First Trip Together - London, UK

By MJ Mondaca -

Thurs., Nov. 29, 2018 - Fri., Dec. 7, 2018

This is truly the trip that started it all! For this trip we left on a Thursday and landed Friday. To get to our hotel we took the train from Gatwick to Paddington Station. From there we walked to our hotel: The Caesar. That was quite the adventure. We had quite a bit of luggage, we were sleepy and the walk was longer than expected. Surprised we survived that first little adventure. HA! Here is a bulleted list of our activities for that trip starting with the day we arrived:

  • Anthony had made reservations at El&n Cafe. MJ had found them on Instagram as soon as flights were booked, and wanted to go. We took some adorable pics but the food was not as good as the decor. :)
  • Then it was time to explore - we walked up and down Oxford Street, got some coffee, checked out a ton of stores, found a Starbucks for our collectible mug, and listened to Christmas in one of the metro stations.
  • We also had the most epic meal at Gordon Ramsay’s Petrus. I’m talking Michelin star awarded, chef’s table, the most amazing service and delicious food. To date that is hands down one of our favorite dining experiences.



Saturday Dec. 1st 

  • Started the day exploring Notting Hill - MJs favorite area of London. Walking down Portobello Road Market, checking out all the shops and pretending we were in a movie. 
  • Harry Potter Tour at the Warner Bros Studio. We used Golden Tours to book this and two other activities for this trip. Golden Tours offers some combo deals and we definitely took advantage of that. Visiting the Studio is a must for any Harry Potter fan… Anthony was geeking out all over the place!



Sunday Dec. 2nd

  • This was the day we went on a double decker bus tour. We figured it would be the easiest way to get around to many of the important sites. This was part of the Golden Tours package. 
  • Changing of the guards
  • London Eye
  • Bridge closest to the London Eye
  • Big Ben
  • Tower Bridge
  • Harrods. We could spend days here. So much to see! One of the most impressive department stores for sure.
  • Dinner at a traditional British pub for some fish and chips, and some Guinness 
  • Walking at night through Hyde Park



Monday Dec. 3rd

  • Early morning heading out to St. Pancras for our day in Paris, France. We were so excited for this mini adventure!
  • Train Experience
  • We took an Uber from the station to the Eiffel Tower. That became an experience in itself as the yellow vests were protesting in the heart of the city. 
  • Pictures by the Eiffel Tour - a must on a day tour to Paris.
  • Scammed at breakfast. Gosh, we’ll need to do a special video to relive this experience. Picture this - 2 Americans walking into a super touristy place for breakfast… there was French fries, garlic bread, and so much more. Don’t ask how much the bill was :O. 
  • Diana’s memorial, Arc de Triomphe, Starbucks, Notre Dame, and someone took out a row of scooters.
  • What an amazing day walking the streets of Paris. We took one of the latest trains back, had a late night dinner in London and got ready for the next adventure!



Google List: Paris

Tuesday Dec. 4th 

  • Now that I think about this itinerary I’m highly impressed by our stamina. We woke up even earlier on this day to catch our train bound for Brussels, Belgium - whoop, whoop!
  • Started at the cutest breakfast place with hot chocolate: Houtsiplou
  • Made our way to Grand Place. Eating all the foods (hello French fries and chocolate), and walking through the Christmas market for some mulled wine
  • We did our own walking tour and saw so much of the city that day. It was the absolute perfect day. 
  • Stopped for waffles and beer
  • Dinner at the coolest Hard Rock
  • Christmas lights back at Grand Place before heading back to the train station London bound. 



Google List: Brussels

Wednesday Dec. 5th

  • We wanted to start the day with a traditional English Breakfast and found it at VQ Chelsea before exploring that area. 
  • So much walking around Piccadilly Circus: Chinatown, Lego store, Paddington photo shoot, and the most wonderful Tea Time at TWG
  • This day was ended with another amazing dinner experience at Savoy. Yes, another Gordon Ramsay restaurant. Are you seeing a theme yet?



Thursday Dec. 6th 

  • This was such a cool way to wind down our visit to England - visiting Stonehenge! This was the last part of the package from Golden Tours. 
  • The afternoon was filled with more walking around London because we did not want to miss anything. We hung out in the beautiful Trafalgar Square with the cool lions. 
  • To finish out our day we hung out at what is MJs favorite store now: Fortnum & Mason. Imagine that Tiffany blue color and the most delicious supermarket - combine all that and that is how you get Fortnum & Mason. 



Google List: London

This was such a memorable trip for the two of us. It proved a number of things: we both enjoyed each other’s company. We traveled well together. Most importantly we determined then this was just the beginning. The world is way to big to stop at three countries. 

I’m going to continue sharing more of our travels here. In the comments tell me what is something you love about London? It doesn’t matter if you’ve been there or not. 

Keep checking out this website for more summaries of our travels together. 
Location: London, UK

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