London #2

To read Part One of my London posts see here.

Hello lovelies! I hope you all enjoyed part one of my London posts. If not, what the hell are you reading part two for?! I kid. Once again, the weather was less than perfect but nevertheless we made the most of it and trunded around in the rain. After an unintentional lie-in (damn you alarm!) we rushed along the Embankment in search of Buckingham Palace. I was just minding my own business doing that sort of half-walk half-skip you do when you've got somewhere to go but don't want to run when I looked up to see none other than Frank Skinner. He was strolling along looking very cold but very dapper nonetheless! I couldn't believe it (: I can now add him to a list of celebrity sightings that include the Balamory cast and the back of Chesney Hawkes' head. JEALOUS MUCH?! After a brief moment of 'OMGZZZZ' we hurried along the bridge to Westminster Abbey. The boy doesn't like to trust my directions which meant he took us to the Imperial War Museum thinking it was the Palace. I politely told him unless the Palace had had an extension put on it we were in the wrong place and that if we followed the mall down we would hit the very place we were looking for. To his amazement, I had actually put us in the right direction and the Palace stood before us in all it's royal glory (: We took a few ridiculous photos - although kudos to the one of me under the arch! We then headed back to the warmth of the hotel in order to change our clothes. Whilst doing so, we took time to admire St James' Park and the orangey tints that lit up the grey sky.

 

Whilst on our way back we took the time to snap a few photos of Westminster Abbey, Churchill's statue and the protestors! Boo you Afghanistan and all that usual bollocks. Although, let's face it...they do have a point! This area was so so busy and absolutely full of people despite the fact it was absolutely pissing it down. (I'm not sure that's the scientific term, regrettably!) We didn't stay too long because time was ticking and my jeans were soaked through. Stupid denim!

The whole reason we went to London was because I recieved a voucher for my 18th birthday last year that entitled me and one other person to a trip on a Lunch cruise and a go on the London Eye. The cruise was looming so after heading back to tart ourselves up we hopped on the boat to hear about all the history behind the docklands and to eat amazing food. If you'd like to check out the cruises and what they have to offer head over to the Bateaux London cruise website. I'd recommend them if you don't really know much about the area and would love to explore it in a warm and comforting environment! The cruise allowed us to take some more snaps of sights like the London Eye itself and the Houses of Parliament. Fun fact: There is over 2 miles of corridor in the Houses of Parliament - who knew, eh?! Our starter was so so so good! It was Courgette, Mozarella and Tomato tart. The portion size was a little ridiculous but hey that's noveau cuisine for you (: We wolfed it down within seconds and then eagerly anticipated our next course!

 

Before the next course arrived, Luke decided to grab the camera and take some awful shots of me. For some reason he likes to take photos way up close...he's like a little HD camera. Ugh, oh well...they show you my red hair so here you go! The main course was just too nice! It was Lancashire hotpot served with braised cabbage and carrots. The meat was just so tender and literally melted in your mouth. I could've definitely devoured a portion twice...maybe three times the size of it! Even the Coke tasted better than usual - you could actually taste the lemon in it (: I cannot sing the meal's praises enough.

I was quite apprehensive about dessert because it's not something I'd ever eaten before or ever considered eating simply because its name never really made it sound appealing. That's right - it was Spotted Dick! It was served with Golden Syrup and Vanilla ice cream. OM NOM NOM! Oh my word, it warmed me right through (: It was just such good comfort food. It made Luke look this happy....DEAR LORD! The meal was finished up with a well deserved coffee. Although, as you can see mine resembled gravy because Luke stole all the milk - boo! It was still nice though and finished the meal off perfectly. It was the best meal I've had in a while (:

The cruise was followed by a trip on the world famous London Eye. After a sickening discussion about what they'd call it if it was situated in Japan, we boarded the little bubble and looked forward to our birds eye view. The first photo depicts my trusty brogues that I bought from New Look a couple of months back. I did so much walking on this trip but they have prevailed and haven't broken at all! They also barely let the rain through so well done brogues - you've done me proud. It was really lovely to see a panoramic view of London and it was a much better attraction than many of the skyscrapers I've been on. Unfortunately, when we went up the sky was quite dull but I spose that meant we got photos without the glare :/ We took some hilariously bad photos of each other just to embarass ourselves/make the other people in the bubble feel extremely awkward. I believe we met our targets.

After a quick dash to the soeuvenir shop to purchase some gifts we headed to Leicester Square on the tube to take a few last minute photos and get some food. We ended up walking along to Covent Garden to explore it one last time and to find somewhere to eat. By this point, we were also both absolutely bursting for the toilet. Somehow, this led us to nearly walk all the way back to Westminster....Idiots! However, this was actually quite convenient because we actually managed to stumble across Trafalgur Square. We snapped some very blurry photos (we were bursting) then hopped back on the tube in order to get back to Leicester Square and find a toilet pretty damn quickly. We took refuge in KFC and reminicised about our trip to London over some fried chicken. 

It was still peeing it down with rain by the time we left KFC so in an attempt to both warm ourselves up and to avoid wandering around in the rain we headed to Costa. I blagged a window seat looking right out at the theatres whilst Luke queued for the extremely overpriced coffee. I opted for a gingerbread latte because I completely missed the Christmas coffees at the end of last year because I did the majority of my shopping online! I have to say Costa - I was less than impressed! As you can see, half my coffee was froth! Boo. Furthermore, the only bit that had a vague whiff/taste of gingerbread was the mounds of froth on the top. The rest of the coffee just tasted like...well....coffee!! Not acceptable Costa. Although, I have nothing but praise for the caramel shortbread...but then again it IS caramel shortbread! Whilst looking out at the theatres, Luke and I had a hilarious discussion about the pronunciation of 'Les Miserablés'. It's going to take years to teach him to speak French :/

We then reluctantly went to Hammersmith Bus station with our tails between our legs and our hearts on our sleeves. We had fallen in love with the city and the lifestyle in had to offer. It also did wonders for the two of ours and has made us realise just how serious about this relationship we really are. I hope you've enjoyed these posts and if you have any questions about travelling to London or what things to make sure you go and see from a tourist's point of view please don't hesitate to email me. My details can be found in the 'about me' tab! I hope you are all having a lovely week! My usual features will be resumed next week when I've got back into the swing of things. In the meantime, I'll be posting a few different things. Keep smiling!