early birthday in london

The first time I visited London was in 2016 when I was studying abroad in Copenhagen. I was only there for maybe 36 hours, though my friend Vivian and I still packed in an insane amount of attractions in a short itinerary (a level of stamina which I no longer possess). There was a lot I didn’t get to experience, so I was excited to plan a trip back, partly motivated by the fact that Izzy had flight credit with British Airways to use.

I didn’t start planning this trip in earnest until about 1-2 weeks out. It helped me get excited for the trip and identify what I was most looking forward to. We ended up getting pretty lucky with the weather — almost no rain and instead, a lot more sun. We also did a day and a half in Edinburgh, which will be recapped in a separate post.

Friday: Borough Market and Tate Modern

Izzy and I took red eye flights Thursday night — she was on British Airways and I was on Delta (because it was cheaper). Our flights arrived within a half hour of each other just before 9am local time, and we made a plan to meet up on the Piccadilly line platform at my terminal. It worked out perfectly.

We took the tube to our hotel in Trafalgar Square to drop off our stuff. The first stop of the day was Waterstones, which was across the street, so Izzy could get some coffee and we wanted to take a look at some British versions of recent releases.

For lunch, we headed to Borough Market, which is one of the best food markets in the city. It was my favorite market when I first visited, particularly for baklava, though we didn’t find a good baklava stand this time around. Instead, our favorite dessert of the day was sfogliatella (mini lobster tails), a shell-shaped cream-filled Italian pastry. My favorite flavor was pistachio.

We split an order of fish and chips from Fish Kitchen and got a tropical juice. We didn’t end up eating too much, partly due to feeling discombobulated from the time change. After leaving Borough Market, we killed some time around Piccadilly and popped into Hatchards and Fortnum & Mason before checking into our hotel.

While Izzy rested for a bit, I went to meet up with one of my penpals, Lucy, who came down from Nottingham. We walked around Chinatown, got shaved ice, and went to sit in Leicester Square. It was a great place to chat and people-watch.

In the evening, Izzy and I went to Tate Modern for their special late night extended hours. It’s free to visit, though there are some paid special exhibitions like the Yayoi Kusama exhibit, “INFINITY MIRROR ROOMS.” I’ve wanted to visit the Tate Modern for a long time. I didn’t have time for it the first time around, and when I found out Kusama was having an exhibition there, it motivated me even more. For a while I thought I wouldn’t be able to get tickets for it because they were basically sold out for all the days we were going to be in London, but I ended up finding newly released tickets about two days before we were leaving. Kusama’s installations are so visually interesting and I’ve seen her exhibitions around the world, so it was fun to continue that.

There were two infinity mirror rooms on display: Infinity Mirrored Room – Filled with the Brilliance of Life (2011) with colorful multicolored lights, and Chandelier of Grief (2016), which features rotating crystal chandeliers. I haven’t seen the chandeliers before so that was a very cool experience.

Besides the Kusama exhibit, I really enjoyed the installation and performance Let Me Get You a Nice Cup of Tea by Bangladeshi artist Yasmin Jahan Nupur. It invites reflection on the impact of British imperialism and colonialism through the tea industry and tea customs.

We had a late dinner in Soho and decided on udon at Koya. We weren’t super hungry so we were down to wait 45 minutes. The soup was much welcomed once we sat and was a good meal, though does not beat out Raku in NYC.

Saturday: Portobello Road Market and Downtown

We kicked off our second day early with breakfast at Dishoom in Covent Garden. We split a bun maska, an Irani cafe classic. It’s a soft bun with butter inside and meant to be eaten after dipped in chai. We each got their naan rolls — I got mine with bacon and Izzy just did egg. It was pretty good and we realized too late that we could have shared one order for a lighter breakfast.

After breakfast, we headed out to Notting Hill for Portobello Road Market. The market is open Monday to Saturday, though Saturday is the main day. It’s best known for antiques, but also has secondhand goods, clothes, and food. I bought a small printing type tray to display some of my rubber stamps and other stationery at home.

Since the 1980s, Notting Hill has been a quite affluent and trendy neighborhood to live in, a flip from its working class origins. The movie Notting Hill (1999) starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts is set in the neighborhood. We passed the bookshop which was a primary filming location in the movie.

When we left the market area, we ended up coming across a cat having a nap in the sun. We pet and admired it for some 10-15 minutes.

We went to meet up with my penpals, Anju, Renata, and Lucy, and Anju’s sister Jakira in Soho. We picked up some cookies from Creme — really good chocolate chip cookies. Anju and Jakira bought us a number of British snacks and sodas to try, including Wotsits and Monster Munch. We sat in Leicester Square park and enjoyed the sun.

After our snack break, we walked around to some stores in the direction of Covent Garden. For dinner, we decided on Nando’s, which had quite a bit of a wait, but was so worth it. I got some wings and the quarter chicken. Izzy got to. have Nando’s for the first time.

Sunday: Shoreditch and Columbia Road Flower Market

Since our hotel was in walking distance from Westminster Abbey, I wanted to go see it for funsies, even though I saw it on my previous trip. Big Ben was under renovation between 2017 and 2022, and it was very cool to behold the fresh gilding and overall restoration to the tower.

We then traveled to Shoreditch to meet our friend Maddy. First stop was breakfast at Beigel Bake Brick Lane Bakery. It’s the most popular place for a salt beef beigel (bagel) sandwich. The bagel is stuffed with warm corned beef, pickles, and spicy English mustard. It was very good!

