London Calling!
i have heard people talk about london a very cool city to visit but i rarely believe these claims about anything until i personally experience it. let the record show that i am currently in the midst of falling for london, it is indeed a way cool city!
i wanted to share a few of the fun things we’ve done so far and then i’m out to go play tourist some more so stay tuned for posts on visiting stonehenge and the harry potter studios (there were tears)!
my husband gets full credit for finding our hotel, the strand palace hotel which is located in the most perfect part of central london! it’s walking distance to a ton of tube stations, big ben, the london eye, covent gardens, parliament square and hundreds of amazingly cute and delicious restaurants! if you stick your head out of our hotel window, this is what you see!
it’s been pretty chilly here, around 50s and 60s F, so i’m glad i checked the weather before we left and packed some warmer clothes. it’s actually quite nice because apparently it gets really sticky and hot here. humidity crushes my pleasant-to-be-around-ness so win for that.
we did our Map to Dreaming BIG webinar a few hours after we got in (and sat by the hotel room door since that’s where the strongest wifi is) and then we got drinks at london’s oldest restaurant, rules. yes, established in 1798.
not only did we get drinks but we got to see our friends who also happened to be visiting london from texas! see, this is why stalking instagram pays off because i saw a picture of them at buckingham palace the day before we left! my husband met caroline when they were 15 at a leadership seminar (yay HOBY!)
just as a heads up if you go here, it’s quite spendy. it cost us $57 USD (~37 pounds) for two drinks and splitting 2 bottles of water. WHAT. i am still slightly grumpy about how expensive london can be but when in the oldest restaurant in london…i guess fork it over? still fun place to see and even more fun to catch up with this fun couple we haven’t seen in years (happy second anniversary you two!)
update on my 6-year-tastebuds…they can successful like and enjoy a half of fish ‘n chips! i tried them last night and if i cover them in lots of lemon, malt vinegar, some tartare sauce and don’t look at the fish scales still on it, i like it pretty well! it’s really not fishy and when you deep fry something, it tends to bring out the grease so that tastes good.
however, i can confidently say i will never get behind mushy peas. that is what all menus say it comes with and no, just no. i already hate peas but then make them mushy? i’d rather you poke me in the rib.
we went to a cute place in covent gardens called ‘mabels’ which is way more affordable than a lot of places and had strange drink deals. we ordered our 3rd ever bottle of wine together (instead of just individual glasses) and the whole thing cost $15 where 2 drinks would have been more.
my husband was also in cheese/meat heaven by this glorious display:
he just kept repeating “i’m so happy. i’m so so happy.” doesn’t it make your heart smile when you hear your spouse verbally saying he or she is happy? it does for me!
we had to walk off the wine because whoa, a whole bottle is too much for us lightweights. thankfully we had a lot to feast our eyes on:
see, london is just so gorgeous. is big ben supposed to look like it’s going to tip over? hmm, maybe i did have too much wine.
it’s fun to be in love in other countries! that’s all for now because street performers, cafes and british accents are calling out to me.
have you been to london before? how do you feel about fish ‘n chips?
Sarah Elizabeth || SEDiva Abroad
July 29, 2015 at 4:44 am
Love this, and I love London. I actually recently wrote a guest post about my ONLY trip to London last year (you can find it here if you’re interested: http://bigworldsmallme.com/2015/07/guest-post-a-london-moment-i-almost-forgot/) and it was an awesome trip though I was so sick I don’t remember half of it. London is a crazy cool city, but I definitely agree that’s expensive. Weirdly enough, you kind of get over that it’s so expensive because it’s London, right? But CORK CITY IRELAND is as expensive in some things… and it’s not London… I can’t really get over that.
Sarah Elizabeth || SEDiva Abroad recently posted…Moodboard of Summer Colors Inspired by an Irish Summer
chelsea
July 31, 2015 at 2:11 am
ohh excited to check out your blog post about london, sarah! i’m sorry you were so sick, that sounds miserable but also goes to show you how fun the city is if you were still having a good time 🙂 i cannot wait to visit cork city, ireland one day! that country is on the top of my list!!
Claire
July 29, 2015 at 11:37 am
I was in London in 2008 and we literally watched the dollar fall several cents a day against the pound during the three days we were there, it was painful given the prices. I do remember getting an awesome sundae at Harrods and spending a lot of time just wandering through the store on my own (this only introverted child needed a break from the week-long class trip).
Fish and chips are how I measure bar/pub food. I love them and hold them to a very high standard. If you make it to Reykjavik someday, I highly recommend giving their version with skyronnaise a try.
