Let me get the formalities out of the way: This will be the first in a series of a couple travel posts coming your way over the next few weeks. My mom and step dad organized the most amazing trip through the entire country of France, and you’ll be seeing the leg that Michael and I were able to jump onto this summer. My whole family and step-family treated this opportunity the same way – we all were there for as long as we could afford to be. There were 15 of us at times, 6 of us at others. It was crazy and amazing and the whole thing was an experience I’ll never forget.
I think it took me so long to write these travel posts because I didn’t want to fully admit to myself that I was back home. I’ve never felt that about a trip before. I mean, duh, I’ve had those “OMG I never want to go home” thoughts, but this was… different. Before I really get into that feeling, let’s start with the beginning of the trip: London.
My mom decided to fly into London first, and I’m so glad she did. My first impressions of the city were nothing but great. I’m a city person at heart, so the hustle, noise, and occasional passing smells that you encounter in ANY city never bothers me. And honestly, as far as huge cities go, the area we stayed in was beautiful and clean and the architecture was unreal.
We spent the four days we had in the city exploring and doing your must-do tourist-y things: a cruise down the Thames, a drink at the top of The Shard, walking through the Tower of London to see torture devices and the Crown Jewels, and bike riding past Buckingham Palace at dusk for some grain-y, pose-y shots, and pub hoping until we were over-full on pints. Like I said, the usual.
BUT, we also did some cool, non-usual things worth checking out. Particularly, one of my favorite afternoons was when Mike and I broke off from the group to explore the Soane Museum. I won’t get too into the history here, but he was an extremely prominent architect in London who then turned his home into a collection of his craft’s most notable styles. History and art buffs – enjoy. Right across from the house is Lincoln’s Inn Fields, a squared park where we found the cutest lunch spot.
Oh, and speaking of food. Why have I ever heard that London doesn’t have good food?! I beg to differ. Here’s a list of a few pubs, coffee shops, and food spots we found while out and about that we loved:
Annnd get ready to scroll through tons of photos showing the above and way more.
