london calling – the 2015 edition

A year wouldn’t be complete without a visit to one of my most beloved cities, London. Guess what? Back in May I once again hopped onto the Eurostar, ready for 48 hours in London.
I have to admit, though, we wouldn’t have traveled there if it weren’t for the Alexander McQueen exhibition at the V&A museum, but more on that later. Oh, and by ‘we’, I mean my mom and I.
Click the link below for the words and visuals on my latest trip to the UK capital.

Ready to board our train to St-Pancras. I love travelling from Lille (France) as it shortens the journey by almost two hours. Too bad the train station doesn’t offer that much shops or restaurants to kill time.

A rainy start of our journey.

Our first stop was Kings Cross station. It’s located just across St Pancras International and I love its beautiful architecture. But there’s more to this station… Scroll down to the next photo to find out.

I have never really expressed my feelings about Harry Potter on this blog but I recall my first encounter with the books (in a tiny, cute book shop in Woodbridge, UK). It took a couple of years before I started reading the first book but once I did I was hooked!
I cannot believe I just found out about this Platform 9 3/4 location in Kings Cross station only earlier this year. Seriously, how could I’ve missed this? There’s even a shop dedicated to the platform and Harry Potter. If you’re an avid fan this is one stop you won’t want to miss in London.
Anyway, I made up for missing out on it by having my photo taken there (I’m a true Gryffindor girl). Sorry, can’t help it, this is the girl in me!

We walked a couple of miles on our first day in London and Trafalgar Square is always a pleasure to stop by.

I wouldn’t mind doing my grocery shopping at Whole Foods every week!

Do you see that? Regent Street was pedestrians only for the day. How cool is that? It was all part of the Magnum pink and black event to launch their new Magnum flavors. Impressive!

As part of the Magnum event we were offered a free Magnum. My mom and I both got the black one but chose the pink door to go through (I caught a glimpse of pretty flowers there).

Delicious!

Beautiful roses in the Magnum discovery cube!

We did right by picking the pink door. Swinging into summer was never this cool! Also, can I have this in my garden, pretty please?

There even was a fashion show! My mom loved this!

An empty Oxford Circus, I’ve never seen anything quite like it! London does tend to get at least a little less busy on Sundays. I can’t help but pondering what it would be like to live there and go on a Sunday picnick in one of the city’s beautiful parks.

Selfie!

We had dinner at Jamie’s Italian. I just love that place and keep going back. They changed their menus which allows you to try different dishes. We ended up getting four different pastas. I never know what to pick in a restaurant because I want to try it all, so this was definitely my cup of tea.

Piccadilly Circus, pretty in pink, don’t you think?

Kerry Washington was waiting for me in our hotel room. Sadly only a version on paper. Lady has style and I would love to chit-chat with her about life and fashion. That’s exactly what Lena Dunham did for this editorial and it was the perfect read before tucking into bed.

Mind the gap!

Tunnel view.

As I mentioned before, the reason for our visit to London was the Alexander McQueen exhibition, Savage Beauty, at the Victoria & Albert museum. Those London (and Paris for that matter) museums always have the best exhibitions to offer and we’ve been travelling to these cities to visit them as well.
Savage Beauty was without a single doubt one of the bedt exhibitions I ever visited. It was thoughtfully put together and presented in an utterly original and beautiful way. I bought the book that comes with it to read up about his life and designs.

The V&A Museum is one of my favorite museums in town as well. Its collection is free to visit although you have to pay for temporary exhibitions, such as Savage Beauty.
They also host different cafes and restaurants serving excellent food and drinks. And just look at that beautiful garden room. I could spend an afternoon there, reading a book or people-watching.



While there are many high-end shopping places around London, Harrods is still my favorite because just that tad bit more high end.
I actually never visited the Diana and Dodi memorial and took the opportunity to do so. It’s probably also the most touristy thing I ever did in London.

I wouldn’t mind living in one of these.

Ah, London, every time I visit you I love and adore you even more. Hope we meet again soon.