A Royal Girls Weekend in London | Progessive Picnicking

 I mean let's be honest...How could anything with beautiful scenery, cheese, fresh strawberries & raspberries, Prosecco, antipasti meat platter, chips & dips, plus festive Great Britian plates be anything but life-changing?

Picnic Spot #1: St. James's Park

St. James's Park overlooking Buckingham Palace

I literally could have spent the entire day in this one spot and been completely content. Palaces and people watching at its finest!

I'm pretty sure the English either invented or have perfected the art of picnicking. As a Londener for five years, Ali has become a picnicking pro. Naturally. She has her very English Fortnum & Mason hamper and she knows all the best spots in London to spread out the picnic quilt for a leisurely snack and some bubbly. Please note, this is not called a picnic basket! I repeat: Do not refer to this basket-esque item as anything other than a hamper or you could be tarred and feathered. Just kidding. But seriously, a "hamper" is a picnic staple which allows one to easily carry goodies to and from the proper picnic site in a dignified manner.

After a stellar start to our Progressive Picnic, we detoured en route to destination number two to a couple of Ali's favorite favourite spots in all of London: Burlington House and Fortnum & Mason {as mentioned above}.

Burlington House

As I mentioned from my post of day one in London, Ali is currently working on her PhD in British Architecture from Middlesex University. Burlington House is the focus of said thesis; therefore, this building and its past and present are near and dear to Ali's heart and world.

Built in the 17th century, Burlington House was one of several large private residence located on the formerly country street of Piccadilly. As you can probably tell, it used to be two stories and had a third floor built in the 19th century after the British government purchased the building. The main building  houses the Royal
Academy and the wings contain the five learning societies or collectively called Courtyard Societies.

Fortnum & Mason

It pains me that I never knew of this fabulous store before now! While Harrod's gets all the glory, F&M in my opinion gets the gold medal. I could spend all day {and every penny in savings} on the incredible array of beautiful tea sets, hampers {As mentioned earlier. I'm kind of obsessed! They come in all kinds of themes and sizes. Would make a great gift idea... hint, hint!} chocolates & candies, flowers, beauty products, wine, etc. Basically, if I could live here a certain week of the month, I would be in HEAVEN. I'd be willing to bet that Mr. Fortnum and Mr. Mason probably had long, happy marriages!

Back to our Progressive Picnic...

Picnic Spot #2: Primrose Hill

An amazing view of London from Primrose Hill

Something I learned on this day in particular is that 75 degrees is HOT for Londoners. Hot enough for guys to have their shirts off kind of hot. As a Georgia native, I laugh at this the way Yankees laugh at Southerners when a snow flurry shuts down our cities. Hilarious.

As you can see, it was a gorgeous blue sky/fluffy cloud kind of day which I've come to appreciate as they are few and far between in Europe. You could see for miles in every direction and pick out some of London's MVP sights.

See what I mean about shirtless guys?!

Picnic Spot #3: Kensington Palace/Gardens

Our final picnic spot of the day was at Kensington Gardens just outside Kensington Palace. Unfortunately, Kate and William never got the memo that we were in their front yard or else I'm sure they would have gladly joined us! But really, this is where they live with Prince George (obvi), Prince Harry and three other royal couples. Also, this is where Princess Diana lived until the time of her death in 1997 {cannot believe that was 17 years ago!}.

You may recall shortly after Princess Diana's death seeing images/videos of an endless sea of flowers outside the golden gates of Kensington Palace.

We tried to avoid eating everything at our first picnic spot, therefore, we ended up having quite the feast leftover at our third and final picnic spot. I'm no quitter when it comes to food {and life} ergo we managed to dominate all you see in this picture... Wonder why we weren't hungry for dinner an hour or two later?

Statue of Queen Victoria {longest reigning British monarch} outside Kensington Palace

Last but certainly not least after a day of eating and lounging while taking in the authentic side of London, it was time for some more fun. Refined fun. Insert fascinator photo shoot!

Can I please wear one every day??

I hope all this talk of picnicking will prompt you to start planning your next picnic! Perhaps while wearing a fascinator? :)

Tschüss!

A Royal Girls Weekend in London | Day One

London. A city which needs no introduction. It's hard to walk a block without stumbling upon some important building, monument, palace or museum. Rich with history and overflowing with charm, London in summertime could easily be one of the greatest cities in the world.

My trip to London began as an idea last fall after one of my best friends from growing up, Ali who currently lives in London, realized I live just across the English Channel in Germany. When Richard found out he had to go TDY to the States in June, a London girls weekend quickly developed from a good idea to reality.

Meet Ali! 

Middle School BFF/Londoner for five years/Went to that school in Georgia that barks (boooooo!)/Getting her PhD in British Architecture from Middlesex University/Engaged to an awesome British guy

We packed a TON into three and a half days and thanks to amazing weather, I have completely fallen in love with all London has to offer!

Day One

A very early Ryan Air flight from Frankfurt Hahn to London Stansted provided for a full first day to explore the capital city. Although London Stansted is actually about a two hour bus ride outside of London, I would recommend using the bus vs. the train/tube as it is not only WAY less expensive (£18 round trip instead of £33 each way), but it's also much less stressful if you're like me and manage to get lost using a GPS. 

After arriving at her new apartment "flat" {a lesson in British vocabulary}, I was introduced to the English way to start the day...

My first "real" cup of English tea in a royal wedding mug! So British, I know.

A quick tube ride later and we were walking along the Thames River soaking up the vitamin D and gorgeous views of London.

St. Paul's Cathedral - Shakespeare's Globe Theatre - Tower Bridge in the distance

Just around the corner was a fabulous market called Borough Market filled with various foods, flowers, fish, cheeses, meats and even some delicious sangria! I don't know if it was the fact that I was excited to speak English to the shop workers or if years of watching my Dad has finally rubbed off one me... I tried to barter with the cheese guy. Apparently, this is not appropriate, but don't you think £6 for a piece of cheese the size of my iPhone is a little ridiculous? That's almost $12. However, my embarrassment for my faux pas negotiation attempt left me £6 poorer.

After a quick burrito picnic overlooking the London Eye, we were off again toward Westminster Abbey/Big Ben/Parliament!

Sadly, we didn't make it inside Westminster Abbey, but I guess it's OK to leave a few things for our next London adventure. Side note, it is £18 for adult admission to the Abbey. Tourists like me who want to see where Kate and William and the other 15 royal weddings took place not to mention the site of every coronation since 1066 as well as dozens of kings and queens' tombs continue to pay whatever the fee.

As we made our way to Trafalgar Square, I noticed we were about to pass a street with a large gate and armored guards. After glancing up at the street sign labeled "Downing Street" I realized we had literally just stumbled upon the street where the British Prime Minister resides. 

"Number 10" as the Brits call it, is the dark brick building in the top right.

Only a block down the street was another lovely building called the Horse Guards Parade. We also got there just as the Changing of the Guard was taking place. In fact, I went up to the guard and asked if I could take a picture with him {assuming he would nod since they're not allowed to talk} instead he said no because they were changing the guard in a moment. He wasn't kidding! {And way to totally violate the no talking policy Mr. Guard} A moment later here they came... marching and then some!

Fun fact about Horse Guards Parade is that it hosted the 2012 Olympic volleyball matches!

Unfortunately, waking up at 3:30am meant crashing early, but I'd say it was a solid first day of our weekend! Stay tuned for our "Progressive Picnic" on day two of our Royal Girls Weekend! 

Tschüss!