London with Popcorn on the Stove

ByAshley

While Jesse and I are gallivanting around Europe (today we’re doing the Warner Bros. Studio tour in London, Nerd Alert!) I’ve asked a few of my favorite bloggers to stop by and share about some of their favorite travel memories. I love reading about where people have been, and of course seeing all of their pictures! Today’s guest post is from one of my best blogger buddies, say that 5 times fast, Kristen of Popcorn on the Stove. She is the sweetest person ever and we actually got to meet in real life last summer! She has been sending me tons of awesome advice on what to see and do while we are in London, which was so helpful for us. Take it away Kristen!

——————–

Hi everyone!  My name is Kristen and I blog over at Popcorn on the Stove. I unsuccessfully tried to convince Ashley to take me to Europe with her and Jesse so instead, I’m here at to share my trip to London! Attempts at Domestication is a daily read of mine, plus Ashley and I have become good friends (even meeting in real life), so I’m very excited to be guest posting today.

After much debate, Joe and I decided to go to London and Edinburgh for our honeymoon in 2011.  Neither of us had been to the United Kingdom before, so we thought it was a good place to visit – especially since there was so much we wanted to see there. We traveled all over London and Edinburgh, but today I’m going to share some of our favorite parts of London since Ashley and Jesse will be stopping there, too.kristenguestpost1
The first thing we did after getting settled in our London hotel (the Apex London) was go across Tower Bridge to grab some lunch. With full bellies, we toured the Tower of London. There’s a ton to see (hello, crown jewels!) but it’s a pretty relaxed place. You just walk from building to building and see what you want.  Be sure to keep an eye out for the giant Ravens and the metal animals.kristenguestpost2The next day, we visited Big Ben… and by that, I mean you basically bump into it when exiting the Westminster station. While we were there, we enjoyed breakfast in the Victoria Tower Gardens and toured Westminster Abbey. If you go across the Westminster Bridge, you’ll be able to take the London Eye. This is something I had hoped to do at night but I’m actually glad we went in the afternoon.  It was a bit cloudy, but you could easily see all of London. My recommendation for this would be to go at the end of your trip so you know what you’re looking at.kristenguestpost3kristenguestpost4

London is filled with a ton of museums.  Some of my favorites were the British Museum (you should go there as soon as possible), the Royal 

(where I saw a Degas exhibit that made my life, the National Gallery, and the Churchill War Rooms (Jesse, you’ll thank me later for this recommendation).I would recommend looking up some museums in London ahead of time to see if there are any exhibits you want to see.kristenguestpost5

Aside from taking the tube, we walked everywhere.  One of the nicest places to walk around was in Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. When you’re in this area, you’ll be very close to Oxford street. In terms of shopping, there’s a lot. My sister had recommended going to Primark, which was where I got some awesome belts for about a quid each.  I also enjoyed going to TopShop. My aunt encouraged us to go to Harrods and I’m glad we listened to her (if for nothing else, just to see the Egyptian escalators). It’s an amazing store, though very expensive, so we only bought Christmas ornaments and gifts for family members.kristenguestpost6

A great spot to visit is Borough Market. Joe and I grabbed lunch at Applebee’s (which, by the way, is nothing close to the US Applebees). We were tucked away in a tiny corner so it was the perfect place to relax and

give our feet a break. Before going back to the hotel, we grabbed a bunch of things (a loaf of bread, a tiny jar of caviar, wine, fanta, etc.) so we wouldn’t have to go out for dinner.kristenguestpost7

One of my favorite things about London was the food (I ate fish and chips every day – sometimes twice).  Joe and I would often just walked around until we found a menu that looked delicious, which is what we do when we’re at home.This meant that we  stumbled upon some great Lebanese restaurants. For our final days in London, we were sure to start with a full English Breakfast. One afternoon, we even went for high tea (I would recommend the Montague on the Gardens for this). I wish I had time in the morning for a huge breakfast and then a break in the afternoon for tea and scones.

We loved our trip to London (and Edinburgh!) and hope to go back in a few years.  My gut feeling is that Ashley and Jesse will feel the same way!
——————–
Thank you so much for guest posting today Kristen! And thanks for all of your great recommendations while we were planning our trip! Jesse and I are following a lot of them, including the one about Applebee’s and the Churchill War rooms! 

Similar Posts

3 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.