The main thing we traveled out to Shoreditch for was Columbia Road Flower Market. It’s only open on Sundays. The market first started in 1869 as a covered food market. It’s now primarily known for fresh cut flowers and indoor and outdoor plants, though are also shops along the market that sell food, antiques, and trinkets. It was very bustling and was very fun and picturesque to experience.

We doubled back to go to Dark Sugars, an artisanal chocolate shop. Lily recommended their hot chocolate, and it is probably the best one I’ve ever had. We also explored Brick Lane. We popped into Brick Lane Bookshop where I picked up postcards and Izzy found Alice Osman books. We also popped into vintage markets, including an underground vintage clothing market which was really cool. Izzy bought a very cool Ferrari bomber.

I wish I had budgeted more time for Shoreditch, but we made a midday afternoon tea reservation at the Zetter Townhouse in Marylebone and had to cut our shopping and exploring short. It was a very enjoyable tea experience in a vibey dark academia setting.

After tea, we headed to Victoria & Albert Museum to squeeze in a few exhibitions since admission is free. Maddy was really excited to show us the cast collection, which features replicas of famous sculptures — many of which you can touch. One of my favorite exhibitions was the one on costumes from famous musicals.

We stayed until the museum closed and then walked through Kensington Gardens. We took lots of photos in front of the cherry blossom trees. We also saw a dog jump into a pond, which was deeper than all of us expected, including its owner. That was kind of wild and funny.

From there, we parted ways with Maddy. Izzy and I went back to the hotel to rest before heading out to say hi to two of my former coworkers, Belinda and Stephanie, on our way to dinner. We grabbed something small at Le Bab, a Mediterranean chain. We got hummus and pita, shishito peppers, and a chicken kebab. It was all very delicious.

Wednesday: Back from Edinburgh

Our first stop back in London was Dishoom Kings Cross. The first time we went was for breakfast, so we also wanted to try their lunch foods. The Kings Cross location was massive and service was a bit slow. I got a spicy prawn appetizer, which I really liked. Izzy and I split the house chaat, the phaldari kofta (the chef special), and Dishoom chicken tikka roll. The tikka roll was delicious and the kofta was not really our cup of tea. I loved the dessert menu best. I think about the pistachio kulfi I had a lot. Izzy also had a very yummy basmati kheer.

After lunch, we stopped by Words on the Water, a quirky floating bookshop that is located on a barge on the canal. They carry a mix of new titles and used books.

In the late afternoon after checking into our hotel, we headed to Camden Town to check out the area. It’s known for being home to artist and musicians, kind of grungy, though it is now more commercialized in recent years. It’s why I was a bit underwhelmed. I didn’t catch that Lily recommended it for the food stalls until I was discussing it with her after the fact. Since we were visiting before a dinner reservation, we weren’t paying much attention to the stalls. I’ll have to give it another chance in the future.

Afterward, we met Maddy at Daunt Books Marylebone before dinner so we could pick up their bookshop tote bags that we had seen around town. For dinner, we went to Hoppers, which Lily had said was her favorite meal in London, and it did not disappoint. It’s Sri Lankan food, which I’ve never had. It has elements of cuisine I am familiar with from other Asian countries. I had my first dosa and it was phenomenal. I learned that it takes days for the batter to ferment and it is a delicate process to get correct to taste the best.

Thursday: Kew Gardens and Richmond

For this trip, one of the things I was looking forward to the most was our trek out to Richmond. We started with going to Kew Gardens, a botanic garden and UNESCO World Heritage Site that houses the largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world. The gardens date back as far as 1759 and spans 330 acres.

The glasshouses are among its key attractions. There’s the Temperate House, the Palm House, the Princess of Wales Conservatory, and the Waterlily House. The Waterlily House was my favorite. It showcases the giant Amazon waterlily. We took about four hours to visit those and two art exhibitions. It was so cool getting to see such a large variety of plants from all around the world.

After Kew, we headed to Richmond Green primarily to see the Ted Lasso filming locations, including the square in front of the Prince’s Head, Brewers Lane, and the park. We grabbed pita wraps and baklava from a Lebanese shop and ate them at the park. It was really serene and we got to dog watch.

From there, we headed to Maddy’s apartment so we could meet her girlfriend and dog, Ruby. It was fun to see an everyday London flat and walk through their neighborhood.

In the evening, I met up with Anju and Jakira for dinner at Canary Wharf. It’s part of London’s central business district. We had a good time chatting and they got me even more kinds of British snacks to try (Mini Cheddars are a new favorite).

Friday: Last day in the city

Our last day was pretty chill. We kicked things off by getting hearty English breakfasts at The Marylebone Corner. The cafe had a very picturesque minty green front, though we decided to sit indoors because we weren’t sure about the weather and whether or not it would drizzle.

We did some window shopping on Oxford Street. I also grabbed a baby lunch at Marugame Udon because I wanted to try the fast casual chain from Japan. They’re known for their open kitchen style, so you can see the food being made, and high quality ingredients. I wasn’t super blown away by what I got, but I really liked the ease and vibe of the restaurant.

After our jaunt, we picked up our bags from the hotel and took the tube to the airport. We flew out of Heathrow, and Izzy and I took different flights home. I love exploring and comparing airports. Heathrow’s format is an interesting one! In each terminal, they have a central seating area with all the shops and restaurants and they don’t announce gates until about 20-30 minutes before boarding. My Delta flight ended up being half empty, so I had two seats to myself.

And that’s a wrap on my week in the UK. I’m looking forward to planning my next trip to Europe in 2024.