I love London. Zack and I both do. It’s just such a magical place.
This would be my second time visiting and Zack’s third – our first trip was in 2017 for our belated honeymoon (which was also Zack’s first time abroad), so that definitely makes it extra special. We were both so excited to be heading back!
Since we have done a lot of the main touristy things – we made plans to explore some different areas, eat lots of excellent food, and catch up with several of our friends who live there. Here’s a breakdown of our 3 days in London:
DAY 1
After an overnight flight from Dallas to London Heathrow (where we both tried and failed to get much sleep), we were running on pure excitement and adrenaline. We freshened up at the airport (not ideal but much needed), then grabbed a taxi and headed straight from the airport to Lapland!
It’s an immersive, theatrical Christmas experience…mostly geared toward children…where you literally feel like you’ve been transported to the North Pole. Our friend Mike’s parents started the whole thing in 2007, and it’s really exploded into a huge, magical production. And for our visit, Zack and I got to pretend to be kids again (and Mike totally gave us the VIP treatment).
You begin by visiting different areas of Lapland (the Enchanted Forest, the toy workshop, Mrs. Claus’s kitchen, and so on) while meeting different characters along the way. And it’s interactive so the small folk (kids) get to help build toys, decorate cookies, and more. Then you enter the “second act” which is more free-flowing. There’s a post office, a candy store, dining areas, other shops, and an ice skating rink. We got a little behind the scenes tour here too, and I loved seeing how much went into putting on this production! Act 3 is when you get to meet Father Christmas. (He informed us we were both on the nice list.) The whole event lasts about 4 hours and we had the best time. I can only imagine how completely magical the whole thing must be to a child – watching the children’s reactions and interactions was actually one of my favorite parts!
In the afternoon, Mike drove us into London and dropped us off at our hotel. We stayed at the London. House Hotel (booked through airbnb) and it was great – our room was small (as expected) but the hotel was nice and in a great area in Bayswater near Notting Hill and Kensington.
We dropped off our luggage and immediately headed out (because if we stayed in we would fall asleep and we couldn’t let the jet lag win!) We took the tube to see the Christmas lights on Regent Street and wow wow wow. So magical.
We walked around the surrounding area including Carnaby Street and Soho (so many Christmas lights everywhere!) before heading to dinner at Refuel with Sonja (another friend from when we lived aboard) and her husband. What a blast. The champagne was flowing and I got my fish and chips fix. Zack had the roast chicken with some sort of truffle mashed potatoes and they’re were to die for. Then we shared a sticky toffee pudding for dessert – I had never had one before and omg yum, I wish I got my own!
Then it was back to the hotel to sleep. We were totally exhausted, but what a great start to the trip!
DAY 2
We headed to Beam around 10:30am for a late breakfast which was just a short walk from our hotel. Zack ordered the English breakfast with tea, and I had the beetroot and goat cheese eggs benedict with a chai latte. The food was great and the restaurant was busy and seemed very popular.
We spent the next few hours walking around and exploring Notting Hill. We had never been to this area of London, and it was so cute. We loosely followed a walking tour I found online that led us to a bunch of the highlights from the famous Portobello Street to hidden mews. If you’ve followed my previous travels, you know I’m a sucker for architecture and I loved seeing all the colorful and unique buildings in this area.
We eventually ended up in Hyde park which was beautiful and it was nice to walk around and explore. There was even still a good amount of fall foliage that we enjoyed.
At around 3:30pm, we headed back to our hotel to freshen up before meeting up with our friend Mike and his girlfriend, Victoria, for dinner at 180 House for a Sunday roast. Definitely one of my favorite meals and evenings of the trip! The restaurant was beautiful with absolutely stunning views of London, and the food was top notch. We started out with a picante (a Soho house classic cocktail) then for our meal we had an appetizer of burrata and roasted vegetables, the classic roast beef for our main (with all the Sunday roast fixins’), and sticky toffee pudding for dessert (again). And of course we had the best time hanging out with Mike and Victoria.
It wasn’t too late yet, so Zack and I decided to go for a little night cap at Bar Termini. Negronis are there specialty (and also one of Zack’s faves), and I tried the Spritz Termini (gin, rhubarb, aperol, and prosecco). The bar had a great vibe, and I would definitely recommend checking it out!
DAY 3
Our last morning in London was all about taking in some of the iconic sights. Most we had seen before but we just wanted to see again (when in London, right?) We grabbed coffee, tea, and pastries at LIFT then took the tube over to Tower Bridge. It was so fun reminiscing about the last time we were here on our honeymoon.
From there we walked to Leadenhall Market (new to us). It’s one of many Harry Potter filming locations so that was fun to see, and the market itself is really beautiful. And it was decked out for Christmas too.
We then made our way to St Paul’s Cathedral – again, reminiscing about our previous visit. We didn’t climb the dome this time, but I’d say it’s an absolute must for a first time visitor! It’s one of my favorite “climbs.”
We decided to give our feet a break and hopped on one of the infamous double decker buses and made our way to Big Ben. Iconic.
After soaking in the sights and snapping some photos, we headed to the Library at County Hall for afternoon tea. The view was unbelievable (and according to the hostess – we had the best table in the house.) We were sipping tea (and champagne), munching on finger sandwiches and scones, surrounded by books, and looking out over the River Thames and Big Ben. It felt like a dream.
After tea we took a ride on the London Eye. We lucked out with great weather too. The morning had been cloudy and rain was in the forecast, but the sun was shining during our ride. Zack was a little nervous about the height but we both agreed, the views were epic.
In the early evening, we checked out the Christmas markets at Trafalgar and Leicester Square then grabbed a light dinner and drinks at a nearby pub, Crown & Anchor. We both had ciders and shared a meat pie.
It wasn’t super late, but we were exhausted, and we had an early wake up call the next day for our flight to Copenhagen, so we headed back to the hotel and called it a night.
FINAL THOUGHTS
London never disappoints. We had the best time and it was a great way to kick off the holiday season.
And how about we end the blog with a few fun facts about this trip:
• We only packed carry on! A challenge for any wintery vacation, but it made traveling so easy. This might be my new travel goal – carry on only!
• We also celebrated our 17 year dativersary! *insert heart emojis*
ily London. Until next time!
– Courtney
PS – Check out part 2 of our trip here.
more on youtube:
London Highlights
London Vlog
hardys on holiday 
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