The Magic of London
Every time I go to London, I fall in love a little bit more. It is certainly one of my favorite cities in the world. Its class and beauty have taken my heart little by little.
When we arrived in London after the Cotswolds and Oxford, Alex and I were a bit sad to be nearing the end of our trip. That being said, London cast a spell on us.
We arrived on a crisp, blue, sunny day. Though England is quite rainy, it has never rained while I’ve been in London. Against the brilliant blue of the sky, the glamorous white buildings shone in the sunlight. I particularly liked Victoria Palace Theatre, with a golden ballerina dancing in the sunlight on top.
Our bus dropped us outside of Victoria station, and it was a short ten-minute walk to our hotel. We were staying at this classy little guesthouse in Pimlico which charmed us from the moment we stepped foot on the street. It was called The Georgian House, and it was like something out of an old movie. Stepping into the lobby made me feel like Audrey Hepburn.
With a little time before our actual check-in, we left our bags with the hotel staff and took a walk towards Westminster. We wandered around the grand buildings of Westminster Abbey and Parliament then into the park nearby which ran along the Thames.
There, we found a bench to sit on for a little while and take in the brilliant view of the architecture and the river. In the hazy distance, the London eye was just visible.
On our walk back, we were beginning to get hungry. We decided to stop at this little place I had been fond of on my visit last year called Pimlico Fresh. From what I remembered, they had the very best avocado toast and earl grey tea, which is just what I got.
Luckily, it lived up to what I remembered, and it was great to share it with someone new.
Back at the hotel, it was time to check into our room. I was enchanted by the flood of light pouring in from the floor to ceiling windows and the gauzy white curtains. All things considered, the simple, elegant room lived up to all of our expectations.
We couldn’t spend too long in the room, as we were hoping to make it to the Natural History Museum before it closed, so after a short rest in our room, we headed out again.
We took the tube to the museum. As we approached, it was immediately clear where we were headed, as the facade in the distance was a magnificent work of architecture. Against the fading sky, the great building stood large and impressive like a palace. We wound our way through the line of people outside until we were at the huge arch of the front entrance.
If I were to recommend one place to visit in London, it would likely be the Natural History Museum. It is something that everyone should experience. The place reminded me of some kind of whimsical dream. There were precious stones, skeletons, and taxidermic animals everywhere. It had an eclectic vibrancy to it that was unique from any other museum I’d visited.
My favorite part was the entrance, of course, with the huge whale skeleton hanging as the center piece and the stunning architecture to compliment it. The whole thing took my breath away.
Alex and I had fun wandering the halls, excited to see what we would find around the next corner. Sometimes, it was a case of preserved butterflies; other times, we would discover rare gems and shells.
By the time we left, I was exhausted and needed a rest at the hotel. We made our way back to The Georgian House and had a quick nap before dinner. Luckily, we were directly across the street from one of my absolute favorite restaurants in London: a little joint called The Artist’s Residence, which is also a hotel. The place is bohemian and colorful, and it serves amazing food. We spent the night spoiling ourselves with an elaborate dinner, drinks and dessert. I chose not to take my camera, so we don’t have any photos, but I highly recommend checking it out yourself if you’re ever in London.
In the morning, our hotel offered free breakfast in their downstairs restaurant The Pimlico Pantry. Not only was there the usual complimentary breakfast buffet, we were also allowed to choose anything we wanted off of the regular breakfast menu! We couldn’t believe the service, and the little space was adorable as well.
We were sad when it was finally time to head out, but we had an amazing trip and it had to end eventually. Now, at least, we have all the photos to look back on.
A little secret: it was in London, last year, when I decided I wanted to be a blogger. I was inspired by the city, by the photos I took and the things we saw. Living there for a couple of days made me feel like an artist. I started the blog to pursue this feeling. Certainly, I would say that this trip lived up to that. Everything we did filled me with excitement. London’s spell, it turns out, is unbreakable.