Back to London

Hey there, everyone! I'm finally back with a new post. Sorry for the delay but I've had a pretty exciting week. Last Tuesday I got to London with my friend Paula and my sister also joined us the next day. We spent three wonderful days in the city and had such a great time. On Friday I got back to Germany and stayed there for another three days because my boyfriend's family came over to visit me. I took them to Hamburg and Lübeck and they really enjoyed seeing the Christmas markets and German cities. Since Monday I'm back on Mallorca so now I have more time to relax and focus on my projects for school and also on my blog.
Today's post is the first one of three London posts. Since we stayed in the city for three days I thought it would be easiest to tell you what we did every day, you know, like a city guide or something. I already wrote some posts about this awesome city last year, check them out here. I simply adore London, it's my European New York and I always love coming back and breathing some big city life.
This time we didn't stay at a friend's place but at the Dover Castle Hostel. It's a perfect place for backpackers and low budget travelers. The hostel is located in Borough so it's just a ten minute walk to London Bridge or Southbank and only two minutes to the Borough underground station. We booked three beds in a 12 bed dorm but switched rooms after the first night because it was just too loud in the first dorm. There was a pub right under it and sleeping in a room with 12 people can be quite stressful. The next day we had a really quiet bedroom on the third floor where we didn't hear any noises of the pub and on our last night we slept in a 8 bed dorm which was also ok.
We got to London quite early on Tuesday morning and were totally exhausted from the flight and getting up so early but wanted to do some sightseeing because my friend Paula's never been to London, so went for a looong walk. First we checked out our area a little and then headed from Borough market to the Globe Theatre. Over there we crossed the Millenium Bridge to see St. Paul's Cathedral. Later we crossed the Thames again to walk down to Southbank. There was a really nice book market there and food trucks and street art which I loved. From there we walked down to the London Eye and crossed the Westminster Bridge to check out Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

After visiting the Houses of Parliament we headed to Buckingham Palace. At 4 pm it already got dark so we decided to rest a little. We took a walk through Green Park and explored the area around New Bond Street a little. I loved that street, one luxury store next to the other with beautiful Christmas shop windows, almost like in New York. I couldn't stop taking photos of all the glamorous bags, shoes and jewelry. I felt like walking down Fifth Avenue again admiring all the Christmas windows of the most famous designers like Gucci, Chanel and Dior. Of course we also stopped by the Victoria's Secret store, for me it's a must do when you're in London because it's the only bigger European Victoria's Secret store. Well, I hope you like the photos and that they make you dream a little, xo

Hello London

My dear readers, here's my first post about our fantastic trip to London!
Did I mention that I booked the flight to the UK for my sister and me for her birthday in July? So the trip was her present and she surely loved it! It was her first time in London, for me it was the second time. I went to the city when I was 14 or 15 with my English class and barely remember any of it. I visited the Tower, London Eye, Piccadilly Circus and much more but always wanted to go back to London just because it's a totally different experience when you're a grown-up. Now, after our three-day trip, I can't wait to go back! We visited so many great places, discovered wonderful shops, met exciting people and just enjoyed the big city life. For three days I felt a little like I was back in New York, we went to Victoria's Secret and had our favorite burrito at Chipotle, which I haven't eaten since my last trip to the big apple. London, you made me fall in love with you!
Since we checked out so many different places, I'm gonna write a few posts about this exciting city, hopefully you get inspired. So today and the next few posts I'll be your London guide...

We got on the plane in Hamburg and landed after only one and a half hours at the London Gatwick airport. From there we took a train, the Gatwick Express, to Victoria Station. You can easily catch the tube from there, which we did to get to Liverpool street where our friend works. We stayed three nights with my very good friend Victoria from Mallorca, thank you for taking such good care of us, love! So Victoria worked at Duck&Waffle, an amazing restaurant with a great view over the city. Their food and interior design is totally worth a visit, plus the elevator that takes you up to the restaurant is crazy. I think the only elevator I know that's running so fast is the one at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan. Anyway, we had some breakfast at Duck&Waffle, left our luggage there and started our sightseeing trip.

We really had no idea where to go, so when we left the building we just walked a couple of streets to check out the area, which reminded me of New York City's financial district - businessmen wherever you go. Between all the huge office buildings we found this pretty place called Leadenhall Market. It looked like an ancient mall with some cute restaurants and pubs. We didn't stay too long though because we didn't wanna waste much time on our first day, so we took the tube to Notting Hill.

On our first day we decided to explore Notting Hill, I couldn't wait to see all the pretty colorful houses and the charming Portobello Road. My favorite shops on this street were Alice's, a quirky shop with beautiful antiques, and the Hummingbird Bakery, where we had the most delicious cupcake I ever tried. We also checked out some streets in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which is beautiful, some Upper East Side glam in London.

Later that day we went to Oxford Street, definitely one of London's best shopping areas! They have all kinds of different shops, from Topshop and Urban Outfitters to great cookie stores.
We found a wonderful candy shop called 'Kingdom of Sweets', a true paradise for people with a sweet tooth like me.

From Oxford Street we walked down Carnaby Street and visited Soho, where we had a burrito at Chipotle, Chinatown, Leicester Square and Covent Garden. The city is just beautiful at night, especially Chinatown was magical with all its lanterns. A perfect end of our first day!