Cheeky trip to London- August 2011

As neither of us had the time or the money in the summer to go on a holiday abroad, Jonny and I decided that we'd go to London for a few nights. We had a look around for some hotels and cheap deals and found a very nice hotel for a bargain!

I went out with the girls the night before we went to London and so felt very horrendous the next morning!! It was at this point that I finally learnt to man up with a hangover, instead of lying in bed all day feeling sorry for myself!


We got the slow train to London (as it was cheapy cheap compared to the extortionate prices of the fast train!), and arrived at Kings Cross about an hour and a half later. 


We wondered around the back streets off Oxford Road for ages trying to find our hotel. I was walking ahead with my bottle of water, whilst Jonny struggled behind me with all the bags and suitcases (he did insist!!). We eventually found it, and were both very shocked and excited with how posh it was!

The Montcalm Hotel

Jonny walking to the entrance of the Montcalm Hotel

The reception area was beautiful, with flowers everywhere and a huge chandelier hanging right in the middle. The staff were all very friendly and welcoming and extremely helpful! 

The Grand Entrance!!

When we got to our room, the first thing we did was jumped on the bed! (It's just one of those things you have to do!!)

The most comfiest bed in the world!

We were very impressed with our matching 'his and hers' hotel dressing gowns; so much so that we paraded around the hotel wearing them!!! 

We were (well mainly me!), were very, very happy that there were chocolates left on the bed, and they were very sweet and wished us a "Good night". How thoughtful of them! And, Jonny let me eat BOTH of the chocolates!!! Delish!!!

The first evening, we decided to venture away from the Oxford Street area, and went to Leicester Square. We found a little Italian restaurant, and as we were both incredibly hungry we thought that we could eat anything and it would be amazing!! Jonny ordered something yummy and delicious (I can't remember what though!) and I was being ever so healthy, and went for a chicken salad. Went it came, it was more of just a ceaser sauce soup, with some lettuce and chicken floating around. Not impressed at all, but I ate as much as I could, and then made Jonny share his yummy, not so healthy, but extremely delicious dinner!

Afterwards, we had a wonder around and found a very cool, little cocktail bar, where we had cocktails for about a million pounds each, however they were very strong, and very yummy (this made up for the not so yummy dinner). Also, because of the small dinner, it meant less cocktails were necessary!

The next day we visited a university in London, as Jonny was going to be starting there in September!! It was a bit of a treck, but it was a really beautiful sunny day!

Jonny had never been to Buckingham Palace before (he clearly hasn't lived!!!!!), so we went to that side of town. We firstly had a stroll through The Green Park, near Buckingham Palace, where we couldn't resist a cheeky Mr Whippy Ice cream! (Well, it was a hot day, and we needed something to cool us down of course!)

 We then made our way to the Palace, and sat at Buckingham fountain. I took of my shoes and dipped my feet in the water, I quite fancied a paddle, but I think this would have been very frowned upon! We sat for ages, people watching. So many people snap happy, from all over the world! Families, couples, and even singletons on their own taking pictures of the Royal home!

Ellie and Jonny at Buckingham Fountain

Ellie and Jonny with Buckingham Palace and a lady with a big rucksack!

In the evening we found another restaurant in Leicester Square (we hadn't planned on going back to Leicester Square, but we somehow ended up there without realising!). This time, I was sensible and decided to not be healthy, and to not order a salad! I didn't want another Ceaser soup! So I had Seabass with Mediterranean vegetables and lots of delicious potatoes! It was a very good choice, possibly one of the most yummiest meals I've had in my whole life! We then went to the Haagen Daaz ice cream parlour: I had some Bailey's ice cream which was divine! Jonny had some Mango sorbet, which was also yum yum yum (I ate most of that too!)

We were then having a walk around and found....

M'N'M WORLD!!!!

This was a brilliant moment, as I am a big chocolate fan! There were large Mr M'n'M figures all around, and lots of merchandise and, most importantly, millions and millions of M'n'M's!!! It was 3 stories high, and the colours were bold and vibrant!!! It was a magical place!

The next day, we had a walk down Oxford Street, and I could not resist a little peek in Selfridges! We looked at the bottles of Vodka that cost a bazillion pounds, and all the beautiful jewellery. We then came across a whole christmas section. Yes, a section of the shop filled with Christmas decorations, trees, lights... and even a Santa!!! I'm not sure if they knew it was AUGUST?!?!?!

Ellie with Santa in Selfridges

After the shock of bumping into Mr Claus, we ventured to South Bank. We walked along the Thames, past the London Eye, and found a staircase! We climbed the stairs (which I think did wonders for my thighs and calves!), and found a roof-top garden! With a bar and a little cafe! It was beautiful; green plants and brightly coloured flowers everywhere. You could see for miles from the balcony. They did lots of organic drinks, so we opted for the freshly squeezed lemonade, as it sounded very quenching and refreshing on such a hot day! We both sipped it for a while, and then caught each other pulling that face when things are very bitter. We were trying to hide our disgust of the £4 a cup drink from each other; thank goodness we both felt the same so we could throw them away!

Roof-top garden pub

We made a quick escape from the terrible drink and wondered past the Aquarium. I had never been inside, and neither had Jonny. So we felt very spontaneous and decided to go in!!! Wild!!! There were so many fish inside! (As there should be in an Aquarium I suppose), and we spent hours wondering around and learning about all the different species! It was actually really interesting! And the penguins were very cute!

Pretending to be under water! Very cool!

We had to go home that evening, but we both didn't want to at all! It was the best 3 days!! And we did so, so much! I forgot to mention about all the shopping we did, and how many shops I dragged Jonny into, but you can imagine that!

That evening, to cheer ourselves up, and help to recover from those holiday blues, we decided to treat ourselves to a KFC boneless banquet meal, each. And then had a McFlurry! Comfort eating really does help!