July 5th - London Part 2

Hi!

Today a small group of us decided to spend the day in London. We booked round-trip train tickets to go from Oxford Station straight to London Paddington and back.

Paddington Station

Once we arrived, we jumped on the Tube and headed to Westminster, where we got another look at Big Ben and took plenty of photos, many of which will possibly end up on my university’s Instagram account.

London Eye

Nice shot of Big Ben. We stuck around to hear the 11am chime.

We also swung by Buckingham Palace again. It’s still pretty amazing to stand there and see where the King of England actually lives and works.

From there, things took a different turn. We went over to Piccadilly to do some shopping, hitting all sorts of clothing and department stores. My friends found some really nice pieces.

Main entrance to Fortnum & Mason

Piccadilly Arcade

 

After all that browsing, we’d worked up quite an appetite, so we decided to treat ourselves to afternoon tea at The Parlour at Fortnum & Mason. 

 

John & Angel

Me & Alena

The set menu included a main dish, a drink (tea, coffee, or soft drink), and scones. For my main, I picked the lobster roll; the lobster meat was sweet and tender, the bread soft and buttery. Honestly, what more could I ask for? I paired it with a cappuccino because by then, I definitely needed the pick-me-up after all that walking! It was light, frothy, and delicious, and the little ice cream cone on the side was a fun touch. Then came the scones. One word: wow. These were easily the best scones I’ve ever had. Topped with jam and clotted cream on fresh, warm scones — it was an out-of-this-world experience. I’ve officially been spoiled.

Lobster roll

Cappuccino

Scones

After lunch, we did a bit more shopping before heading to Escape Hunt inside Boom Battle Bar on Oxford Street. We took on an escape room themed around Blackbeard the Pirate, trying to find hidden treasure before the ship sank. We were given 60 minutes and finished in... exactly 60 minutes! Not a second to spare. It was such a blast.

Later, we went to Hideaway London, a restaurant known for a pizza absolutely covered in shaved black truffle. I’ve never seen so much truffle on anything before! We split it, and my friends also ordered two fancy hot chocolates they let me try. The first was their signature Hideaway Hot Chocolate, which was rich and classic. The second was more unique: a Golden Hot Chocolate made with white chocolate, saffron, and vanilla. It was creamy, milky, and had this nice floral warmth to it.

Soooo much truffle!

After that, we walked through Hyde Park back to the train station. By total chance, there was a Sabrina Carpenter concert that happened to be going on as we were walking, and the music echoed throughout the entire park, even when we reached all the way to the other side! My friends were singing along as we walked.

Hyde Park Rose Garden

Royal Artillery Memorial, Wellington Arch

When we finally reached the station, we dug into some giant sushi rolls we’d picked up earlier from a place called Sushidog. Mine had ahi tuna, avocado, crispy onions, spicy mayo, and edamame. Really good stuff. Then we hopped on the train and headed home.

That wrapped up my day today!