Royal Academy of Arts
For our last day in London we visited the Royal Academy of Arts for the Renzo Piano exhibition. I’ll be honest – I didn’t know who he is, but Hannah is an architect and big fan, so she convinced us to go. The exhibition was super interesting and I didn’t realize how many of his buildings I’ve already seen, like the Centre Pompidou, The Shard, and New York Times Building.
Granary Square ready for Christmas
I love visiting London and this time we planned a weekend trip with our friends Chris and Hannah! From Brussels to London, it’s only a 2 hour train ride – fast and easy!
St. Pancras Train Station is in Kings Cross, so my trips always begin here. I love visiting Granary Square and walking along the Regent’s Canal. Normally we always visit Dishoom or The Lighterman for lunch, but we decided to try somewhere new and more traditionally British – Piebury Corner for meat pies and scotch eggs.
Our home for the weekend
I love that every time we’re in London we stay in a different neighborhood – this time in Richmond! Richmond is all the way west, almost in Surrey and borders the River Thames. Most famous in the district is Kew Gardens and Palace, but unfortunately we didn’t have time this visit to go (definitely on the list for next time!). Our friends live here and recommended if we have time to go for a walk along the river. So beautiful and peaceful – hard to believe we were still in London!
Fashioned from Nature at the Victoria and Albert Museum
Koen and I love visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum. The permanent collection is free to explore and there are always very interesting exhibits throughout the year that you can pay to explore. To be honest, we originally went to the V&A to visit Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up, but it was sold out for three straight weeks! Fashioned by from Nature seemed interesting to me because I studied textiles and work in fashion. Luckily Koen was interested as well, so we decided to buy tickets for this exhibit instead. l.ucky us! If you’re in London any time between now and January 27th, 2019, I recommend you check it out!
Our starters at Gymkhana
As I mentioned in the Dishoom post, this trip to London is all about Indian food! A few months ago I was at a lunch with an Indian family living in London and I asked for her list of best Indian restaurants. She gave me a list of 10 and I couldn’t wait for my next trip to London! First to check off the list – Gymkhana!
Exploring the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Koen and I have been to London many times, so it was exciting to hear that Nicole and Adam booked us a Hidden City Hunt! Another way to explore the city, solving riddles and stopping in pubs! We weren’t sure what to expect – but we had beautiful weather, great company, and a lot of fun!
Dishoom Breakfast
I can’t help it – if I’m in London I always go to Dishoom! Dishoom is inspired by the old Irani cafes in Bombay, a faded elegance, and is where you can find delicious street-style Indian cuisine. There are locations throughout London and I’ve already been to the ones in Kings Cross and Soho. Never disappoints.
Brunch with Mom
To celebrate my mom’s birthday early, we headed to London for the day! London may seem far away from Antwerp, but by train it’s actually only a 2 hour ride! This was my mom’s first time in London, so we did a full day of sight-seeing, ending on a high note with afternoon tea at Claridge’s.
Koen and me with the London Eye
Often for work I need to go to London and I always look forward to choosing where to eat in the evening. This time I was in the city for a week, so there were many opportunities to explore the culinary scene. Because my hotel was in Mayfair, all of the restaurants we visited are in the City of Westminster (click if you want to read an earlier post about the borough). To make it easy, I’ve divided the restaurants into 4 categories: British, Indian, Pubs and Street Food!
Empire Biscuit
Day Six was our last day in Scotland before heading back home. We started the day with a coffee and breakfast from Riverhill Coffee Bar. I finally tasted the Empire Biscuit – a cookie I had seen everywhere during the trip – and it was so delicious!
An American in Antwerp 