places I love (last minute london).

while I was off adventuring in seattle, my sister called and said "hey! want to meet me in london in three days for Wimbledon?!" I spent the morning coming up with 100 excuses for why I shouldn't go, but in the end my #fomo kicked in and off I was. 

having been lucky enough to visit the city a handful of times before, it was all about finding new corners to dig into. 

we stayed in three neighborhoods. 
ate great, great food (as evidenced by the massive list of recommendations). 
watched the fanciest tennis there ever was (brass bands, full suits, BYO champagne...c'mon!). 
stopped by some old favorites. 
and loved on london for six solid days.

here's a smattering of favorites - and about a million photos. now go to london! 

eat. 
andrew edmunds. hand written menus, waiters in cute shorts, tiny, tiny tables. 
coffee lovers rejoice at fleet street press + the wren (in an old church!). 
pitt cue co. bbq in london? I had my doubts. but you shouldn't. it was awesome. 
mojo. fresh juice, cute vibes. 
hummingbird bakery. I mean, I own the cookbook + they had tennis themed cupcakes. there was no way we weren't treating ourselves.  
borough market. always a favorite. stall after stall of some of the best food you've ever had. 
kappacasein. okay, it's a stall IN borough market. but their toastie is on my top 10 things I've eaten. ever. if london is too far to go for a grilled cheese, you can even make it yourself. TRYINGTHISIMMEDIATELY. 
hoi polloi. hipster dining at it's finest (and who doesn't love a visit to the ace hotel anyway?).
ozone coffee roasters. the coffee was great, but the breakfast, my friends. the breakfast. sitting at the bar and watching the chefs work their magic made it impossible to pick just one thing. amazing (+ I don't even like breakfast!).  
fika. we all learned what a fika was after my visit to sweden. this little gem doesn't disappoint. 
dishoom. last time we were in london we tried to eat here and there was a two hour wait. at 11pm. !!!! this time we were smarter and went for lunch, in the bar, and I am still thinking about the meal. indian food at it's finest. 

sleep. 
mid-wimbledon it's tough to find affordable places to stay, so in six nights, we stayed in four places. favorites definitely included CitizenM (a totally affordable, hip and high tech hotel walking distance from the delicious and buzzing borough market) + the hoxton shoreditch (a new favorite hotel in a great location, full of great design, cool amenities and a perfect photo booth). 

do. 
people watch in trafalgar square, stop for an ice cream + read a good book on the grass in the victoria embankment gardens, check out a play in the west end (we saw a sunny afternoon, about the kinks and it was great), wander the galleries at the tate modern, catch some fancy tennis if you can, grab beers/listen to live music/shop around at the shoreditch BOXPARK. 

shop. 
oliver bonas. 
& other stories
liberty of london you need all day. seriously. all. day.
we built this city. if you must go to a souvenir shop, make it this one. 
lush oxford street. okay, my love for lush deserves it's own post (all in good time), but this newly opened three story lush mothership deserves a visit. they've got one of a kind products you can't get online or anywhere else, a lush spa + just about everything you could dream up.
sunday upmarket. 

// andrew edmunds.

// pitt cue co. 

// we built this city. 

// the super lush. 

// the most wes andersonesque theatre rentals. 

// wren coffee. 

// citizenM hotel. 

// the toastie from the gods. 

// tate. 

// wimbledon hangs + centre court. 

// ozone coffee. 

// BOXPARK.

// dishoom. 

// the hoxton shoreditch.