First Stop: London

Our European adventure has finally begun, joining us on this trip is our oldest couple friends (my husbands best friend and his wife who I've known since junior high - we actually started dating our husbands the same time 9 years ago, so when I say "we" on my posts it means the 4 of us). We just spent two nights in London, and likely spent as much in 2 days than we would in 2 weeks anywhere else in the world. Needless to say London is quite overpriced ( we learned that the hard way in Leicester Square enjoying one too many 10£ mojitos).
We arrived in London on Friday and took a train to King's Cross station which was 10 minutes walking distance to our hotel. One of our family members suggested we stay close to King's Cross as it was easily accessible, aside from making it easier to catch the eurostar to Paris this location should be avoided at all costs ( especially if you're a virgin to the city and want to do all of the typical tourist attractions). I would have rather enjoyed staying in Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, and even forked it out for Park Lane.

We spent our Friday on the Big Bus Tour visiting St. Paul's Cathedral, London Bridge, Tower Bridge ( which is much more visually appealing than the London Bridge), London Eye ( we avoided going on only because it looked like it would take an hour to come down), Big Ben, Westminister Abbey, and Buckingham Palace. I am a checklist kind of girl, and was definitely happy to get all of our big tourist attractions done within one day. For lunch we had fish and chips with Peroni's at a pub across the street from Westminister Abbey ( I found the green peas the best part, I guess battered fish is not my thing). Being there on a Friday we were able to see what "happy hour" really looks like, at 6pm we ended up in SOHO and enjoyed cosmos on the street in front of gem bar/lounge. Happy hour being pretty foreign in Toronto, seeing a crowd full of individuals drinking on the street, and clubs pumping at 6pm felt like I was in the twilight zone. Definitely a cultural experience we enjoyed! After a cosmo or two we took the tube back to our hotel to change, and then headed to Leicester Square for dinner at Spice Market ( this is where we had one too many Mojitos), and headed for even pricier post dinner drinks at the W hotel. We had a great night with a bartender who told us the ins and outs of bar service in London ( and to avoid asking for a fat shot, as it will get you a skinnier one for sure).

The next day our plan was to enjoy a soccer game, but at 150£ each we realized just like Toronto Maple Leaf tickets, it just wasn't worth it. So instead we searched SOHO to find a pub that would play the Liverpool Vs. Arsenal game. It was like giving candy to a baby, we left the boys at the pub, and the girls were off to shop. I love my husband but we can not shop together, which makes this adventure even sweeter going with another couple - you have a female companion to do that all with. We spent the day exploring Regent street ( the best part was Hamley's toystore which completely brought out the big kid in me), Oxford street (Top Shop, Next, Reiss, Uni Qlo, Dorothy Perkins, and many more) and finally Knightsbridge where we explored the retail maze also known as Harrods. For dinner we had Northern Indian food (we heard the indian food in London is unbeatable - we weren't homesick yet) at a place called Punjab which was established in 1946.

Our time in London was fun. We had all never been and were happy to check it off as a city we explored. Would I go back? Probably not. The second I arrive in a city I can usually tell if I am in love, unfortunately for London and I that didn't happen. We are heading to Paris now, and I have my fingers crossed we have instant chemistry.

Looking for love,
9to5travelgirl

P.S. I think my legs are going to fall off from all the walking we did, and its only been 2 nights!