As you may have gathered from my recent travel posts, London is one of my favourite cities.
I have so many things I love to do when I'm there, like visit the British Museum, or spend the morning at Borough Market.
I have restaurants I love to visit and sights I love to see; I couldn't wait to go on our most recent trip to show my favourite parts of London to Kris, who hadn't been since he was much much younger (and didn't love it)
But some of the best moments of our trip were spent experiencing new things for both of us, in this city I've always loved
Experiencing the old and the new together made the trip that much more special.
But for some strange reason, my favourite new things we discovered together had to do with food...
What can I say, food makes me happy!
Calamari and Bubbly!
The first stop on our discovery of London together was Jamie Oliver's "Union Jacks" in Covent Garden.
Covent Garden is a cool district in London that I really wanted to show Kris. Our intention was to visit the covered market there and eat at Pie Shop on the first floor, until my brother sent us this picture a few days earlier when he and his Fiance had been in London.
And so, determined to recreate the picture, we explored the market and then sat down for a drink and a light pre-dinner snack of some of the BEST calamari I've ever had.
Rooftop Flamingos
Of course the exploration did not stop there! At my request Kris whisked me off the next day to what was possibly the fanciest lunch of all time at Oasis and Babylon, the rooftop garden and restaurant in Kensington
My date and I sat out on the terrace enjoying our pre-lunch cocktails (that's a thing right?) while we watched flamingos lazing in the garden ponds below (in October.)
Luckily the weather was gorgeous.
We giggled about the funny menus (quoting the Simpsons of all things!) And enjoyed the amazing view before the server called us to our table.
We spent a small fortune on lunch (in fact it was the most expensive meal of our trip) but it was SO delicious.
Plus it's easy to accidentally order too much when you've had two cocktails and indulged in some freshly baked rolls and soft butter.
Feeling rather decadent, we walked off our lunch with a stroll through Hyde Park, stopping in at Harrods to find the single most expensive thing we could.
We were feeling very fancy, something we're not regulars at (our favourite date night is chicken wings and beer followed by a movie) but it felt right as something a bit different and fun to do together in London.
Kebab Shop Delights
The last stop on our "New Things We LOVE" tour happened after a night of pub hopping in SOHO.
as we inched closer to midnight and felt ourselves getting sleepy, Kris determined that he NEEDED a kebab.
I explained to him that my knowledge of SOHO ended with how to get there and that there was plenty to do, so he took it upon himself to find us the closest kebab shop he could.
Since London was very much a trip I organized, Kris is still boasting about finding Le Bab at Kingly Court for us.
We didn't know what to expect when he looked up Le Bab, but when we walked into Kingly Court's open air, 3 story restaurant and pub arena we were AMAZED.
Here, you could spend an entire evening wandering around and enjoying all the different places to eat and drink.
But we were on a mission. We needed Kebabs! And Cocktails! Heading to the 3rd floor we ordered some Dark and Stormy cocktails, and two Lamb Kebabs that were perfection (though that might have been because of the aforementioned Pub Hopping...)
But we were completely satisfied.
And not just because I can fold a Kebab like a pro!
We had such an amazing time in London, but when it was time to fly home we were ready. We had re experienced so many of my favourite things from previous visits, and discovered so many new things together.
More than anything we left feeling full. Full of adventure, full of experiences, full of memories, full of love and FULL of food.
Don't worry London, we'll be back!
YOUR TURN! Tell me about a time when you got a chance to get a fresh look at an experience you've already had! Through someone else's eyes or a new twist on an old experience!
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