Last year, I spent some of the best two weeks leading up to 2017 in London. So I wanted to rewind back to some of the spots I visited and some tips if you plan on spending some time there.
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Jan. 1, 2017, I visited Hillsong in London. There was no better way for me to begin the new year than to start it worshipping Jesus. My favorite moments when exploring new places and meeting new faces is taking a step back and realizing how big God really is and soaking in all the beauty He has surrounded us with.
After Hillsong, the American girl inside me went to Five Guys. Usually, I would never choose a chain restaurant that we have in the states to eat at, but we were hungry(what’s new?) and it was right next door to church.
Tip 1 | Maybe don’t go to Five Guys as the first meal in a new country, but do remember their fries never disappoint.
After dinner, I saw my very first real London telephone booth.. and it was even better than the one at Universal Studios .. 😉
mum, it’s me.
Interrupting this post to show you the cutest face of all London, Lexi.
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This next moment for me was a dream. I remember walking up the stairs from the London underground, looking up and BOOM there was good ol’ Ben. It’s so neat seeing what I’ve only previously seen in postcards (& Google) right there in front of my eyes.
There’s more of Ben to come..
Something I love to do in new cities is to visit the libraries! Most places I’ve explored have been (touristy) busy cities, so taking a minute to stop in a library is a must for me.
Tip 2 | Find a cozy spot to relax in the middle of all that exploring. My personal fav is bookstores or cozy coffee shops.
I Spy with my Little Eye |
Braithwaite Street |
Loved the street art along the way, just missing some Eggos.
First off, NANDOS. Do yourself a favor and visit this heaven-sent place. Craving some as I type right now. Went there twice and honestly can’t wait to go back.
Tip 3 | You should have your self a traditional English breaky. There are few nations in this world that do breakfast better than the British (Colombian breakfast is the best, obv).
I also really enjoyed Wagamama, great Asian food.
I recently visited Boston and saw one there too!
Waiting “patiently” for my crepes cones. . the best thing ever for a sweet tooth. These pictures don’t do justice.
Making of Harry Potter | Warner Bros. Studio Tour
I was lucky enough to visit this exhibit offering an authentic behind the scenes glimpse of the Harry Potter films. I guess you can say it was pretty magical.
FOUND HARRY!
Saying my goodbyes to Benny | It was rainy and the perfect London day to see Ben one last time before I headed back home.
Something about London: gloomy weather, where all black is always acceptable and brilliant accents. I absolutely love it. Final tip, always hang out with the locals. It makes the trip 10x better. Hope you enjoyed this post and thanks for reading!
Cheers xx
Psalm 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Love this recap of London! It’s been on my travel list for a long time so I love collecting great blogs like yours to help me plan. (And I love phone booths too!)
Love the pictures of all the sights you visited, all the phone booths you found 😉 and the tasty-looking food you had. What an awesome trip. I guess they call it Great Britain for a reason 😉
Wow, you captured so manny great shots of so many iconic locations. I’ve always wanted to do the authentic London telephone booth shot (as well as a Metro sign shot in Paris). Baby Lexi is totally adorable, btw 🙂
I adore London! You’re so lucky to spend two weeks there. I went on a last minute trip to see NIN! Looks like you really got out there and see a lot of the town! Enjoyed looking at your photos, makes me want to take a trip back there! <3
London is my favorite city in the world and I love seeing your pictures. The company that my husband works for has an office near London and we travel there often, I never get tired of visiting.
I love London! I spent 5 days there and it wasn’t nearly enough to do all the things I wanted to do. I will definitely have to go back there. And visit the Warner Bross studios. It didn’t exist when I was visiting last time lol
Awesome tips and super nice pictures. My favorite is the last one. I love meeting locals during my travels. If you don’t hangout with locals, you really miss out on the true culture of that country. Thanks!
London is the best! I just stared living here and it could not be more fun! I am jealous that you got to see Big Ben in his prime because right now he is not looking so great lol
I absolutely love London! It looks like you had such a blast! My husband is from the UK so I go to London all the time, but those telephone booths never lose their appeal!
