A continuation of my 3 weeks spent in London this Spring. I will be in England for 5.5 weeks, but 3 of the weeks I’ve decided to spend exploring London and the surrounding areas. Follow along for week 2 in London!

I stayed on the Southwest side of the city in Clapham, which I absolutely loved! Here are some great hotels in that area.

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Day 8

I slept in a bit, and was finally feeling better by week 2 in London! I had planned to go to one of the many markets around the city on Saturday, so when I checked the group chat I am in and saw people were planning to go to Greenwich Market, I hopped on the chance to go. Greenwich wasn’t really somewhere I’d heard much of, nor was it on my “must-do” list, but I was excited to go to a new area.

Greenwich (pronounced Gren-itch if you didn’t know) is on the southeast side of the city, so opposite of me. It took a bus, an underground, and the DLR for me to get there. If nothing else, trips like this have been getting me more comfortable and confident in using the public transportation. I met some girls around the carousel and we walked into the market as a group.

It was hard to stick together, so we did end up splitting up, but I took a few laps around the place before deciding to get an empanada at one of the stands with a few others. They had different types, Argentine beef, chorizo, Chilean beef, and veggie options. I got a Chilean beef and olive one which was delicious. Then we made our way out to Greenwich park. It is a massive area and since it was such a nice day, a lot of people were out. There is a lookout at the top of the hill here if you want to see the city. We just found a place to sit in the grass and chatted for awhile.

I decided to break off from the group after a bit and go back to the market. I got a waffle on a stick and a coffee and then decided to check out some of the things on my list that are in the area and along my way back home.

The IFS Cloud Cable Cars are in North Greenwich, so I took a bus up there and waited in the 1 hour queue. If you are taking a one way- like I was- you can just use your contactless card/oyster/ApplePay to get on. Return trips, you are supposed to get a ticket (another queue). I would say if you are in a hurry, don’t wait in this line. I had no other plans, so I felt it was worth it. It cost £6 to go one way. The views were incredible, and it was a beautiful day. Just something unique to do and a cool way to see parts of the city you might not otherwise see.

From the other side of the Thames, I took another train to Poplar area. If you know “Call the Midwife”, you know Poplar used to be a very poor neighborhood. Now it seems to be thriving with lots of shops and things to do. I went to Crossrail Place where they have a pergola and sort-of botanical garden on the roof. This is technically in Canary Wharf by the way, but it was a cool spot to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and the noise. It’s free to enter and there is a little booth at the beginning that gives you a short story printout from a local writer. There are shops and restaurants here if you want to grab a bite.

The underground is right next to Crossrail Place, which was very convenient. I made my way home and John came back that night.

Day 9

The next morning, we had planned to just go into London city center since it was Easter and we didn’t really know how much would be open if we went somewhere else. It was a nice day. We went into Waterloo station and walked across the bridge towards Big Ben and Trafalgar Square. We’d done this before (see my 3 Days in London post), but the London Marathon was happening then and we couldn’t see or get around very well.

The streets were so crowded, so beware of that, but we managed to find a pub called The Clarence to have Sunday lunch in. It wasn’t as good as the one we’d had the last time I was in London, nor as good as the Yorkshire burrito in Camden Market, but it was ok and we were satisfied. From there, we walked up towards St. Paul’s Cathedral. It was teaming with people as well, of course being Easter Day. We managed to go inside, but there was a service going on so we didn’t stay long or take any photos.

By the time we got done at the cathedral, I was so tired we just took a bus back towards Trafalgar Square. I had Neal’s Yard on my list of places to go, so we walked down the street to see it. It is in the Covent Garden area. Not much was open, but it was a cute area and I could see it being a fun spot when more is going on.

We did happen to find ourselves in Seven Dials Market though. This place was really busy! Lots of Asian inspired food here with probably more than 30 different booths where you could take your pick of what to eat and drink. There were also tables on the bottom level if you wanted to sit for a bit. We stopped at Ong Ong Buns and were not disappointed. I got a Chinese pork sweet bun and John got the Korean garlic bread. They were a yummy and fairly inexpensive treat to tide us over until dinner.

