There’s no place like London….nowhere...
I haven’t been to London since 2016 and my November trip last year wasn’t exactly planned. I was overwhelmed with everything and in a need of a holiday. I had some ideas for my future London trips such as seeing a musical but since I’d planned to do that with my best friend or my husband I chose another itinerary for this solo trip. London prepares early for Christmas so one of my main goals for this November trip was to see some Christmas lights and Christmas decorations. I also had a list of places that I wanted to visit such as Daunt bookstore, Churchill arms pub and Peggy Porschen cakes but I didn’t tick them all off. Actually, I just had 2 full days in London and an extra evening because I decided to spend a day in Bury St Edmunds and walk down the memory lane (literally). I will probably blog more about this London trip but here’s just a short overview saturated with lots of photos.
Snapshots from London
After visiting Bury St Edmunds I arrived to London by train on Saturday evening. I took the tube to Covent Garden. From there I walked to Leicester square, Piccadilly and Trafalgar square and enjoyed the Christmas lights and atmosphere. There were lots of people and to be honest it didn’t really suit me.
I had different plans for Sunday but since it was such a sunny day, I just had to change them to enjoy wonderful November sun. I walked from the Tower Bridge to the Tate Modern and St Paul’s cathedral. I wanted to go on the new viewing platform at the Tate Modern but it was closed. So, then I went up to the rooftop terrace of One New Change for a stunning view of St. Paul’s cathedral. This walk really filled up my heart.
Afterwards I went to say hi to Big ben and walked around Piccadilly and Mayfair. I bought a London picture book for my kids at Waterstones. I’ve also popped into Hathchard’s and Fortnum & Mason. I marvelled at Christmas decorations in Bond street and tried to find Annabel’s, famous for its outstanding Christmas decoration but it wasn’t yet installed. I’ve also had a quick snoop around Selfridge’s Christmas shop. In the evening I met up with my lovely blogger friend Emma. She took me on a Christmas lights walk and we had pub dinner;)
read about Christmas lights in London here
Monday was rainy but it didn’t matter because I took a train to Kingston upon Thames (still London, but not central London, it’s part of the Greater London area). I’d wanted to see the red telephone box sculpture “Out of order” for ages. I loved it despite the downpour! Moreover, I discovered a charming Christmas market and lovely houses.
I came across Peggy Porschen cupcakes on Instagram so after Kingston I satisfied my sweet tooth there. Seeing Carnaby street Christmas lights and a bus ride through central London was the end of my November London adventure.
Until next time, London….see you soon…
Read all my London posts here.
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the Red Phone Box travels 
Truly wonderful photos, Tanja. My night shots are awful!
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Thanks Mike
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You had such a lovely time in London, especially during the holiday season! Your post is getting me excited for my upcoming trip there, too, so thank you for that! Safe travels on your next destination, wherever you go next!
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Thanks. Enjoy London! We are going to Krakow in April😉
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London is amazing all year but it truly becomes magical around Christmas! It’s great that you were able to take this much-needed break and even see things that you hadn’t seen already!
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I agree.it was a great trip.
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I’ve been wanting to go to London so badly. Your post full of photos was perfect. I am glad you were able to go. You sure crammed a lot of things into just a few days!
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Thanks Jennifer
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I would say that London at Christmas is on my bucket list. I just can’t get over the incredible detail and beautiful effect of it all! 🙂
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London at Christmas is fabulous. My first visit to London in 2006 was also during this festive period.
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Sounds so perfect! Was there anything that was disappointing? Even the downpour was very ”London” 😊
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Maybe the crowds on Saturday night around Leceister but that was expected, so no, nothing was disappointing.
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You certainly packed a lot of London into your few days! The viewing terrace at Tate Modern has been closed for some time (I suspect because there was a nasty incident there when a teenager attacked a young child and threw him over the edge to the roof far below). You were luckier with One New Change – that was closed too when I tried to take my blogger friend Alison there recently. We should try to meet up on your next visit!
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Oh that is very sad, poor child. Yes, I was very happy to see St. Paul’s from One new change. Yes, that is a great idea, we could go for a walk/drinks together
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OK, let me know when you’re coming 🙂
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🙂perhaps in December, I’ll let you know.
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😃
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You certainly made the best of your time in London and saw lots of the famous sights as well as popping along to Kingston which is also very pleasant.
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Yes, I enjoyed my trip very much
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