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London city baybeh!
Sunday, June 05, 2011
Hello world!
This week I visited Laaaadan city for a few days. What can I say about London? I LOVED IT.
This week I visited Laaaadan city for a few days. What can I say about London? I LOVED IT.
I was in need of some time away from wet and windy Manchester, somewhere not too far away and with better weather. So London it was! Conveniently enough I was able to meet up with a few of my blogger friends along the way too! Awesome!
As a tourist or visitor, I found London a great place to go. There are so many sights it's untrue. The taxi ride from Euston Station to the hotel was pretty much a sightseeing tour in itself, and it cost about the same £30! Unbelievable!
Our hotel was modern, cheap(ish) and in a good location just south of the Houses of Parliament. But we were in no mood to hang around, we wanted to get out into the city! We made good use of the 'Big Bus Tour' buses at £27 for 24 hours. A bit expensive, but gives you a good little hop-on-hop-off tour of the place with a live guide.
We stayed on the bus for a while, jumping off at the Tower of London. The main reason for that was to the see the dungeons or prisons and of course the Crown Jewels. I mostly wanted to see the Koh-I-Noor that is always at the centre of controversy between India and Britain. When we came out of the Tower the heavens had began to open. We jumped on the first tour bus that came along (packed, by the way!) and returned to our hotel!
We really wanted to go to Brick Lane to experience the markets, boutiques, the south-asian atmosphere and take in an Indian restaurant. But we were warned at the hotel as it is on the other side of London, the cab would cost £25 each way. It was only 4.5 miles!! WTF? The other alternatives were the tube or the bus (err no thanks!).
So we gave up on that idea and instead looked at decent places to eat in Westminster. We ended up going to a Bangladeshi place called 'The Coriander' in Vauxhall just over the aptly named Vauxhall Bridge from Westminster. We asked for it hot, and boy was it hot! LOVE.
On our second day we were due to meet my lovely blogging friends, but DISASTER. The weather forecasts promised me beating hot sun all day, but in the morning there was some heavy, heavy hail! Where did that come from?
Anyways we met up with the bloggers on Queensway, went to a seriously tasty little Persian restaurant that I forget the name of (it was damn good, promise!) then headed off to the Westfield Centre.
WOW. The Westfield Centre is über-cool! Living in Manchester I'm used to big shopping centres what with the Trafford Centre, but the Westfield far outranks it. It's so big, bright, modern and all-around clean. Plus, it has something extra that the Trafford Centre lacks: Mr Pretzels. They sell some amazing, fresh, sugary, sweet, fluffy, cinammon Pretzels... mmmmm.
In the evening we took a ride on the London Eye. The sun had only just set and we were the last group on it. They say cities come to life at night, and London sure does just that and we got to see it from the best seat in the house.
It was also the first time we really got to take our brand new Nikon D7000 somewhere and in all honesty we got seriously snap happy. Hope you enjoy the pictures!
As a tourist or visitor, I found London a great place to go. There are so many sights it's untrue. The taxi ride from Euston Station to the hotel was pretty much a sightseeing tour in itself, and it cost about the same £30! Unbelievable!
Our hotel was modern, cheap(ish) and in a good location just south of the Houses of Parliament. But we were in no mood to hang around, we wanted to get out into the city! We made good use of the 'Big Bus Tour' buses at £27 for 24 hours. A bit expensive, but gives you a good little hop-on-hop-off tour of the place with a live guide.
We stayed on the bus for a while, jumping off at the Tower of London. The main reason for that was to the see the dungeons or prisons and of course the Crown Jewels. I mostly wanted to see the Koh-I-Noor that is always at the centre of controversy between India and Britain. When we came out of the Tower the heavens had began to open. We jumped on the first tour bus that came along (packed, by the way!) and returned to our hotel!
We really wanted to go to Brick Lane to experience the markets, boutiques, the south-asian atmosphere and take in an Indian restaurant. But we were warned at the hotel as it is on the other side of London, the cab would cost £25 each way. It was only 4.5 miles!! WTF? The other alternatives were the tube or the bus (err no thanks!).
So we gave up on that idea and instead looked at decent places to eat in Westminster. We ended up going to a Bangladeshi place called 'The Coriander' in Vauxhall just over the aptly named Vauxhall Bridge from Westminster. We asked for it hot, and boy was it hot! LOVE.
On our second day we were due to meet my lovely blogging friends, but DISASTER. The weather forecasts promised me beating hot sun all day, but in the morning there was some heavy, heavy hail! Where did that come from?
Anyways we met up with the bloggers on Queensway, went to a seriously tasty little Persian restaurant that I forget the name of (it was damn good, promise!) then headed off to the Westfield Centre.
WOW. The Westfield Centre is über-cool! Living in Manchester I'm used to big shopping centres what with the Trafford Centre, but the Westfield far outranks it. It's so big, bright, modern and all-around clean. Plus, it has something extra that the Trafford Centre lacks: Mr Pretzels. They sell some amazing, fresh, sugary, sweet, fluffy, cinammon Pretzels... mmmmm.
In the evening we took a ride on the London Eye. The sun had only just set and we were the last group on it. They say cities come to life at night, and London sure does just that and we got to see it from the best seat in the house.
It was also the first time we really got to take our brand new Nikon D7000 somewhere and in all honesty we got seriously snap happy. Hope you enjoy the pictures!
Tourist!
The London Eye!
Inside the Eye!
Breath taking view from the eye!
Beach huts on the South Bank...
Ever get the feeling you're being watched..? MI6 HQ
Cool Graffiti on the South Bank
The houses of parliment
Gotta be done!
