TRAVEL | weekend in london

I can never pass up and opportunity to travel to London. So when my friend, { Blessy }, asked me to go, I hopped on board immediately. I haven't added new bookmarkts to my London map over the years, so this 2-day trip was mostly spent revisiting old favourite spots, lunch and coffee dates with friends, and taking pictures of random people on the street walking in front of stuff (you'll see what I mean).

Day 1:

My go-to accomodation in London is { Wombats City Hostel }. The service, facilities, and staff
are always so realiable. The location is a convenient 8 minute walk to two different tube stations,
and within walking distance of bricklane/shoreditch area. But really the best part is their secret
rooftop reading room--a quiet nook that only two rooms have access to unless you ask for permission.
I think most guests don't even know that it's there, given that there is a huge bar in the basement.
On my longer trips I like to take my stuff up there to read or edit photos on the computer.
And I haven't even mentioned how great the view is from up there!

As usual, I stopped by Borough Market on Saturday morning for some breakfast. Since I woke up
extra early that day, most of the market hadn't even finished setting up when I arrived. To past the
time I grabbed a coffee at Monmouth and drew/wrote in my sketchbook for a bit. The German Deli
across from Monmouth caught my eye so I decided to go inside to see what they sold. It was funny to
see the random german brand chipsor Haribo gummy bears you can buy for a euro or two at any
Edeka or Späti back in Berlin displayed with so much care.

The only stop I planned for the trip was { The House of MinaLima }, a shop slash exhibition space
housing the graphic artwork from all the Harry Potter films. It was really amazing to see all the work
that the two designers put into achiving the look and feel of movies in person. I wish they sold
printed copies of the Daily Prophet, I might have bought one for myself. I highly recommend this
spot for any artist, illustrator, or fan of the series.

Spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out with my friend { Pearl Law }, an illustrator living in London, walking around Shoreditch. Then I went back to my hostel for a quick power nap before Blessy was finally free to meet for a drink at my hostel. But I couldn't end the evening without a salt beef bagel from the famous Beigel Bake on Brick Lane. The bagels they serve there are so good that the snow, wind, and subzero temperatures couldn't keep me away.

Day 2:

Second day was just as cold as the first. Luckily, it had stopped snowing for a few hours in the morning so I decided to walk to Columbia Flower Market. I always love taking pictures of people here.

London will always have a special place in my heart. The first time I visited in 2012 was also the first time I traveled to a foreign country without my family. That trip changed the whole travel game for me and it's always nice to reminisce how things have changed since then. 

PLACES | british museum

When musuem spaces are just as beautiful as the artifacts it holds

TRAVEL | back to london

Falling behind on blogging already. London was about 4 cities ago and I had just managed to finished editing all the photos today. Guess this is what happens when you're having fun.

London was just as good as I had remembered. Since I've basically visited all the spots I've had bookmarked the last time I was in town, I didn't have too much planned to see, which worked out for me because I was kind of beat from Edinburgh. It's also worth mentioning that I got extremely lucky this time in London--a tube strike was scheduled on the day I was supposed to arrive, however the whole event was suspended the night before. High fives all around!

As much as I loved my hostel from my last trip, I thought it'd be interesting to switch it up a little. This time I checked into Wombats London. I stayed at their other chains in Munich and Vienna in 2013 and was always very impressed with their facilities. And as expected, I had a great time. I was placed in the highest floor, which had a breathtaking view of Southern London

I was lucky enough to have been in the city to see the { Charles Pétillon } installation in Covent Garden. When it launched, almost every one on my facebook dashboard was posting about it, and I'm not going to lie I felt a small sense of smug satisfaction that I got to see it in person.

I also took a brief break from London and hopped on a train with Thomas to Rye for a short day trip out of the city. This little town, located in South Sussex, was recommended by a friend whom had just visited the day before. She showed me some photos that morning and I was sold.

Ok back to London

No trip to London is complete without a stop over at { Borough Market } & { Columbia Flower Market }. 

Living 20 mins by foot from Borough Market was like a dream come true. Wake up at 9 and get there by 10, which in my opinion is the perfect time to visit because all the vendors have set up, but all the tourists haven't arrived yet.