Weekend Trip to London, England
You'd think that with London being so easy to get to from Brussels (2 hour train ride? Thank you Eurostar!) I would have visited sometime in the past 7 months...but I hadn't. I'm glad I waited though because the weekend I went was the perfect time. I was feeling pretty ready to get back to the states and was questioning how I would make it another three months without stepping foot into a Whole Foods. Yeah, Whole Foods was pretty much my motivation to go to London. It was also my first stop when I got into the city and it was as amazing as I had remembered it.
All jokes aside, I had a great couple of days in London. I was there for three full days and feel like I hardly saw an ounce of the city. I saw the things I had set out to see but quickly realized there is still so much to experience. I stayed at the Astor Hyde Park hostel in South Kensington which was a really great location and allowed me easily to walk to places like Soho and Notting Hill. On the first day, I mostly stayed near Hyde Park but walked around Soho and Covent Garden a bit. The second day, my friends as I explored Notting Hill and then went to soho/Chinatown for the evening. Our final full day was spent in East London first at Borough Market then to Shoreditch for the rest of the day/evening. I really liked Shoreditch–it reminded me of the Lower East Side in Manhattan which feels like home to me.
I had some of the most incredible food in London. Like, I can't stop thinking about all the ethnic and vegan eats I had. I tried to seek out foods I can't make at home or can't usually get on a regular basis. That resulted in the most amazing vegan mac and cheese, a traditional Chinese street pancake called Jian Bing, and incredible Peruvian food. I am thankful to have gone to London with two friends who appreciate food just like I do so we all were in foodie heaven.
Here's a list of the restaurants/spots I visited while in London: (there are still SO MANY that I want to try)
Dishoom: multiple locations; really amazing Indian food
Kaffeine (Soho): cute coffee shop, good coffee
Gail’s: multiple locations; amazing selection of pastries/bread, good for a quick breakfast
Farmacy (Notting Hill): all vegan, organic, low sugar, a food bloggers dream...their "egg" benedict is out of this world
Fabrique Bakery (Notting Hill): known for cinnamon or cardamom bun (I got the cardamom and it was so yummy)
Ham Yard Hotel (Soho): Afternoon tea! Really good and awesome atmosphere. I got the traditional afternoon tea but if you ask when you are booking, they have vegan or
BaoziInn (Chinatown): Really good dumplings and noodle dishes
Mamasons (Chinatown): REALLY unique flavors of ice cream. Known for their ube flavor and it was incredible
The Knot Churros (South Kensington): a bit pricey but good churros and you can make really fun (Instagram worthy) creations
Borough Market: I could spend all day here walking around and trying all of the samples. As far as food goes, I got two vegan bao buns (one with lemongrass "chicken" and the other with kimchi and seitan – they were so delicious) from Eat Chay. Also you HAVE TO GET DONUTS from Bread Ahead Bakery...I was speechless after eating them.
Spitalfields Market (Shoreditch): local artisans, brick and morter stores (like Lululemon and &Other Stories, and food stalls as well – this is where I got the Jian Bing!
Genesis (Shoreditch): all vegan comfort food; we got a PB milkshake, vegan mac and cheese, and kimchi fries. So so good. I want to go back and try more of the food
Box Park (Shoreditch): really cool concept make all out of shipping containers - little boutique stores and also yummy food stalls. I got vegan ice cream and a bubble waffle from Nosteagia
Barrio (Shoreditch): Fun Brazilian restaurant/bar; really good cocktails and atmosphere
Andina (Shoreditch): Incredible Peruvian food. Unlike any food I've ever had before. The brunch is supposed to be good too! Be sure to make a reservation before
Nikki’s Bar (Shoreditch): AH GO HERE! We stumbled upon it and walked in because duh, my name is Nikki. It ended up being this cool 80s themed cocktail bar with such a fun atmosphere, good playlist, and cute drinks.
In all honesty, these weekend trips are losing the appeal and it is exhausting to constantly bounce around from place to place but I really enjoyed London. I'm so grateful to have this opportunity to so easily explore new places. But I still am counting down the days until I am back in a Whole Foods :)
