A long weekend in London 🇬🇧
What I did, where I ate, plus a cheat sheet for your next visit...
This past weekend, I headed to London to visit one of my best friends, David. He moved from NYC to London a little over a year ago, and ever since, I’ve used our beautiful friendship and his surprisingly comfortable air mattress as an excuse to spend a few days across the pond whenever I can. I always cherish our one-on-one time together, as he’s one of maybe three people that I can spend 72 uninterrupted travel hours with without plucking out my eyelashes and wanting to light the world on fire.
Whenever we are together in London, we make the most of our time, walking at least ten miles a day, stuffing our faces, and spending as many hours outside as weather permits. This time, we focused mostly on exploring East London, as I’ve spent more time in West London and I’ve seen most of the touristy spots. Here’s what we did!
Our Itinerary
Day 1
I arrived to London in the afternoon, and after making it to David’s apartment in Dalston, we made our way to dinner at Opso in Marylebone for greek food. This was a delicious restaurant, and a good option if you’re wandering around in the area and need a bite to eat. No pics from this as we were in full catch up and gossip mode!
Day 2
We started the day with breakfast at Jolene, splitting a delicious chocolate croissant and a sausage roll while eating outside. We followed this with an architecture tour of the Barbican Centre, which is considered to be one of the finest wonders of architecture in the world. After this, we made our way to Sessions Arts Club for a fantastic lunch. The atmosphere and food isn’t to be missed! We followed this with some Brick Lane vintage shopping, where I scored a 90s Burberry trench and a YSL windbreaker at steal prices. We capped off the day with dinner at Little Duck the Picklery back in Dalston. This place has a fantastic atmosphere and delicious food, and you seemingly can’t go wrong with anything you order here.
Day 3
We grabbed afternoon tea at Sketch, followed by checking out Photo London at the Somerset House (this exhibition has since ended). I wouldn’t necessarily recommend Sketch, but I would absolutely recommend a high tea somewhere. It’s a lovely tradition. We walked around and then grabbed a drink by the Thames, since it was a super sunny day, and then got dinner at Leroy in Shoreditch. It was a fantastically cozy spot that I’d absolutely return to.
Day 4
This was the best day ever maybe?! We started off by going to the gym (lol but David’s gym is so nice, Third Space needs to come to NYC) and then headed to The Bull and Last for a delicious Sunday roast. After tucking in and eating our weight in meat and carbs, we walked around Hampstead Heath for four hours, and I can honestly say, it’s my favorite park in London! None of these photos are edited— it was stunning, verdant, and I felt like we were nowhere near the city. I was blown away! By the time we got home, it was after 9, so we ordered a pizza and called it a night.
Day 5
Travel home! This was a rather quick trip, but for me, it’s no harder to go to London for a long weekend than it is to go to LA for a long weekend.
PSA and general reminder: always check at the gate to see how much it costs to upgrade to business class on the spot. I always do this when I book economy, and although the price is usually ridiculous, I’ve had some serious luck with JetBlue Mint in the past (I’m talking 70% off list price/$500 to upgrade). You never know unless you ask, and if your flight is a red eye, the extra $$$ is worth it to arrive rested.
Ok, that’s it, see ya next week!
