London Calling: Easter Weekend

Because Easter is considered a bank holiday in the United Kingdom, I had Good Friday and Easter Monday off of work. I decided to take advantage of the four day weekend and spend it in London. London is one of my favorite, if not my favorite, city. I think one of the main reasons that I love it so much is because each neighborhood has a different feel, yet the common thread is that everywhere you turn there is something historic to see.

I took the train from Leeds early Saturday morning (at 7 am) but the good thing is that the train station is literally a 5 minute walk from my apartment. That makes it really convenient to get anywhere, but especially London which is a 2 hour train ride. The trains here are actually really good, especially by American standards where you can be stuck on an Amtrak train for 10+ hours when it should have only taken 4 hours (it's unfortunately happened a few too many times to me.)

When I arrived in London I went straight to my friend Marilyn's flat to catch up with her. It's great knowing a few people who live in London because I enjoy seeing parts of a city that I may not normally see. It also allows me to get their recommendations! We walked around Soho for a while, sneaking into a few shops here and there before our brunch reservations at the Dean Street Townhouse. We stopped in two stores that I want to make sure to mention to all of you. If you are ever in London, you must check them out. One is called COS and it's a clothing store with multiple locations around the United Kingdom. It's owned by H&M but the quality at COS is much better and is generally more my style. Sometimes H&M is a little too out there for my conservative yet classic taste.

We also stopped at a store called Liberty and I have to admit, I could get lost in that store for days and not feel bad about it. It's a collection of everything you could ever want - vintage home goods, multiple floors of clothes and shoes, kitchen wares, cosmetics, stationary...the list could go on and on. This is definitely going to be a go-to place whenever I'm in London.

Outside of Liberty London

Check out that chandelier! Amazing!

After that walking tour of Soho shopping, we made our way to the Dean Street Townhouse for brunch. Stellar eggs benedict if I do say so myself! After brunch, we stopped at the Hummingbird Bakery, a well known cupcake bakery in Soho. I can never pass up a red velvet cupcake, so we popped in for a couple to go.

Later that day, I checked into my hotel, The Hempel. It's located in West London, close to pretty much everything (Notting Hill, Kensington, Bayswater, and Hyde Park). The Hempel was designed by Anouska Hempel, a well known designer who is also responsible for the Grosvenor Hotel and Blakes London. Her style for The Hempel is very minimilist, which is not my favorite type of interior design, but I have to give her credit for this hotel. It's done really well and feels very Zen like. One of the things that helps give the hotel that Zen feel is the immaculate garden right in front of the hotel. It's like you are tucked away in a little oasis, but then you remember you are in the middle of London. Movie buffs may remember the garden from the final scene of Notting Hill (check it out on YouTube.)

The lobby of The Hempel. Great place to get in touch with your inner chi. 

The foyer of my room.

Bathtub, with Ren bath products! Yes!

The sitting area.

That night, I met up with a fellow Googler who is in London for three months. We grabbed a drink and some thin-crust pizza at Pizza East Portobello. They know pizza and I wish that I had more room in my stomach because I really wanted to devour the whole thing! We ordered the prosciutto, artichoke, and basil pizza and it was cooked to perfection in a wood burning stove. Is there really any other way?

The next morning was Easter Sunday so my cousin Bashar (who lives in London) and I decided to be the good Catholic children that we are (yeah, I'm still sticking to that story) and go to Easter Sunday mass. I've always wanted to attend a mass at Westminster Abbey, so we planned on heading there a little before the 10:30 mass. Did you know that it was founded in the year 960? That blows my mind! Lucky for us, getting in wasn't that difficult and we were able to sit down for about half of the mass. I managed to sneak in some photos before I was sternly told to stop. 

By this point, I was feeling pretty British so my cousin and I decided to partake in a typical Sunday tradition for our post-church meal; Sunday Roast! We took a brief walk to Brown's, which is a chain of restaurants around England that is known for their classic take on food, especially roasts. I learned that I'm obsessed with Yorkshire pudding.

After our lunch, my cousin and I parted ways to get some rest before meeting up later, but of course I couldn't go back to my hotel without doing some more sightseeing (aka shopping). Most stores were closed for the holiday, but I managed to find a couple that were open and finally make my first purchase in England (a beautiful black blazer perfect for upcoming work presentations I have to make.)

A few hours later, we were getting hungry which is hard to believe after the amount of Yorkshire pudding  and cheesy cauliflower I ate. We decided to stick around his neighborhood and went to an Asian restaurant that Bashar likes called the Four Seasons where they are known for their roasted duck. They prominently show a newspaper clipping that declares their duck 'the best duck in the world.' With a superlative claim like that, I didn't have much choice, so I ordered the roasted duck. It was great, but the best? I can't say. What I will say is that the service leaves something to be desired. One of the waiters literally walked away when we were talking to him!

I headed back to Leeds this afternoon, but am already looking forward to going to London soon. Luckily for me, I have to be here at least once a month for work. What a great Easter weekend! Hope you had one too!