Spring Break in London: Recap I

I'm very excited to share with you all my spring break trip to London! I went with my best friend, Lauren and we had an amazing week across the pond. I got back on Tuesday, April 3 past midnight to school, and things have been go, go, go with midterms and papers and just the general stress of the school year wrapping up. Unfortunately that is why it took me so long to sit down and write this, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

Heading into the trip, Lauren and I had planned out most of our days with a very general idea of a few things we wanted to do or see, just so we had some direction without limiting ourselves to exploring. We made a couple of reservations at night and an Easter brunch reservation, but that's it!

We flew out of Chicago on Tuesday, March 27 direct to London Heathrow. Our flight was a breeze and we even slept a few hours so we were ready to go when we landed. We landed on Wednesday, technically at 8am in London and 2am in Chicago. We dropped off our bags at our Air BNB, and then found a spot for lunch a few blocks from our place because it was around noon by the time we had gotten off the plane, through customs, from Heathrow to London, and changed our clothes.

After lunch we headed straight downtown to see Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, and Big Ben. We really had no plans for our first day and it was already mid-afternoon, so we just did something we knew would get us in the mood for our week ahead in London! I am so glad we spontaneously decided to do this because we didn't end up being back in this part of the city for the rest of the trip.

We went back to our Air BNB and showered, took naps, and got ready to go out that night. We went out in Covent Garden with some of our friends who live in London.

Thursday was our first full day, and we actually woke up pretty early (around 8am) so we could have a full day! We went to Notting Hill and just explored the streets filled with rows of colorful houses, the Portobello Market, shops, and quaint corners of the neighborhood. 

After a few hours of walking around and popping in and out of shops, we hopped back on the tube and headed towards Hyde park where we found a spot for lunch in Mayfair. After lunch we got caught in the rain and stopped at the cafe in the middle of Hyde Park for a drink and to play iSpy... this oddly ended up being my favorite memory from the trip! Lauren and I have so much fun together being spontaneous and just doing weird things, and walking through the park and getting caught in the rain just felt so "London," if that makes any sense at all!

We eventually braved the rain and went to Harrod's. I had been before the first time I went to London, and I needed to show Lauren how gorgeous the store is. I mean... shoe heaven could not have a more fitting name. 

After Harrod's we were exhausted and went back to the Air BNB to clean up and take naps (yes, we napped every. single. day... adjusting to jet leg wasn't really an efficient process by us). We went to sketch on Thursday night for cocktails and a little girls' night out, which was one of my favorite nights in London! We even saw Alex Pettyfer and Chris Hemsworth at sketch, sitting just two tables away from us!!!

the bathrooms are insane. each stall is an egg!

Because I have so many photos to share, I am splitting my London recaps into three parts, two days each. Check back tomorrow to see what we did on Friday and Saturday!

xoxo