One Last London Post...Shopping & Sights!

By now it is safe to say that I have exhausted the whole "I went to London now let me tell you all about it!" Blogger card, considering we have been home for almost a month. But, I want to recap a few more of my favourite moments of the trip and share some great shopping and sight-seeing ideas for anyone who might be London bound!

Hubby and I tackled the big ones while we were in London of course - Harrod's, Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Big Ben, the Globe Theatre...all were lovely. But I also really enjoyed some of the less touristy moments of our trip. Here are a couple of mini-itineraries based on our experience for any future London-goers out there!

For us tourists, Oxford Street is probably the most well-known shopping spot in London for all the big chains - here you'll find the Top Shop flag ship store as well as Mango, H&M, Uniqulo and a host of others. I personally found the whole scene a little bit tiring (it was a heat wave after all - I couldn't bear to try on the woolly fall coats and trousers in the stores), but if you're looking to stock up on fast fashion, it's definitely the place.

To escape the crowds I popped into Liberty London, probably one of the most lovely stores I went into over the whole trip. Liberty is most well known for their fabrics and upholstery, but also carries great designer clothing, a stationary shop, and a Literary Lounge by Assouline (beautiful books...too bad they are all so heavy!)

After cooling off in Liberty, I made my way back up Regent street, lined with beautiful buildings and housing even more stores, back to our hotel to rest my tired feet.

Regent Street

My Refuge - Liberty

 One of my favourite days. when we covered most of the city, began with strolling in Notting Hill (what trip to London would be complete without a little Hugh Grant Nostalgia?) after window shopping on Portobello Road we made our way over to Little Venice, where we caught a canal boat over to Camden Locks. The market there was teeming with backpackers and tourists, and we spent some time exploring the maze of shops and food stalls. We capped off our afternoon by walking through the Primrose Hill neighborhood to the Hill itself, where we took in great views of the city.

Antiques on Portobello Road

A lovely little deck overlooking the Regent Canal ... an oasis in the big city.

Camden Market

The view from the top of Primrose Hill & Regent's Park

One thing that I loved about London were its markets...Kelly recommended I visit Spitalfields Market in the city which had lots to offer - food, art, and fashion. My favourite purchase I made on the trip was a pair of caramel coloured boots from Blondie, a vintage store just across the street from Spitalfields. We also met up with Kelly and her man one morning at Borough Market near London Bridge. This place was truly a foodie's paradise...takeaway food, gourmet food stalls, fresh juices, and loads of free samples!

Spitalfields

Heavenly cheese at Borough Market

Yummy Paella!



And that officially ends my London recap! Hope you enjoyed.