We walked to Chinatown from there and wandered around. There was a pub with the football game on, so we stopped in there for a pint (or two) and watched the end of the game. After that we decided to head back to Clapham and call it a night.

Day 10

Monday was another bank holiday, which meant another full day of exploring with John. We were going to go to Oxford, but the weather was really not great, and I didn’t want to be stuck in the rain all day in a place we didn’t know. We did, however, finally go get afternoon tea! After a morning of chilling inside and staying warm, we ventured out to Chelsea.

Peggy Porschen’s is one of the most instagramable places I’ve been. They have a couple of locations, but Chelsea is the closest to my flat. It’s pink, girly, and everything I love. John was really a trooper coming here with me.

Besides the decor and ambiance, the food was really good, too. We ate lunch before ordering cream tea. Since we were quite full from the avocado BLT and Smoked Salmon and Avocado Brioche, cream tea was more than enough. I’ll have to go back another time to have afternoon tea (or try somewhere else).

After food, we went to Carnaby Street. Back in Central London, there is a lot of shopping. We stopped in the Nike store, Puma, Levi’s, and a few others. At some point we stopped in a pub to quench our thirst, then we were back at it.

For dinner that night, John wanted wings. Since we did my thing for lunch, I agreed. He loves wings, but prefers boneless, which are seemingly impossible to find. I don’t love wings- but wing places always have a chicken sandwich! Wingman’s was a good spot, and had cool and quirky interior decor. I got the chicken sandwich and John got BBQ wings. Both were good.

We then rushed to Leicester Square Odeon to see Super Mario Bros. After, it was late so we bussed back to Clapham.

Day 11

On Tuesday, I didn’t do much of anything besides stay home and blog. John was working from my place that day, and I didn’t feel like going out after a busy weekend.

That evening, we went to a Thai place down the road from my flat called Banana Tree. I got chicken pad Thai and John got a sweet and sour chicken stir fry. We shared prawn chips and honestly the food was really good. John’s portion wasn’t very big, and it was quite expensive in the end for 2 people. We did get drinks, so that always adds to the tab, but I don’t think I would go back there for those prices. However, if you do go, be sure to grab a lychee martini!

After, we walked back towards home and decided to stop in a pub to watch the football matches that were on. We had a pint, but I can’t remember the name of the pub. There are so many around my flat. We went home after that and called it a day.

Day 12

I got up and went for a jog before getting ready to go to Notting Hill. The weather was a little hit or miss, but everyone keeps saying “that’s England!” Notting Hill has been on my list of places forever. Not just because of the movie- I’ve seen photos of the neighborhood and it just looks so beautiful.

I wasn’t disappointed by the beauty either. I got off the bus a bit before the stop because I had another area I wanted to see that was close by called Pottery Lane. It was a really cute, quiet street with pretty homes and just felt very peaceful to walk around. From there, it was only a few minutes before getting to Notting Hill.

The high street is called Portobello Road, and they have a market there on the weekend. It was a busy area despite it being a Wednesday in the middle of the day. I walked by the Notting Hill Book Shop, past quite a few colorful homes and flats, and found myself in search of a coffee. I luckily stopped in Mikel Coffee right as the rain started. Plus, the latte I ordered here was one of the best I’d had so far in England. It’s a Greek coffee chain, with locations all over the world. If you find one, I highly recommend stopping in. I also ordered croissant just to have a snack before wandering around some more.

Despite the spitting rain, I went back out to find the St. Luke’s Mews. This was something I’d seen on instagram, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Mews streets are all over London, some more beautiful than others. They used to be where the royal stables resided. As I walked to it, the weather got severely worse. I didn’t have my umbrella with me that day, so I walked back down to Portobello Road and found a place for lunch.

