Ello, Collegiettes!
Now that I have become quite the globetrotter, I am happy to add London to my list of travelled destinations! After hearing so many wonderful things about London, I was incredibly excited to finally start my adventure in the beautiful city. I could not wait to see Big Ben, plan my wedding at Westminster Abbey, chat with the Queen and finally hear people speaking English!
After we arrived, we began our search for a restaurant for dinner and as we walked around Piccadilly Circus, we passed the Prince of Whales Theatre that featured Mamma Mia! With the next show starting in 20 minutes, we bought our tickets and wolfed down a quick bite at a Lebanese restaurant next-door. I have to say, singing and dancing in the theatre was an excellent start to our adventures in London, and the rest of the trip was just as amazing.
The following day, we toured the city on a hop-on hop-off bus tour, and it was a great way to see London since we were only in town for a short time! We hopped off at Big Ben, thus starting my photo-shoot with Big Ben. Seriously, I could not stop taking pictures of Ben and the Parliament building. I was obsessed. And conveniently, the Westminster Abbey is directly across the street from Ben! The obsessive photo-shoot continued!
Then, as we walked toward the gates to Buckingham Palace, we stopped by a pub for a drink and fish and chips, and then continued to wander through the streets of London. Our next destination: Harrods! Now, we had to take several tubes to get there, but it was totally worth it to finally see the beautiful green dome and the sparkling Harrods sign waiting to greet us as we exited the underground tubes.
Honestly, Harrods was the highlight of my trip to London. From the moment we arrived, I was in awe. My jaw dropped as we entered the store and noticed counter after counter of luxury brands and designers. As we traveled upstairs, the store resembled an Egyptian temple with intricate hieroglyphics, and gold details that completely transformed my London experience from the aristocratic feel of the city to the ancient Egyptian dƩcor inside the store.
After oohing and awing at designs by Burberry, Marc Jacobs and many others, I finally manage to get a grip and make my way to the reasonably priced Harrods gift items upstairs. When I say reasonable, I mean that in the sense of buying anything from Harrods (one of the most expensive department stores in the world) and paying in British Pounds (the currency that is currently killing the USD almost 2:1). A month from now I may look back and see how crazy it was, but for now Iām going to call it āreasonableā.
Then my friend Harriet and I indulged in a Hot Fudge and Brownie Sundae at the ice cream parlor dangerously located right next to the Harrods Gift Shop. The sundae was the most delicious frozen treat I have ever had, and āreasonablyā priced at 15 pounds, we enjoyed every last bite (okay, maybe this was a little crazy). But it could have been worse, collegiettes, since we ever so faintly heard the Canti Prosecco Bar calling our names (also, conveniently located right next to the gift shop), but we resisted!
But my willpower to resist overpriced Harrods merchandise quickly faded when I passed the Burberry counter once again and had the brilliant idea to buy something from the iconic London brand while in London! As I searched through the accessories and came up short, one of my friends suggested going to the Burberry storeālocated right across the street from Harrods! I could have stopped right there. I was crazy enough for the purchases I made in Harrods, and I would reach a higher level of crazy if I dared to step into Burberry. But at that point, my better judgment was shot, and thus we walked to Burberry. Willpower: 0, London: 3.
There, I searched the store for the perfect gift to myself: nothing too extravagant, but that I will use years from now and reminisce on my wonderful trip to London. Along with my friends Harriet, Anna, and Rachel, the three musketeers and I searched the store and finally settled on the perfect gift: a double-sided wallet with the iconic Burberry plaid and black paten-leather trim. It was the perfect gift from my amazing trip to London, and I will never forget it!
That night, we celebrated our last night in London dining at an Indian restaurant, and we concluded our trip the next morning after a few more sites on the bus tour and a visit to the Tower of London.
Collegiettes, I had the most amazing time in London! I was able to see some of the major sites and come back to Brussels with some amazing souvenirs. But, with London being such a large city, there are still so many things that I want to see! I guess Iāll have to take another trip to London one day! And next time, I might have to keep Harrods off of my list!
Until next time,
Lauren
P.S.ā Check back next week to hear about my trip to Istanbul!