Girls Trip: London, England
- LoAroundTheGlobo
- Mar 19, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: May 3
December 2019
My soul sister/travel buddy, Schyler, has lived in London for the past few years. My friends, Olivia and Emily, and I decided to finally visit her new neck of the woods. I'd been to London briefly during a student ambassador trip in middle school, but never during the holiday season, and I'd heard wonderful things about London at Christmastime.
The three of us flew from Dulles International to Heathrow where Sky retrieved us from the airport, and we trekked to her apartment in Putney on the Tube. Upon arrival to her apartment that she shares with her sweet angel boyfriend, Emil, we settled in for the rest of the evening, drinking wine and catching up.
Schyler and Emil had to work Friday morning at the private school where they both teach and coach, but the three of us ventured downtown to the world-famous Borough Market. Here, we were floored by the Christmas decorations, savory smells, bustling crowds, and quaint vendors. We walked all about and couldn't decide what to eat, as every booth would have something even more tantalizing than the last. We settled for a random assortment of treats and coffees, and sat in the marketplace, people-watching Londoners.
After Borough Market, we ventured to the Shard - a building towering over the city with 95 floors and a pointy tip. Along the way, however, we passed another adorable marketplace where we shopped local crafts. You have to pay a fee to go to the top of the Shard, but we opted to go to the restaurant bar towards the top that offers 360-degree views of the city, and best of all, is free if you purchase drinks or food. Schyler met us here, and we all enjoyed overly-priced cocktails and under-appreciated laughs.
We made our way to the river as darkness slowly covered the city. We climbed the Tower Bridge and strolled along the Thames, perusing pop-up vendors and sipping boozy hot cocoa. It seemed like we just kept stumbling upon one holiday marketplace after the next, and we strolled happily through one Christmas market where I devoured the best chocolate strawberries I've had in my life. As we crossed the London Bridge, all the Christmas lights, including a decorated ferris wheel, twinkled magically along the skyline.
After an incredible day, we headed back to Sky's apartment, where we ordered in Chinese food and watched a Christmas classic: Love, Actually.
No way could Saturday top the day before... until it did. The five of us adventured downtown to see Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and Big Ben. After admiring these sights, we strolled through a park where we spotted the London Eye, and headed towards the main shopping district. This mall was so packed with people bustling about, holiday-shopping-procrastinators and primary-school-students alike, and we even ran into a handful of our hosts' students!
After shopping, we made our way to a holiday festival, a pop-up carnival clad with countless bars, foods vendors, and rides. We danced, drank, and snacked in the Bavaria section and cuddled together for warmth under the sparkling lights of this holiday extravaganza.
Once we got back to their apartment, we decided to hit the bars in Putney, where we met up with Schyler's friends and celebrated one of their birthdays. From dodging the rain during bar hopping to making fools of ourselves on the dance floor, we had ourselves a TIME!
And yet again, Sunday came and I thought it impossible for our hosts or this town to outdo itself, but I was wrong. Us girls ventured into town again on Sunday morning and strolled along the most adorable cobblestone streets of this fancy shopping district, where we window-shopped, laughed, and marveled at all the decorations. At Afternoon Tea, we pretended to be posh, sipping our flavored teas and mini sandwiches, and just simply enjoyed each other's company.
We then took a double-decker bus to meet Emil at the main square. There's a Christmas tree, donated to England by Norway, I believe, and after all the impeccably cute decorations we'd seen, I expected a tree straight out of Whoville. But this tree... this bare little tree looked like it'd barely survived a meteor and an alien invasion. Emil laughed that it's the puniest thing anyone could imagine, and even he didn't know why this tradition was so revered.
Nonetheless, we shopped the market, and wandered the streets of London that were literally twinkling from rain-sprinkled streets reflecting all the lights. One of the streets featured larger-than-life decorations made out of recycled materials, and 2019's theme was "Under the Sea."
Once back at the apartment, we enjoyed a gorgeous Christmas dinner altogether that Schyler and Emil prepared. It was really a special moment, and hard to capture in words how overwhelmed I felt with love and gratitude for my people.
After resting up for our last full day, us girls headed to brunch in the same district we'd explored the day prior, and we laughed hysterically at whatever I'd ordered that came out on the fanciest plate with the most ornate presentation I'd ever seen. Post-brunch, we ventured to a new area, where we strolled more quaint streets, clad with more adorable Christmas lights. We shopped yet again, celebrated a sassy street performer, then made our way to Glossier's pop-up shop in London.
We then headed to meet Emil at the Winter Garden, a world-famous walking tour through interactive lights shows and decorations galore. It was beautiful and magical and special and a perfect ending to a perfect trip with some of my favorite people ever.
Tuesday morning, a few of us walked the short distance into downtown Putney, where we did some last-minute Christmas shopping and grubbing. Sadly, we then had to pack up and head back to the airport, where we parted ways with our incredible hosts. Schyler and Emil truly pulled out all the stops for us. Sky had made us an impeccable itinerary; they'd housed us and fed us and loved us and fed us wine and clothed us (thanks again stylish Sky) and we were so very grateful for that.
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To Do or Not To Do?
There is no place like London during the holidays. In case I haven't reiterated this enough, London is absolutely magical in December. It's hard to say whether my trusty companions, my fabulous hosts, the jaw-dropping sights, or the belly-aching laughs made this trip so special, but no matter who you go with, this town embodies the spirit of Christmas. Everyone was kind, the weather was romantic, and the complete inundation of all things Christmas made for one perfect trip.
So, yes! Visit and visit around the holidays if this sounds enticing to you. We were lucky enough to stay with friends, but you could always stay in an Airbnb or a boutique hotel. Flights from DC weren't terribly expensive, but do beware that London-town is an expensive place to enjoy... this means that food, drinks, tickets, etc. are NYC-level prices.
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