48 Hours in London! And 5 Spring/Summer outfits 🌸
- aislingelizabethbyrne
- Apr 23, 2019
- 10 min read
I just got back from a spontaneous Easter weekend trip to London so I thought I'd write about it on my blog! I can't even count how many times I've been there at this stage so I wasn't planning any tourist-y things this time, because "been there, done that". I won't be calling this a travel guide or a guide to planning your visit because you can do so much with your time in London and we used our time to chill out!
The weather was GORGEOUS (between 19-25°C) which gave me the perfect opportunity to wear some summery outfits. Living in Ireland I know my weekend in London was potentially all the sun I'll get for the whole year so I had to make the most of it! So I'll be writing this post from a travel perspective AND a fashion perspective, and you can chose to read the bits that interest you. Enjoy!
Booking
I booked this trip only 7 days before travel so the cost of flights was quite high as most flights were already booked up. I booked flights and accommodation separately - I rarely do this now but for a last minute trip it seemed a bit easier. I used SkyScanner to find flights to London City Airport and used Booking.com to find serviced apartments in Waterloo. We had stayed in Waterloo before and knew we wanted to stay there again because of how convenient it is.
TRAVEL
1. Flights
We flew with British Airways to London City Airport (LCY). Flights to this tiny airport are dearer than other airports (or at least this was the case for me, booking last minute). However the time and money you save in getting to your accommodation from LCY makes up for that extra flight ticket cost, I guarantee you! LCY is only 11km from Central London, and for reference, Heathrow is 25km from Central London, while Stansted, Gatwick and Southend are 59km; 66km; and 70km away, respectively. Even though LCY is the handiest I would recommend Heathrow too. I flew to Gatwick once and it took over two hours to get to my hotel - never again!
The plane itself for this flight (an Embraer 190 which holds ~100 people) was SO comfortable and roomy! To top it off, drinks and snacks were included in the cost of the flight tickets, and the views coming into London were unreal - we flew right over the Shard (which looked VERY close, although probably wasn't as close as it seemed) so we got the perfect aerial view of it!
2. From LCY to Waterloo
From the moment you land you can be out of the airport within 5-10 minutes, no exaggeration, because there's no taxiing from the runway to the terminal - the runway is literally BESIDE the terminal! As I said, LCY is only 11km from Central London - it's just slightly east of Greenwich where the O2 London is. From outside the airport you can take the DLR (overground train) for three stops (five mins maximum) to Canning Town, where you switch to an underground train on the Jubilee line - and take that (and maybe another tube line) depending on wherever your destination is. Luckily Waterloo is only 7 stops (10-12 mins) from Canning Town on the Jubilee line so I was able to straight get to my aparthotel without switching to another tube line along the way. And that's it - it's really that simple and quick to get from the airport to Central London! We landed at 12.30, left the airport by 12.40 and were in Waterloo by 1.10!
ACCOMMODATION
The place we stayed in was an aparthotel called Marlin Waterloo, it's basically a hotel because it has lots of rooms and has a 24h reception, but every room is essentially an apartment as it includes a kitchenette, so they're advertised as serviced apartments. Like I said earlier, Waterloo was our chosen location because last time it turned out to be SO handy being near a major train and tube station, but having major attractions including the London Eye and Big Ben right beside us was a fab bonus. We found Marlin Waterloo and chose to stay there as it was located perfectly and so affordable. It was SO much cheaper than hotels with this location, which is crazy when you consider you actually have more amenities here than in other hotels! Our room was very spacious, we had a comfy bed, large tv, kitchenette, Nespresso machine, big shower in the bathroom, large desk area, armchairs, and lots more - and it only cost us €169 per night. Considering we stayed on a weekend, and it was Easter weekend too, and we booked last minute, that's REALLY cheap! I'd highly recommend this place!
However, if you want a fancy hotel here where you can include breakfast and have a gym on site etc., I'd recommend a stay in Park Plaza County Hall, where I stayed in 2016. The views from here are absolutely gorgeous and the rooms themselves are fab. There's also the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge right beside it which is a very well-known London hotel, I've never stayed there, but I've heard nothing but good things about it. This time we couldn't afford either of these fab hotels as they cost quite a lot, so Marlin is a lovely alternative in the same area, and I'd rate Marlin 4*.
