London: Part 3

This is part 3 of a (no. TBD) part series about my 2012 trip to London and Paris-- yes, it has taken me 8 months to post about this vacation. If I get a bit exhaustive with the details, I apologize, but this is very much for my personal recollection. If you're interested, you can view parts 1 and 2 here.

Day three is when jet lag and two days of nonstop walking caught up with me. I gave into fatigue and slept in, then wandered around the area surrounding the hotel for a bit before meeting Matt at Spitalfields for lunch. I didn't take any pictures while we were there (and later learned from another blogger that photography isn't allowed), but basically it's a big, covered market with vendors selling clothes, accessories, and just about anything else you could think of. We had a nice time browsing before he had to get back to work, then I hit a few of the surrounding shops and made a few purchases before exploring a bit further.

{a church yard across from the market}

{this graffiti reminded me of someone back home}

I spent a decent amount of time camped out in a Starbucks (shocking), reading up on London and enjoying the opportunity to sit back and observe.Many of the Starbucks throughout the city seemed to have an upstairs or downstairs seating area in addition to the main storefront which made it easy to find a seat.

That night we took the tube to Soho and ended up on Gerrard Street in Chinatown.

After some deliberation decided to try Plum Valley for dinner, which I cannot recommend enough. The food was out of this world, and while it was a bit pricey, it wasn't completely outrageous for two people. The atmosphere was quiet and cozy, a great place to unwind after a day of working/walking around.

We set out to investigate this part of London, walking through Leicester Square (we never did get to the theater), Carnaby Street, then up Regent and Oxford Streets.

One of the best things about visiting London in late November was that there were Christmas decorations everywhere. Light displays stretched out across streets and alleyways, making the entire city feel festive. Regent Street had a gorgeous 'Twelve Days of Christmas' display going down the entire street, which was packed with shoppers and tourists.

{my Apple-obsessed husband couldn't resist getting a shot of this}
We couldn't resist Hamleys toy store, which was delightfully uncrowded just before closing. Very similar to FAO Schwartz or the Times Square Toys R Us, only British. I was especially taken with the Lego corgi that sat next to Lego Queen Elizabeth.

Since we didn't have dessert with dinner we decided to try some British sweets from the candy department. We ate them later that night watching Harry Potter, a perfect conclusion to a perfect day.

Since none of my pictures could do Christmas in London justice, here's a gorgeous time-lapse that makes me want to cry and immediately hop on a plane to the UK (I realize that endorsement doesn't make much sense or hold much weight considering a) it's June, and b) everything makes me want to go back to London, but trust me, it's beautiful).