Joel Savage
July 29, 2015 at 12:40 pm
Nice article:London is a beautiful city. One needs to visit the place in his or lifetime, after watching movies shot is the city.
chelsea
July 31, 2015 at 2:20 am
yes it really is a beautiful city, joel!
chelsea
July 31, 2015 at 2:13 am
whoa that would be incredibly hard to watch the dollar keep falling and falling, i would feel like i had go hoard food or something! we ventures to harrods the other day and it was waaaay to overwhelming for me with the hoards of people! i would imagine that would be a nice break from your class-trip though!
we want to go reykjavik so i will be adding their fish and chips to my list! thanks claire 🙂
Vivien
July 29, 2015 at 11:52 am
The first time I went to London my cousin took me to Poppies Fish and Chips (supposed to be one of the best places for Fish and Chips). It was delicious! I really wished my stomach was bigger: although the prices were a bit steep even given Pound standards, I thought the portions were huge! That is also where I experienced mushy peas. I’m okay with it, but the funny thing was our mushy peas were not a side (as was written on the menu) the bowl was so big they could have been an entire meal all on their own!
I also love the Tube system in London. It’s so intricate and covers a lot of ground. You can get from Point A to B quickly once you figure it out. Only drawback is there is no air conditioning down there so on those summer days, they advise you to always travel with a bottle of water.
Vivien recently posted…From Toastmasters to Real World
chelsea
July 31, 2015 at 2:15 am
yes! poppies fish and chips were recommended to us but it would have cost $30 USD to take a train back over there so we opted to spend that money on the meal itself! it sounds like you experienced some excess mushy peas, holy smokes!
i kept seeing and hearing the signs with taking water with you in tube stations so i’m extra glad it was cool while we were there because i can only imagine how hot it really does get there! sad we missed each other by a few days there, vivien!
Elyse
July 29, 2015 at 2:17 pm
Gah! All your travelling is making me WANT to travel. London looks absolutely magnificient!
Elyse recently posted…5 Things Never to Say to High School Sweethearts
chelsea
July 31, 2015 at 2:21 am
hopefully you have a trip in the works sooner than later elyse!! definitely add london to your list of places to visit, it’s spectacular!
Dawn
July 29, 2015 at 5:43 pm
I being of British descent (and Canadian) have not even been to London…or overseas at all for that matter. However, fish n’chips was likely my first meal off the bottle…probably after moose and salmon. I find I can’t really eat a lot of it…probably because between the fish and the chips there isn’t much for flavour—the tartar sauce is where it’s at. The best Fish n chips though are made with halibut hands down so if you ever get a chance to eat them with halibut–do it. Halibut is more flavourful.
chelsea
July 31, 2015 at 2:22 am
ohhhh you MUST start planning a trip! i think you will love even more than i did dawn especially since it’s part of your heritage!!! your tastebuds had a very different experience growing up than mine – ha! no salmon, moose or f & c to speak up!
i will remember to keep my eyes out for fish and chips made with halibut!
Rachel G
July 29, 2015 at 5:58 pm
Looks like you’re having a blast over there! I’m not much of a fish fan, though, fried or otherwise. I can usually only eat it when convinced I have to because o how healthy it is…and fish’n’chips probably doesn’t qualify as that… 😛
chelsea
July 31, 2015 at 2:23 am
oh my goodness, london is amazing! i’m so not a fish fan either rachel, even when it’s healthy and not deep friend. my tastebuds still haven’t quite gotten the hang of it but you are right…fish ‘n chips are the opposite of healthy!
Courtney {Alkeks Abroad}
July 30, 2015 at 4:21 am
London is the best! My parents lived there the past three years and I loved having an excuse to visit. If you are still there check out Gordon’s Wine Bar- it’s the oldest wine bar in London and really cool!
Courtney {Alkeks Abroad} recently posted…Memories of Year Two
chelsea
July 31, 2015 at 2:24 am
that is amazing you had the perfect excuse to visit there (hopefully often) courtney! i super super loved the city! we totally went to gordon’s wine bar by accident the other night and i couldn’t get over how amazing it was!!!! it was probably my favorite place we ate at!
Amanda Wood
July 30, 2015 at 9:38 pm
london is, by far, my favorite place I have ever been. I want to go back so badly, there is silk so much I didn’t get to see and experience.
Amanda Wood recently posted…Christmas in July – The Reveal
chelsea
July 31, 2015 at 2:25 am
that’s exactly how i feel amanda! i already need to go back because i know we only saw like 27% of what there is to see!
Audrey
August 2, 2015 at 10:24 am
I love this, Chelsea! How fun that you found friends from TEXAS in LONDON?! So crazy! I want to visit London so badly! What a prime hotel spot!!!
Audrey recently posted…Life as Louise: Movie Review
chelsea
August 3, 2015 at 10:09 am
isn’t that INSANE?! i literally ran out to my husband and i said “OMG TEXANS IN LONDON!!!!” you definitely need to add london to your travel list, i have a feeling you will SUPER love it audrey!
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Amanda
September 6, 2015 at 11:31 am
Isn’t London so lovely?! I can’t wait to go back some day. Big Ben was my favorite part, and that shot you got is FAB.
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chelsea
September 9, 2015 at 8:49 am
oh my goodness i looooooved london! i can’t wait to go back either! we should probably coincide our trips back together 🙂 big ben was breathtaking. i stared at it for a long time.
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