WHAT WE DID And WHERE WE ATE
As the weather was so nice we aimed to be outside as much as possible, which worked well considering we didn't want to do visit any indoor tourist attractions or museums this time. The weekend was very chilled, with no rushing around or squeezing things into our time there, so it was a very different holiday from what a trip to London is usually like
Day 1.
Firstly we took the tube to London Bridge Station and walked down the riverbank towards the iconic Tower Bridge to take some photos.
Took some photos at a London telephone booth. I wanted cherryblossom in my photos so when I found a phone booth on Instagram with exactly that, we chose to visit it. It was outside Online Reprographics near Tower Bridge (specific, I know!)
Ate at The Ivy Tower Bridge, which was just divine! If you want somewhere classy for brunch/dinner with drinks and a stunning view, go here! It has basically the exact same menu The Ivy's Dublin location. I got a super interesting Easter dessert - it was a chocolate egg filled with white chocolate mousse and mango!
Then made our way back to Waterloo and got ready to head out for the night.
We chose to go to The Alchemist, at their St Martin's Lane location as it was closer to us (nearest station to this is Charing Cross). We got the Mad Hatter sharing cocktail and watched the science of it was being made which was fascinating! This place is really cool for a night out and their food is actually gorgeous if you want to eat too. They have venues all over the U.K., it's 21's and up though!
Day 2.
Started the day off with breakfast at the Cambridge Street Kitchen in Pimlico, near Victoria Station. On our way here we took some fab photos on some residential streets - everywhere was so photogenic! I had the pancakes with berries in this café and OH MY GOD. Nicest pancakes I've ever had.
Made our way to Notting Hill Gate on the Circle Line from Victoria Station. We spent most of the day wandering around Notting Hill's beautiful streets.
One place we visited in Notting Hill included St Luke's Mews - a small lane of adorable houses perfect for photography. When we went there were photographers,models and tourists taking photos outside every house, so if you plan on getting a photo outside the cute houses here, be prepared to wait until others are finished shooting.
In Notting Hill we also walked down the famous Portobello Road where the market is, and with the sun beaming down on us and crowds everywhere, it was like being in a totally different country from England! There are so many photo opportunities around here but also a great atmosphere to just enjoy in the moment.
We stopped at a lemonade stand on the way back to Notting Hill Gate station and got some super refreshing lemonades, before heading to Oxford Street.
We got off the tube at Marble Arch (you can also go to Bond Street or Oxford Circus), I just know the Marble Arch area of Oxford Street really well from previous London trips. There had been a protest on Oxford Street just before we went so we were actually able to walk on the road for our entire time on Oxford Street. We went into a few shops before heading for dinner. If you're wondering, the giant Primark is a few steps away from Marble Arch station.
We got the tube from Bond Street to Leicester Square, where we ate dinner and had drinks in Chiquito. We had been there once in 2016 and fell in love with it so we made sure to go back. If you love Mexican food and want somewhere with a good atmosphtere (and some sombreros!) you should go to this place - it has really good music and it's just a really fun place to go for a date night or friends' meal.
We had booked to visit 12th Knot, a rooftop bar on the Southbank, for cocktails that evening but missed our booking so we ended up choosing to go to Bar Elba in Waterloo, another rooftop bar. Unfortunately all tables were taken in Bar Elba, you can stand with your drinks if you want to, but Aaron wasn't feeling well so we decided to leave and have a chill night.
Day 3.
Checked out at 10.30am and headed down to the London Eye where you can catch a River Cruise. We had booked in advance with City Cruises for a one-way trip to Tower Bridge, but you can go as far as Greenwich and/or buy a return trip. This was only my second time to do a river cruise in London but think it should be near the top of your list of things to do in London whether you've never been there or are returning - and it's especially good on a sunny day! The views are fab.