I have not been to London in years! You have inspired me to go again. Well, especially for the Harry Potter tour too…. I’d love to see that. When my cousin came to visit me in Melbourne, Australia, she went to the 2 Hillsongs here. She loved it so much she went back for an event. As a parting gift, she gave me a copy of the most contemporary, journalistic looking bible I have ever seen. It now has a prominent place on my bookshelf:)
London is always a great place to be. What I love most is that even if it’s raining or it’s a cloudy day (which happens in London pretty often), there are plenty of indoor activities and museums that you can explore. I am sure that you had a great trip there and enjoyed the food as well.
I agree, Five Guys probably isn’t the best choice of food to go for in London (it’s not even English after all lol!), but their chips are amazinggggg! x
I literally just got back from London four days ago and I absolutely loved the city. It is such a beautiful city and I had the most wonderful time when I was there. I left the city knowing that I want to live there some time in my life and as soon as possible.
Okay, I need to get to London ASAP after reading this post! That Harry Potter tour looks absolutely magical, and everything else looks fun as well. Such a great idea to stop in local libraries too, I’ve never thought of that!
I love all the tips you shared! I have never been to London, but am going in August. I think what I am looking forward to is the telephone booths as well!!!
Wow, so many amazing photos! I am glad you liked London, I never tire of visiting this city! You saw some cool street art which I have never seen before so I must hunt that out! I also love your pictures in the Tate. There are always interesting exhibitions in there 🙂
I just love London! Seeing your post wants me to go back again 🙂 I haven’t gone to the Harry Potter World though. I think I need it to make my mission to finally go there this year! Thanks for the reminder 🙂
Great verse 🏆
NYC article
Love this recap of London! It’s been on my travel list for a long time so I love collecting great blogs like yours to help me plan. (And I love phone booths too!)
glad we share the same love for these classic phone booths. Wish we had them in America!
Wow! Amazing trip and I too would fit right in with wearing all black. I’m down with any excuse to wear black! I love Hillsong and Five Guys!!!!
sounds like we could be best friends jamie!! haha 🙂
Yay! Let be blogging Bffs!!! 😉
I went last May and am super bummed I didn’t make time for the Harry Potter studio tour! Looks like a great trip!
Ah! well deff recommend it if you get the chance to go back one day 🙂 and it was thank you Jenni!
Love the pictures of all the sights you visited, all the phone booths you found 😉 and the tasty-looking food you had. What an awesome trip. I guess they call it Great Britain for a reason 😉
Your photos are incredible, girl! Looks like you had a great time!!
London is such a beautiful place! It looks like you had a blast!
Wow, you captured so manny great shots of so many iconic locations. I’ve always wanted to do the authentic London telephone booth shot (as well as a Metro sign shot in Paris). Baby Lexi is totally adorable, btw 🙂
isn’t she the cutest!? and thank you!
London is my favorite city! I got engaged in front of Big Ben a couple years ago and I have been so excited to go back since!
That’s lovely Morgan !! 🙂
I adore London! You’re so lucky to spend two weeks there. I went on a last minute trip to see NIN! Looks like you really got out there and see a lot of the town! Enjoyed looking at your photos, makes me want to take a trip back there! <3
Hi TIna, thank you!! Yes I already want to go back too 🙂
London is such a magical place. I really want to see it some time soon!
You deff should 😀
This looks like so much fun and makes me want to pack my bags and head out!! You are absolutely gorgeous!!
aw thank you so much, Whitney! yes definitely recommend going 🙂 xo
I always love phone booth shots..so cute. How cool you got to go to London, I am hoping to this year!
Valerie
I hope you can go to! xo
London is my favorite city in the world and I love seeing your pictures. The company that my husband works for has an office near London and we travel there often, I never get tired of visiting.
oh my gosh, lucky! That sounds amazing 🙂
What an amazing trip! London is on my bucket list!
I love London! I spent 5 days there and it wasn’t nearly enough to do all the things I wanted to do. I will definitely have to go back there. And visit the Warner Bross studios. It didn’t exist when I was visiting last time lol
oh yes I deff recommend it :)) xx
Your pictures look so great! It looks like you had an awesome time!!!
Thank you, it was the best time 🙂
These pictures are so magical! It makes me miss London so much!
I know I already can’t wait to go back!!
