July 2022
Where We Stayed: Kimpton Fitzroy London
We only had about 24 hours total in London – not enough, but it’ll do! I was immediately overwhelmed and underwhelmed by London. Overwhelmed because of all the people everywhere and underwhelmed because I just didn’t love it. It remains one of the not-so-favorite parts of the whole trip. To me, it just felt like an enormous city… where people drive on the other side of the road. Not much charm and let me tell you, as a tourist, if you aren’t into the Royal Family, it’s just not the place for you because everything revolves around that ridiculous family that doesn’t actually rule anything anymore. [I said what I said]
We tried to cram as much as we could into a day. We took a Hop On Hop Off bus tour. Laugh if you want, but I 100% believe that those tours are a great way to see any given city. We saw Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, and we took a boat cruise on the Thames — which I would highly recommend because you get such great views of all the landmarks.
One cool thing that was going on was the Superbloom. Millions of seeds were sown in the moat of the Tower of London during the spring of 2022 — and they came to bloom in celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Flowers flowers everywhere (you all know how much I love flowers).
Another cool thing, no pun intended, is that we missed the historic heatwave by a few days. WHEW! We had weather in the 80s instead of in the 100s — thank goodness for that!
This hotel was one of my favorites from the whole trip. The room was so cozy and inviting.
Lobby vibes.
Breakfast!
Everyone outside smoking — something that you just don’t see in the United States.
We visited Chinatown on our first night in London. This is just about the spot where I started to cry in the middle of the street because I was so overwhelmed by the crowds, noise, jetlag, and headache. I love news places but I also struggle with new places – just keepin’ it real.
Mike was like, “look at these cakes! Baked goods always make you feel better!”
Really wanted to stop in that shop but it was closed. I adore the nonsense that is astrology.
A hotel, the name of which is escaping me.
Our hotel.
I was overwhelmed, in a positive way, at how LGBTQ+ friendly all of Europe was. Rainbows everywhere!
An old printing company.
The cutest little pink building.
Iconicccc.
The gate made me smile.
Okayyy.
Buckingham Palace, yo.
More interested in the fiberglass Corgi than the actual palace.
We stopped here on a whim for lunch and it was fantastic.
I mean, I had to.
Westminster Abbey
We didn’t go on the London Eye, but here it is!
You know the childrens’ rhyme.. London Bridge is falling down.. well this is London Bridge. Underwhelming, right?
Tower Bridge is just a wee bit more ICONIC!
Tower of London and the Superbloom!
I liked the colors of this restaurant.
The Boo Bees made me smile.
We stopped at the Platform 9-3/4 at King’s Cross station because we knew the kids would want to see it.
Thank you for the reminder, London. It takes a lot of getting used to!