Wanderlust Wednesday : Must See London

My Must See's Next Time I Find Myself Across the Pond

Hello All!! I hope everyone is having a good week. Last week I showed you where I went in London for the week I was there, this week is my must see next time I go.

Lets get started on a mini getaway in the middle of the week.

Neal's Yard in Convent Garden

First on the list is a tiny little alley in Convent Garden called Neal's Yard. This is one of the most Instagramed spots in London. With its vibrant colors and little boutiques and restaurants you could stay here for hours and never know its just right around the corner from one of London's busiest streets. 

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese

I could see Dickens sitting in the corner drafting an early copy of Oliver Twist. 

One of the oldest pubs in London, originally built in 1538 but destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666 and rebuilt, as the sign states, in 1667. This pub was a popular haunt for some literary greats like Twain, Tennyson and Dickens and is one of the reasons it is a must visit on my list. I am a bit of a history buff and minored in English Lit in college. 

There is a rumor that this pub also served as a brothel upstairs in the 18th century.  Scandalous!!

Warner Brothers Studio: Harry Potter 

WB Harry Potter Studio Tour... One of my biggest regrets last time I was in London was not going here. I don't nerd out about much but this is my weakness. I don't know what it is but I love the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I have all of the movies, all of the books on my kindle, I am working on collecting all of the paper version of the books and I have listened to them via audible often too. It is my escape from reality,  reading or listening to the books or watching the movies it how I relax.

I have been to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios and Islands of adventure on more than one occasion. I have an interactive wand and a Gryffindor headband... I am 26 I know but I like it. Harry Potter world (as we call it here) is great but to see places where they actually filmed and be immersed fully would be amazing and is 100% on my Bucket List!

The Crooked House of Windsor

Seeing as my moms side is from England afternoon tea was normal for me at a young age. I can remember summers at our beach house here in Florida coming in for lunch and a cup of tea while the afternoon storms rolled through... I was like 6. I always carry a tea bag in whatever purse or wallet I may have, so naturally afternoon tea was a must for me. 

This adorable little house isn't in London persay but it is a tube ride away. It was the oldest tea house in England, however is sadly no longer a tea room but you can still buy their tea I believe in the shop downstairs. 

All the markets of London

Finally and an all encompassing must in London is the markets. You will find the best local foods, drinks and eclectic souvenirs at these markets and really enjoy London like a local. I only made it to two of the countless markets around the city. Leadenhall & Borough markets, the first having lots of little shops around each corner and the later having some of the best food and smells at over 50 stalls it was huge and I could have spent all day there but my group was in a bit of a rush. 
Camden Market was on that I was told is a must while sharing a pint one night with a few locals I met, sadly I never made it so it is on my list of Must sees!


What are some of your "must sees" in London or anywhere you are longing to visit? Tell me in the comments below and I shall add it to my own list. 

WANDERLUST WEDNESDAY: A Week in London England.

I have the travel bug and a bad case of Wanderlust.

There has always been a time I wanted to see so many different places but only a few that made the bucket list.

The top one was England, specifically London.

I have always been fascinated everything about it, the history, the monarchy, the architecture, Harry Potter, and that is where my moms side of the family is from.

Well almost two years ago my Nana took me, my sister, my cousin and aunt over for 8 days. It was the experience of a life time and even though we did so much while we were there, I still find a new market, a new tour or colorful neighborhood I want to go back and explore.

Here are just some pictures from my trip a few years back

This was our view every day crossing the bridge to get to the nearest tube station

My favorite picture from our after dinner River Thames cruise.

Just my summer house, I'd welcome you in for a spot of tea but I am having the carpets cleaned

Tiny Tea Sammies 

Traditional Pint 

Best Food Ever!!! The green stuff is mushy peas.. sounds gross tastes heavely 

Because even though I am almost 26 years old I am still obsessed with Harry Potter

I would move to London if I could, I love the tube during the morning rush and walking down the street from my flat to the local pub for a good pint and beef stew or some of my favorite mushy peas with a scotch egg. One day I will live somewhere other than the states, preferably the UK.

I day dream about this trip on the regs. We were lucky enough to book through a tour group but make our own itinerary, which we did for the most part. We saw all the famous highlights even though I feel like we missed some or didn't get enough time on the stops we did make.

We only took 3 "guided" tours the entire time we were there, the rest was self guided and we may or may not have gotten lost a few times but it was so worth it!

The first day was a relaxing river cruise down the River Thames to Greenwhich where we got off and explored a few of the little markets and shops, here we could have seen The Royal Observatory which is the home to the time zone named Greenwich Mean Time or longitude zero.. but we we all too tired/jet lagged to adventure that far yet. 
**Jet lag from Florida to London felt like the worlds worst hangover with zero of the fun the night before. I even slept on the plane but it was useless! 

Day two we got to take a chartered bus tour though the streets of London, which help us figure out how to get to and from places the rest of the week. This tour we made stops at St Paul's Cathedral, Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards. I could have spent an entire day at each location but sadly there was not enough days in our trip for that. 

The rest of the trip was very self guided, each night the 5 of us would all go out to dinner at one of the many local pubs talk about our favorite part of the day and she delicious British fare. Then we would go back to the hotel, change into comfy pjs and go to each other rooms to plan the next days adventure and how were getting around. 

This post could be a long longer but I don't want to bore you. Come back week to ready about the top places I want to visit in London when I go back :)

If you could go anywhere in the world for a week where would you go & why?