our last Kensington stop was my old apartment building. It was very, very special to go back. I got kind of emotional from seeing it again. It was a special place for me where I really grew as a person and got to experience so much. Lacey was very kind for indulging me on this trip down memory lane.
Next, we walked. And walked. And walked some more. We walked from Kensington on the West side of the city all along Hyde Park. We stopped at Buckingham Palace for a quick minute then through St. James Park (my favorite park in London). We continued on to Big Ben (under construction, unfortunately) and saw Westminster Abbey. It was at this point that we both got a little tired. We stopped for a little lemon bread and water. The last part of this initial walk had us walk along the Thames a little longer to a beautiful pedestrian bridge.
By this time we had walked something like 5 miles. We were ready to eat! Lacey went to Camden Market many times when she was in London because she lived on the North side of the city. There were a few foods there that she loved so we needed to go there and try them.
The Camden Market area was incredible. On the walk to the market, you pass by tons of weird shops with crazy decorations on the top. The market itself has TONS and TONS of street food. Think the best food truck festival ever and then multiply by 10. We spent a good while walking around thinking about what to get but ended up getting mini Dutch pancakes, cheese spun noodles (they cook the noodles then put them on a big piece of cheese), and an areapa (a south american sandwich). They were all so good. We also stopped to have a beer and a cider at the bar there to rest our feet. It was an awesome part of the day. It's crazy because very little of this existed when I was here about 10 years ago. The market existed but not like that.
With full bellies, we took the Tube back down to Trafalgar Square where the National Gallery is located. Lacey and I both love this part of town. We kind of sprinted through the National Gallery. We stopped at the Impressionist paintings (like everyone else in London it seemed like, the crowds of people were crazy). We wanted to see a bit more so we walked through the Covent Garden neighborhood and stopped at Picadilly Circus. There was a street performer there who was really talented.
We ended the night by stopping at a Christmas Market on the Thames. There wasn't a ton going on there but we still walked around for a bit. Then we headed back to Malmaison exhausted. All told, we did about 30,000 steps and something like 17 miles of walking. OOF.
This was an amazing day. It was awesome being able to show each other our "areas" and favorite places around the city.
Cheers!
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