At Tower Bridge we decided to eat in Coppa. We were lucky enough to be offered one of their outdoor pods, although our table wasn't really inside the pod so we were sitting directly in the sunshine and we SIZZLED. We found Coppa actually was the most affordable place we ate in London, despite it being a really elegant, fancy place, we only spent £30 there! I'd definitely recommend this place for brunch, the breakfast fry I had was easily the nicest I've ever eaten, and the Espresso Martini was beaut too.o
Took the tube from Tower Hill to Oxford Circus to take some photos around there. As it was Easter Sunday every shop was closed so I couldn't shop ☹ We walked around Oxford Street, Piccadilly and Regent Street before heading down to St James' Park to chill out in the sun.
When we decided to leave St James' Park we saw two members of the Household Cavalry, so we knew something was going to happen and we stuck around. It turned out to be the 4 O'Clock Parade. I've never gone to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace or watched the Horse Guards Parade so it was nice to see this dismounting ceremony.
We walked back to Waterloo over the Hungerford/Golden Jubilee Bridge and collected our stuff before making our way back to London City Airport.
STYLE SEGMENT - WHAT I WORE
Here are the three outfits I wore for daytime during my trip. What I love about these is that they're all perfect street style for summer days, yet they're all a different style from one another, so I can can choose whatever I'm in the mood to wear on a particular day - whether it be trousers, a mini skirt, or a midi skirt.
This is a green suit I featured in an Instagram story a few weeks back as one of my fave new purchases. Sage green is one of my current favourite colours so when I saw this suit in work I had to buy it! It's quite difficult to get your hands on in any Penneys store but if you want to go looking for it, the jacket cost €25 and the trousers were €18. I got a size 8 in both becuse there were no 6s available but the trousers ended up being SO loose on my waist so the belt was necessary. Ideally I'd wear the suit without any belt because I think it would look even nicer on its own but ya gotta do whatcha gotta do. I paired it with a straw bag, a plain white tee and my white Fila disruptors, but I'd also love dress this suit up with a bodysuit underneath, maybe buttoned closed to show off the double-breasted style, with some strappy heels. Links to view this suit online: here and here.
I just bought this lilac satin skirt from Bershka because when I saw it on Instagram I knew I HAD to have it! The deep pink cami is actually a Topshop purchase from years ago but I knew the skirt would be gorge with something pink so I paired them together. On a cooler day this skirt would be lovely with a white tee tucked into it or tied up. I had to get this skirt in a small so it's pretty loose, which is why I had to wear a belt again! I teamed this with the white Fila disruptors again but you could literaly wear any shoe with this skirt! You know I love satin skirts this season as I featured them in my first blog post back in March!
The most me outfit of the three. Denim mini skirts are my go-to all the time but this lemon/yellow one is something I actually never wore before now, even though I bought it in Topshop in LA last year! The tops are also last year's purhcases (Zara and Forever 21) but the good news is the daisy dungaree top can still be ordered from F21 online (who knew some things can remain available for a whole year?!). Once again I wore my Filas (I really didn't want to pack more shoes!) but I think a pair of black oldskool vans would be even cuter with this outfit. The straw bag really worked with the yellow shade!
Night 1: All black everything. I very rarely wear all black, but my tan turned out so nice I knew black would suit me for once! I wore the black PLT satin shirt over a black bodysuit from Penneys (underwear section), belted with some Boohoo longline black bicycle shorts and black Penneys sandals. The belt really made the outfit as it cinched in my waist and made what was a pretty casual-looking outfit into a night-out glam look, along with the pearl hair clip. The best part was this outfit was comfy as hell!
Night 2: I wore a white shirt dress off-the-shoulder with some khaki cycling shorts underneath (the shorts I've linked aren't my exact ones as mine as last year's stock). I wore the nude version of my Penneys sandals and belted this outfit too because the waist area was looking a bit bare. I used my GG Super Mini as a little grab-bag for once and loved it - I'll definitely be styling it like this more often because I nearly always wear it as a bumbag and forget how versatile it actually is! I popped a different pearl clip in my hair to look that bit extra glam.
So that was our trip! It felt a lot longer than what I've written to be honest - the blog post makes it seem like we didn't do much but we enjoyed our trip. Had it been our first or second visit we'd have done much more, but it was nice to just chill in the city and enjoy the weather for the weekend!
Thanks so much for reading as always,
Love, Aisling
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