(L - R) - Nazneen, The Mr & meee.
Amina and Sriya tuck into Mr. Pretzel. Thanks to Sriya I'm now converted, shame they only have one shop in Britain!
Somebodies feeling a lil' shy!
Posers!
Hello, Pina Colada!
'cause we are cool.
Some serious groping & posing going on here!
(L - R) - Tass, Me, Nazneen, Sriya & Amina
♥
Mourning for Tass!
This photo is timeless. LARGE LOVE ♥
London. We'll meet again.
31 comments
Great photos, looks like you had a good time.
ReplyDeleteNice outfit too BTW, love the skull cardigan.
Mr Pretzel!!!!! xxx
ReplyDeleteoh wow you do have the loveliest face! :)
ReplyDeletelooks like you had such a good time, living in london makes you forget about all the fun you can have here! but you definitely need to go to brick lane at some point, its so lovely and cheap and SO much food! xxx
Aww! These pictures are awesome! It looks like so much fun! I can't wait to head down there next month :) And I love your ring! The big one, it looks like it's coral?
ReplyDeleteOk, I have way too much love for this post <3
ReplyDeleteThe photos look bloody amazing! That pic of the inside of the London Eye looks beautiful!
Also well happy that me and Tass managed to convert you guys to Mr Pretzel lovers! We told you it was amaze!
Hope we get to see you again in the summer!! xxxx
@ Charlotte - I did indeed. Thank you m'dear! xo
ReplyDelete@ Tass - I miss Mr Pretzel. Next time I'm in London, I'll probably live off them, hehe! xo
@ Sophie - Ahhh thank you, Sophie! I know, heard so much good stuff about Brick Lane. Next time I am definitely going there! xo
lovely photos! sounds like a great time :)
ReplyDeletexx J
http://vintageisthenewblackk.blogspot.com/
@ prettyinthedesert - You will love it. There is LOADS to do. And thank you!My ring is from H&M. :) xo
ReplyDelete@ Sriya - What have you and Tass done to me?! I am craving a Mr Pretzel right now! I am definitely heading my way down south soon! :) xo
Your photo's are gorrrrrgeous! Really lovely and you look so pretty, love your outfits xx
ReplyDeleteAh love this post! You look like you had so much fun, love the photos of all you bloggers together! I love London, I love quite close so I can go a lot but I feel like a tourist every time I go, there's just SO MUCH to see! I've only been to Westfield once, briefly before a concert and it was amazing. Must go back! xx
ReplyDeleteLondon is the best, looks like you had a brilliant time! Next time, I want to meet up with you too!! Xxx
ReplyDeleteAwwwww big big love for this post my lovely girly! LOVE the pics! Had such an amazing time with y'all, was simply fab to finally meet you darlin. Bwahaha that was a purely 'accidental' pose! Had no idea it came so naturally...*cough!* ;) Lol, I think our Tass was mourning all those dropped pretzels we kept finding! She just couldn't take it!
ReplyDeleteLove yaaaa! Aysh xoxo
OMG I love this post! I wish I came - but I've got exams grr.. hopefully we can meet another time. Your photos look awesome btw! How comes you decided to buy the Nikon D7000?
ReplyDeleteYou and the girls look super gorgeous :) Glad you had a great time in London :D xx
aww loving your pics hun! looks like you girls had fun, next time your down, come westfield and see me, there's a mr pretzels there tooo (and they regularly give cinnamon samples) ;)
ReplyDeleteFabulous photos of London, Halima! It brings back memories from last time I was there!
ReplyDeleteI follow most if not all the lovelies in your photos! Great to see you guys outside of your individual blogs and together!
xo
awesome photos! : )
ReplyDeleteOMG you girls look awesome! So sad I couldn't make it :( really wanted to see you guys! Anyhoo next time. Glad you enjoyed!
ReplyDeleteShifa
x
Wow, what gorgeous photo's!
ReplyDeleteNice to see some of my fave bloggers :)
London looks amaze, I really want to come see go there one day.
XO
Best EVER pics! Glad you loved Westfield - my fave too!
ReplyDeleteLondon looks amaze! I really want to go one day.
ReplyDeleteAnd it looks like you had lots of fun... It's nice to see some of my fave bloggers :)
xo
Cccrap, I think I just posted my comment twice (blush :))
ReplyDeletei do love london sounds like you had fun xx
ReplyDeleteGreat photos from the eye!
ReplyDeleteJust curious as to why you avoided the tube though? One of the best things about London is how easy it is to get everywhere and i love the tube!
xxShivvyxx
just found your blog and LOVE it!
ReplyDeleteconsider me as your newest follower :)
xx juBook
Awww looks like you had such an awesome time! I love Westfield, but it is a long and tiring day walking round x
ReplyDeleteNatalie | Just a Thought.co.uk
Love london, we always go on the tube everywhere, honestly it's not that bad! I need to take a trip down their soon! Ahh you all look gorgeous, hopefully will get to meet you all one day! xxx
ReplyDeleteHappy to hear that you had a great time in London! I really take this city for granted sometimes, so thanks for reminding me how much I love it! XXX
ReplyDeleteP.S. Don’t forget about my giveaway!
http://mademoiselle-la-la.blogspot.com/
Looks like so much fun! Im in love with that sweater! And I think I've told you before but I love your lip ring.
ReplyDeleteSophia
http://lasophialasophia.blogspot.com
i love mr pretzels!! ur pictures look amazing! x
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous bunch :) Love the idea of blog meetups but I would be sooo SHY!!! :D xx
ReplyDelete*sniff sniff* this is my favouretest post everrrrrr...mish u!!
ReplyDelete