What a fabulous time we had in the big smoke; wining (way too much champagne was drank by myself), dining and exploring.
There is something so captivating and stimulating about London, it has such a quirky, vibrant energy. I love getting away to the city, and getting a different take on life compared to the country.
For us it is really easy to get there and on a slight budget - I highly recommend using the Oxford Tube bus. We drive forty minutes into Oxford and get the Tube, which runs frequently (every ten minutes generally). It is safe to leave your car and quite cheap parking (we left it there four days when we went to Rome). Tickets are around £20 each return, and are valid for twenty-four hours, if not longer. We were definitely longer than that. I don’t know if this is sad but I really enjoy the relaxing hour ride into the centre. I have to sit on the top deck and take all the views in.
Usually we get off at Marble Arch, but as we were staying at the Columbia hotel (£120 per night!) we hopped off at Notting Hill Gate. The Columbia hotel is a short ten minute walk from the stop, which is convenient and not too much bother with cases. The hotel is incredibly reasonable for London. The building looks pleasant but the rooms are basic. This doesn’t bother us as we are out most the time and it is just a place to lay our heads.
Of course after dropping our luggage in our room, I had to do a little shopping in Zara (standard), followed by a swift drink in a nearby pub. It definitely had a look of the Queen Vic from Eastenders to it.
Shortly after this we headed to Kensington, where we spent most of our time and generally where we tend to hang out. My family were also in the city for an event at the Albert Hall, so we met at our usual spot; The Goat. The Goat is a great little spot, with good food, friendly staff and do a great bottle of prosecco or two. Having had a brief rendezvous with the family until later, my partner and I headed to Kensington Palace to have a look around and most importantly see the Diana exhibition. I am a big fan of Princess Diana’s and have been highly excited to see iconic parts of her wardrobe through the years on display. The palace of course is grand and luxurious as you would expect, plus really interesting to learn about past royals and the stories to go with them - especially the romantic love story between Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The Diana exhibition was very moving, emotional and at the same time breathtaking. My eyes drank up the detailing on some of those Versace dresses. There was the famous black dress she wore whilst dancing with John Travolta, the Versace she wore on the front cover of Vogue and the dress she wore whilst on her honeymoon, to name a few.
After an educational hour or two, we took a walk around Kensington Gardens and Diana’s memorial garden, which was stunning. Filled with white flowers (her favourite and mine too).
Come evening we went for food at this amazing, trendy restaurant in Soho. It’s called the Soho society and has randomly enough and pretty cool - a tree going up through the middle of the restaurant. I already cannot wait to go back to enjoy more. I think I sank a cocktail in there so I am not going to lie when I say that I can remember the rest of the night, but I know it was fun.
A brief trip to the Albert Hall was undergone too - my uncle played the finale for the brass band event taking place there. I must say the lighting on the mushrooms was impressive and really effective.
In the morning we spent the day enjoying a beautiful, sunny, golden autumnal afternoon around Hyde Park and Kensington park. This was followed up by a trip to Belgravia to peak into Philip Treacy’s window and gaze like a child through a candy shop window and then battling to get into Peggy Porschen’s. After a long wait, it was a fail, Josh could not stand anymore queuing bless him.
It was a magical weekend of culture, far too many unhealthy treats and making memories with my loved ones.
Apologies this has not been up sooner, there has been too much going on in the real world - like my house becoming a building site and me being very poorly of late.
Posts will be back up and running again hopefully this week.
Love Chlobo’s Closet
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