The Sushi Co. is somewhere you can find all over London. It wasn’t anything too amazing, but I am boring and always order a California roll. It was good. I hung out inside for awhile trying to wait out the rain, but after about an hour, I decided I’d better just try again to see the mews. Initially, the walk was fine. I saw a gorgeous church and some pretty street art. But the wind really got bad right as I was about to turn the corner to St. Luke’s Mews. So much so that I had to run for cover because the rain was coming at an angle!

I ended up figuring out how to get home and later found out that there was a massive storm ripping through the entire country. Storm Noa was preventing planes from landing, there were winds up to 96 mph in some parts of the country! I guess I got lucky that I was just a bit windblown and cold.

That evening, we decided to stay close to the flat and went to St. John’s Tavern for dinner. I got a steak pie with chips and John got fish and chips. Both were quite good.

Day 13

Thursday I had planned to go to Windsor, but something was going on with the trains (potentially a rail strike), so I decided it was probably best to stay home. It was good though, I blogged and got a few posts done and published- check them out!

For lunch I decided to try the little cafe that basically is right under my flat. It’s called Birdhouse, and I’d read some good things about it! The coffee here was delicious and I also ordered their famous banana bread. Don’t leave here without getting both! I ate the chicken bocadito for my meal because that is something their reviews were raving about. A bocadito is a little sandwich on ciabatta. If I go back I will order the steak one, which my neighbor ordered and looked amazing, too.

When I went back to my flat, I decided I should do laundry and dishes and all the normal household chores. After that, I relaxed for the afternoon before getting ready to meet some girls out for dinner. We made plans to go to a local Thai restaurant after John and I had Thai the other night. However, this place was really good, and I would probably go back.

Rosa’s Thai was very busy and noisy, so it was hard to order and sometimes hard to talk and get to know the group I was with, but the food was really good and fairly reasonably priced. I ordered chicken pad Thai again- mostly because I don’t like spicy food and almost everything else on the menu said it was spicy. I also ordered a Thai lemonade and some of us shared an order of summer rolls. In America, summer rolls are called spring rolls and spring rolls are called egg rolls- something to get used to.

Some of us tried going to a pub for a drink after dinner, but every pub was so packed, we couldn’t find a spot to even stand. We all decided it was the universe telling us we didn’t need it and went home.

Day 14

I woke up and went to yoga before I decided I was definitely going to Windsor. The train was up and running normally, so after getting ready I went to the station and got my ticket. If you saw from my first week in London, when I went to Cambridge, I didn’t know I couldn’t use my contactless card to get in and out. You have to buy a ticket if you are leaving London. Anyways, I had learned my lesson!

I got to Windsor around 1.15; it’s about a 50 minute train ride directly there from Clapham. The ticket cost £10.50 round trip. Being the last minute decision maker that I can be sometimes, I got on the train’s wifi on the way there and ordered my ticket to get into Windsor Castle. Luckily, there were still tickets available for that day. If you are traveling in a group, don’t do that. My ticket was like £30, but you can save a couple of pounds by buying them in advance.

On the way, I was right by the little Windsor and Royal Borough Museum. This is just a small, one room space, free to the public. It holds relics from different eras and has some really interesting items from Queen Elizabeth’s reign. It doesn’t take much time to see everything.

Windsor Castle is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen in real life. I don’t think I realized what to expect, but it was so magnificent! You have the choice to pick up an audio set with headphones. I took one, and even though it’s an annoying thing to bring around, it was worth having. Some of the information told on the audio helped me understand different parts of the castle, some of the history that I did not know, and who were in some of the paintings, hanging in many of the rooms inside.

Something that was really special, and that I didn’t realize was inside Windsor, was seeing Queen Elizabeth’s resting place. Inside St. George’s Chapel, many of the past kings and queens have been laid to rest. There was a massive queue for it, but while I waited, I was able to listen to the audios and understand more of what was around me.

Photos are not permitted on much of the castle grounds, unless outside, so you just have to go to see it for yourself. If you want to hear more about a day spent in Windsor, click here.

I also went to explore outside of Windsor, but if you’d like to know more about what else you can do and see in Windsor, I encourage you to read that post.

Keep reading what I did during week 3 in London!