London Calling

Apologies for my absence last week, ladies, but I was consumed with a big work project - a biz trip to London! Traffic in the city was a nightmare and the sudden closure of the M4 for nearly a week meant that travel out of the city also became a bit hellacious so my outside non-working time was really limited, but I guess it all worked out since it literally rained every single day of my trip.

I've been lucky enough to have visited this city before, so this time I bypassed the major tourist attractions (though I drove past them on my way to Waterloo Station) and instead concentrated on areas I haven't been to - Camden, Richmond, Egham - and of course, eating well. And yes, though I missed Oxford Street, I did get bits of shopping in. I so want to plan a holiday to go back with the BF - London is one of my fave cities and the UK in general is gorgeous, I would love any excuse to go back!

Here's a medley of the sights and sounds from my trip -

 
Royal Holloway, one of the largest colleges in the University of London. The campus is unbelievably gorgeous.

 
Can you go to London and not try Indian? (Though I feel like I saw more Thai restaurants around town
than Indian, and had my best meal of the trip at Busaba Eathai, a Thai eatery).

 
Honestly I never even liked Walkers shortbread, but I still "managed" to consume about two of these each day.
And the bane of London taxi drivers from now through mid-August, one of those dreaded Olympic lanes.



 
I never got an opp to try a pasty this trip, but this flaky meat pie from Square Pie was a yummy sub.
And a glimpse of London Chinatown.

 

 
Bits from the Farnborough Airshow that I attended - Airbus 380 aerial demo & Virgin Galactic.

 

Camden Town in north London. Awesome eclectic shopping in the Stables Market, which is the former

home of the Pickford stables and horse hospital. And converted scooter seating for some of the food marts.

 

The fish antipasti starter at Jamie's Italian, delish affordable Italian from celeb chef Jamie Oliver.

The seafood risotto and the polenta chips were also nom-tastic.

 

Nothing like the fantastic pub names in the UK. Had my first beer of the trip here.

And here's how I really experienced most of my trip - "beauteous" weather conditions.

I'll be back to my regular blogging soon, but thanks for checking out my trip pics, and here's an outfit I wore prior to heading out to the UK. Thanks, all!

The two winners for the Too Much Soul giveaway will also be announced shortly.

And in the interim, why don't you check out - and maybe enter - my $100 Shopbop giveaway!

 

Dress: Maeve by Anthropologie four corners (sale, check stores - sim, sim, pricey, luxe)
Belt: H&M (worn here - sim, sim, pricey)
Earrings: F21 (worn here - sim, sim)
Shoes: Sam Edelman trina (worn here - sim, sim)