These photos are great! I haven’t been to London since I was 18 and I really, really want to go back! Looks like you had a wonderful trip!
omg so jealous of your trip! london is so high up on my list of places to travel! AND you went to the hp studio tour???! so awesome!
London will always hold a special place in my heart as I was born there!
Looks like a fun trip! I’m currently planning a trip to London and you’ve given me some great ideas!
Molly and Stacie
awesome, let me know how it is 🙂
All these nice photos you’ve taken makes me want to go back to London!
I’ve never been to London, looks amazing.
Looks like you are having the time of your life. Great photos!!! 🙂
Awesome tips and super nice pictures. My favorite is the last one. I love meeting locals during my travels. If you don’t hangout with locals, you really miss out on the true culture of that country. Thanks!
London is the best! I just stared living here and it could not be more fun! I am jealous that you got to see Big Ben in his prime because right now he is not looking so great lol
I can’t wait to go back to London! Visiting the Harry Potter Studios is next on my list for London.
I have been to London once, but didn’t see nearly enough. I can’t wait to go back!
Love the pun at the start of the post! Your photos are gorgeous, it sounds like you had a great time.
I loved LONDON when I went a few years ago! Definetly one of the more lively cities that I’ve traveled to. All of your pictures are so cute btw!
Xo
Love all of these locations you captured! London is at the top of my bucket list!
I absolutely love London! It looks like you had such a blast! My husband is from the UK so I go to London all the time, but those telephone booths never lose their appeal!
So jealous you got to see Hillsong! So cool. What a fun time you had. I would love to go there someday 🙂
London has always been in our radar and maybe we will visit it later this year! The photos are so beautiful and the red cabin is a must haha
Great post! Your pictures are amazing! It looks great!
I have not been to London in years! You have inspired me to go again. Well, especially for the Harry Potter tour too…. I’d love to see that. When my cousin came to visit me in Melbourne, Australia, she went to the 2 Hillsongs here. She loved it so much she went back for an event. As a parting gift, she gave me a copy of the most contemporary, journalistic looking bible I have ever seen. It now has a prominent place on my bookshelf:)
London is always a great place to be. What I love most is that even if it’s raining or it’s a cloudy day (which happens in London pretty often), there are plenty of indoor activities and museums that you can explore. I am sure that you had a great trip there and enjoyed the food as well.
I can’t wait to go back to London! Your post made me miss it all over again
I agree, Five Guys probably isn’t the best choice of food to go for in London (it’s not even English after all lol!), but their chips are amazinggggg! x
I love phone booth pics, you look like had the best time, I am soooo wanting to see London, thanks for sharing!
yes you deff should :)) ! xx
I literally just got back from London four days ago and I absolutely loved the city. It is such a beautiful city and I had the most wonderful time when I was there. I left the city knowing that I want to live there some time in my life and as soon as possible.
Lovely photos! x
Michelle
dressingwithstyle-s.com
yessss me and you both girl! and thank you! xo
Okay, I need to get to London ASAP after reading this post! That Harry Potter tour looks absolutely magical, and everything else looks fun as well. Such a great idea to stop in local libraries too, I’ve never thought of that!
it was magical! and yes a nice way to get away from the craziness but still able to explore! xx
I love all the tips you shared! I have never been to London, but am going in August. I think what I am looking forward to is the telephone booths as well!!!
yessss take a pic by one if you go! 🙂 xo
Looks like you had an amazing time! I am hoping to make it there one day!
I’m so jealous! This has been on my bucket list forever! Loved your recap, gave me some good ideas for when I finally get around to going!
Thank you Kelsey, yes cant wait to see your posts when you go! xo
Wow, so many amazing photos! I am glad you liked London, I never tire of visiting this city! You saw some cool street art which I have never seen before so I must hunt that out! I also love your pictures in the Tate. There are always interesting exhibitions in there 🙂
You have loads of amazing photos from London! Big Ben is one of those ‘oh wow’ kind of moments. I’m with you on Nando’s – love that place haha
I just love London! Seeing your post wants me to go back again 🙂 I haven’t gone to the Harry Potter World though. I think I need it to make my mission to finally go there this year! Thanks for the reminder 🙂