Traveling to London

Not once, not twice, but three times and some of my favorite moments from each amazing adventure.

The first time I went to London to meet Julian, I was there for less than 24 hours. The second time I met my mom, aunt Karen, and cousin Cassidy who had come to visit and we spent two full days there. The third time I traveled to London with my twin sister Sav who was visiting me and we were there for three full days. Each occasion was unforgettable and unique. Despite visiting London three times, I saw or did something new each time because the city is so immense and full of sights to see, attractions, and food. Below are some of my can't miss moments from visiting London.

The London Eye

The London Eye is an iconic London landmark and provides one with a beautiful view of London especially at sunset or dusk when the city lights are on. With my mom and family we chose to do the champagne adventure where a guide comes along and talks to you about the sites below while you are enjoying a glass of champagne. This was super fancy and an exceptional way to celebrate turning 21. I also took a ride up in the London Eye with Sav and we opted not to get champagne but we still thoroughly enjoyed seeing the view and taking pictures inside the pod.

The London Eye is also located right next to the tourist-y but shamelessly fun London Dungeons (the London version of the one I did in Edinburgh). It was the perfect amount of thrilling, not too scary, but enough to keep me on my toes along with the entertaining performances from the actors running it. Similar to Edinburgh, it walked through London's dark history and featured a boat ride and drop ride. It was unique to London and featured infamous characters like Sweeney Todd and Jack the Ripper as well as the historically infamous Black Plague.

Historical landmarks

The enormous city of London is filled with historical landmarks to visit like Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Kensington Palace, the London Tower, and the London Tower Bridge. Because everything is so spread apart visiting London multiple times allowed me to see many of these sites. Of course Buckingham is a must-see and feels unreal to be standing outside of the gates knowing the Queen is residing inside. I loved Kensington Palace even more than Buckingham because we were able to go inside and explore the gorgeous estate. Many of the rooms were staged to look how they would look when people were living there as well as historical information in each talking through the history of who lived there and what their life was like. Some rooms had interactive elements like toys you could pull out and play with in what would've been a young Childs room, some rooms contained gorgeous artwork on the walls to admire as you walked through. One hallway contained side-by-side sketches of Princess Diana's iconic fashion looks next to the picture of her actually wearing it. The Crown Jewels were also on display inside. Although I'm partial to the Norwich Cathedral, Westminster Abbey really gave it a run for its money. It was riveting to walk around, gaze at the impressive architecture, and listen to the guided audio tour that explained who was buried there and brief histories about them like Mary Queen of Scots for example.

Delicious food

It should come as no surprise that there is no shortage of delicious food in London. The two afternoon teas I indulged in here were luxurious treats, that I explain further in my "My Favorite Afternoon Teas" blog. Sav and I visited one of the trendy EL&N cafes (there are a few scattered throughout the city) for an evening meal and to try their instagram famous lattes. I had the pistachio Spanish latte for dessert which was heaven for someone with a huge sweet tooth like me. It was velvety smooth and before adding the espresso it was extremely sweet which of course I enjoyed but the addition of the espresso cut the sweetness down so that it wasn't overpowering as well as gave it a robust smoky flavor from the roasted espresso beans. The Cereal Killer Cafe is another trendy London spot I had seen on instagram. Sav and I ate breakfast there although we agreed it's a better place for lunch or just a midday snack. The inside was colorful and quirky with a retro aesthetic featuring multicolored lights, walls decorated with limited edition cereal boxes, troll dolls, and even sections of Spice Girls wall paper. We shared the grilled cheese with the crunchy cornflakes crust along with a sweet cereal mixture containing Golden Grahams, caramel corn, milk duds, and caramel drizzle (served with milk to pour over). Although it took almost 40 minutes to get to from our hotel in Hyde Park and was located in the complete opposite direction from everything on our itinerary that day the experience was worth it.

Museums and more

London is full of art museums like the Tate Museum of Modern Art which had a limited edition Andy Warhol exhibit open when Sav and I visited. The enormous building had so many galleries to walk through, we spent a solid afternoon there our last day.

Even just walking around and exploring the city you will stumble upon something interesting. I stumbled upon the iconic Gherkin building while we were lost trying to find our way to the London Tower. The city has such a grand variety of sights whether they are historical and centuries old or brand new and modern, it truly surprises you on every corner.

Even with three visits I couldn't see or do everything that London has to offer, but I will say I checked a ton of things off my bucket list. These are some of my favorite sights/activities from visiting this elaborately vibrant city and my recommendations for anyone looking for things to do when they travel to London.