I Heart London!!

I have had such a hectic week! It was my birthday on Wednesday, so the fabulous Mr Lollipop took me to London to celebrate. I have never been before but have always wanted to go, so this was the best birthday present EVER!!

We travelled up on Sunday evening, and arrived back home at midnight on Tuesday, ready for my birthday on Wednesday. I honestly didn't want to leave - London is incredible!! There are so many things that we wanted to do but just couldn't fit into our 2 days!

We stayed near Paddington station and the hotel was extremely basic. But, we didn't go to London to sit in the hotel! It was clean, tidy and cheap, so was perfect for our stay. My only criticism is that although it was right by the train station, it was a bit out of the way of where we wanted to be. Walking back to the hotel in the night when we were tired and achy was a nightmare!

The first thing we decided to do on Monday morning was to watch the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guards. My brother was in the army and he recommended watching it. I never got to see him doing it, but I'm really glad we went to watch it - even if I did feel slightly claustrophobic and got bashed about a bit. I know you want to see it, but don't we all? Is there really any need for a tall man with a big hat to bash a short girl out of the way constantly? Like you wouldn't see over my head if you stood behind me... Anyway, apart from that man, I loved it. The band played Copa Cobana and an Abba medley too, which was fab! It was just amazing and I'd realy recommend it to anyone visiting London. Word of advice though - you'll get a better view from the steps by the fountain. The gates open so though you're further away, I'm sure you'd see more than if you were squished up against the railings.

We had a 2pm flight booked on the London Eye so we made our way there through Victoria. We honestly walked for miles that day, just taking in the sights and things. I loved seeing all of the buildings. The attention to detail, even on the tallest buildings, was incredible, and I loved the mix of old and new. I have to say that there is something more common in London than pigeons and Starbucks. Wanna know? Pret-A-Manger! I'm not kidding you, there's one around every corner, which became a bit of a running joke with Mr L and moi.

The queue to go on the Eye wasn't all that big really, but they opened up another lane so we got through it quicker. I pooped myself a little bit at first and I wouldn't move from the little bench in the middle. I got used to it eventually, but my stomach still flipped over whenever I stepped a little closer to the windows. I was holding on to the railings for dear life, as if they'd stop me falling to my death me if our capsule suddenly fell off or something haha. I loved the experience though and I think I'd enjoy it more a second time around. We had a beautiful, sunny, clear day so we got lovely views across the city. Next time I think we'd book a night-time flight, just so we'd be able see the various landmarks all lit up. I bet that it would look stunning.

After a bit more sightseeing on the Thames and Trafalgar Square, we booked ourselves onto a open-top tour bus. It was £25 each, but it was valid for 24 hours, included a river cruise, and enabled us to hop on and off as we pleased, so it was the best £50 we spent! That definitely made getting around the city a more pleasurable experience, particularly when we got on the 'red' bus with a live tour guide. We quite enjoyed the boat down the river too. When we got off we walked to the bus stop, and saw that Peggy and Pat from Eastenders were on the top of an open-top tour bus, filming a scene. Mr Lollipop loves Eastenders, so he was tres excited. That's my only real-life celebrity spot haha.

Keep your eyes peeled, I could be on Eastenders soon! haha.

So after our sightseeing day one, day two was allocated for shopping! That didn't entirely go to plan though, as we ended up back on the bus and did the entire tour all over again. I enjoyed it, but it took 2 hours out of my valuable shopping time haha. We had to change buses by Madame Tussauds, so we decided to visit it whilst we were there.

We mingled with Beyonce, Johnny Depp, Brangelina, Posh 'n' Becks, Robbie Williams, Leona Lewis, Shrek, Audrey Hepburn, and Mr Lollipop even went on Big Brother with Davina McCall! Madame Tussauds was fun but I couldn't find Ant & Dec... my sole reason for going to London was to kiss Ant & Dec (real or waxwork, I wasn't bothered haha).

After my disappointment in Madame Tussauds, Mr L took me to Hamley's to look at all the toys, to try to cheer me up! We saw a giant Lego Buzz Lightyear, and an Indiana Jones.

We also ate a yummy cupcake up in the Hamley's cafe. Seriously, I have a cupcake addiction as you will soon discover... Mine was the pink one incase you couldn't guess - yummy scrummy strawberry, and Mr Lollipop had the green vanilla one. And they were glittery - too cute!

After Hamley's was Bond Street - woohoo! I had been given money by all of my family and friends before my trip, and I wanted to spend the bulk of it on something pretty from Tiffany's. I had an idea of things I liked after weeks of stalking the website. I didn't end up buying anything from there as the thing I wanted wasn't in stock. Boo! We headed to Harrods and they didn't have it either, but we did get some yummy cupcakes (like I said, cupcake addiction) from Lola's in the Food Hall, and we got some Krispy Kreme doughnuts too. I can't believe all I bought in Harrods was food! Again, mine was the pink vanilla one, and Mr L had the coconut one.

Then it was time to make our way to the Hummingbird Bakery in Kensington. I bake from the Hummingbird Bakery book all the time, so I was really excited to visit. When we got there it was really busy, and we were quite pushed for time, so instead of having a little sit down and eating a cupcake in the shop, we had to buy some to take away. We ended up buying 12 cupcakes (oi, don't judge, it's an addiction I keep telling you...) - 6 vanilla and 6 red velvet, to take home for my birthday. They got devoured the instant we unveiled them, and they were absolutely delicious.

Getting back to Oxford Street was a bit scary though, because we did something we had purposely avoided during our trip... we got the tube! I have never been so scared in my life. We didn't have a clue where we were going, what we were doing, and it was rush hour. I eventually got to Oxford Street in one piece, though it took me ages to relax. Nothing a bit of Pizza Hut's Stuffed Crust and retail therapy couldn't sort out!

After our traumatic tube journey and yummy pizza, we only really had time for Debenhams and Selfridges because we had to go and collect our bags before we went to Paddington station. That was enough though, and I bought some lovely goodies (which I'll show you in my next post). Our train home was delayed so we didn't get home until half past midnight. Had I known, I'd have stayed in Oxford Street longer!

I had an absolutely AMAZING time in London, and I was really sad to be leaving. We had beautiful weather and everyone was fab. The customer service in all of the shops was brilliant, and everyone was really helpful when we asked for help (particularly in the Kensington tube station!). I've never been one to hate where I'm living, but to come home to rain after two gloriously sunny days, with not a lot to do... I feel a little sad. So, we're planning our next trip already! Whoop!

Well done if you read all of that! London is incredible and I can't believe it took us so long to experience it. To everyone who lives in London... I envy you. Lots.

xoxo