Travel: A Christmas in England

Jane Austen once said "the truth is, that in London it is always a sickly season. Nobody is healthy in London, nobody can be". And while I don't think she is referring to this kind of sick but when I visited for Christmas I was suffering from the "man-flu" but I wouldn't let it defeat me or hold me back from exploring the great city of London.

The weather in England when we arrived was much more mild in comparison to New York so it was a nice change from freezing our butts off. But for all those wanting a white Christmas, you're more than likely to get one in New York rather than in London. What I like about visiting England is that it has a homely feel for me, as it has it's similarities to Australia, so for my first Christmas away from home, it was nice to have some familiarities.

I was excited to have a chance to explore London and get to do all the "touristy" things. My last trip back in July, which also happen to be my first trip to London, I was limited to an afternoon of running around and quickly taking a snap of as many of the main attractions as I could. I've never really researched London and what there is to do there or where the hotspots are because my boyfriend is from there, so you'd think I wouldn't have to right?! Wrong! Luckily I got a few pointers here and there from friends and family.

Here are a few highlights and my must visits from the trip:

Afternoon Tea at Liberty

Afternoon tea at Liberty was such a small part of our trip but was one of my favourite parts. It was all so English with pots of tea, scones and macaroons. Liberty itself is an amazing department store, a little more "urban" and "hip" in comparison to Harrods (not that I didn't love Harrods) with plenty of high end yet affordable labels. In saying that I settled for a 15 pound tea towel as a souvenir.

Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park

This reminded me of the Sydney Royal Easter Show, only Christmas themed. There were plenty of rides to go on (only Ed is too much of a scared-y cat to go on them with me), trinket shops to buy Christmas gifts from and a variety of food and drink. My favourite was the carousel bar, yes you read right a carousel bar. Basically it's a bar with revolving bar tables and it was here where I also got to try mulled wine and mulled cider for the first time.

The Crown Jewels at the Tower of London

It's not a trip to England without visiting a castle right? I'm not a huge fan of museums or widely interested in history, call me un-cultured but I was born in Generation Y after all! But the Tower of London did capture my attention. As the Tower of London is where they keep the Crown Jewels, guarded by armed guards, the ones that wear the fluffy black hats and can't move or blink. I love jewels, I love diamonds, I love sparkles and I loved looking at all the Royals crowns, sceptre's and swords. The castle also produces some amazing views of London city including a great view of the Tower Bridge, the Thames and the Shard.

Sky Garden

I think it's a given that when you holiday in a City that you have to go to one of the touristy vantage points and get a view of the entire city. What's great about the Sky Garden is it's free, however you will have to book in a time slot ahead of your visit. It has a great setup with a cafe for coffee and cake  while looking out over the Thames, The Shard, The Gherkin, Tower Bridge, Wimbledon Stadium and well you get the point and you're surrounded by lots of greenery - hence the name sky garden.

Platform 9 3/4 at Kingscross Station

I had to throw this one in for fun! Ed has been forcing me to read the Harry Potter book series and I've been secretly loving them (ssshhhhhhh). So I pretend to want to do this for his amusement. I really wanted one of those dorky photo's pretending to push the trolley onto platform 9 and 3/4's with the Hogwart's scarf blowing behind me and when I saw the line for it, I thought that's not too bad, it won't take long to get to the front. But as we drew closer we heard the staff say the rest of the line is outside waiting in the cold! Dammit! I had to settle with looking through the gift shop but I didn't want any Harry Potter paraphernalia, I just wanted the dorky photo!

I've also done the sorting hat quiz a couple of times now and I'm ashamed to say it but I get Slytherin every time! Dark Lord funk you up, Dark Lord funk you up.

Until my next travel adventure, cheerio old chaps!