*Editor’s Note: I’m writing this several weeks after the trip, life and all kept me from getting this sorted before now.
By the time we got back to London on Thursday night, it hit me how quickly this trip was flying by. Just a few more days in London before heading back to the states via another fast stopover in Reykjavik. The best idea Libby had in finalizing all our plans (and she had many, let’s be honest), was to insist we keep the same apartment in London all week so we didn’t have to lug our bags to Dublin and back.
Plus, returning to a familiar flat really felt like a coming home of sorts, like we’d settled into London after just a few days.
On Friday, we took our time leaving the apartment – really, we hardly ever allowed ourselves to feel rushed. This is vacation, after all. If we can’t make our own time on our own holiday, when can we? We thought we could fit in a quick tour of the British Library, playing host to Magna Carta and a whole bunch of history on the occasion of its 800th anniversary, before making our afternoon tea time. But my calculations were off and we had to ask the nice gentleman at the ticket counter to switch our tickets to the next day.
He did, and we made our way to Bea’s of Bloomsbury, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it pastry and tea shop offering the British staple in cozy booths with charming service.
That night, the stars aligned as we happened to be in town for the premiere of a friend’s film, one I’d originally encountered at, of all places, the Chicago Int’l Film Festival. Held at the newly renovated Regent Street Cinema, the event was a great reason for us to get dolled up and head out on the town. Seeing your friends’ success was just gravy!
For our last day in London, we took ourselves on a walking tour of our own making, including getting back to the British Library for a spot of history, a pass-by of the Tower of London and fish and chips nearby, walking across Tower Bridge, stumbling into the foodie-centric Borough Market and stopping for a spot of shopping at Selfridges. We couldn’t have planned a more London-y day if we’d tried.
Despite it being a Saturday night, we stayed in that evening in order to get packed and rested before our final leg of the journey home.
See all my photos from the trip here. The posts continue here.
[…] See all my photos from the trip here. The posts continue here. […]