We only live just over an hour away from London but we so rarely go. I grew up even closer to London and regularly traveled up on the train to hang out with friends and see the sites and whilst I love that we live somewhere with a slightly slower pace of life I miss just being so close that we can pop into town for a quick visit. My good friend Rachael travels to London every Saturday with her daughter who trains with West End Kids so last weekend Phoebe and I decided to join them and spend a few hours in the big smoke! Rachael’s youngest daughter Lucie was born just 10 days after Phoebe and they have been best friends ever since so it seemed a perfect opportunity to have a fun girls day out!
We arranged to meet our friends on Oxford Street so Phoebe and I took a train from Milton Keynes and whizzed our way into London. It always surprises me how quickly I fall back into the routine of jumping on the tube. It was a very straight forward journey and we were outside John Lewis, our meeting place before we knew it! Rachael and Lucie had been a bit held up so we decided to have a look around the American Candy Store while we were waiting! Never have I seen quite so many sweets and treats in on small space! Phoebe wanted to buy some Warheads and after hunting high and low we eventually found some at the back of the shop so she was delighted.
We eventually met up outside John Lewis and headed inside and straight up to the Christmas market. Ok I know it’s only October but as far as I’m concerned it’s never too early to feel a bit Christmassy and John Lewis did not disappoint! As you walked in there were rails of Christmas jackets to put on and various pieces of headgear for Christmas selfies #worntobewild. We all had great fun trying on the different outfits and taking pictures in front of the festive wall! We had a good look around the whole Christmas department and managed not to fill a basket full of baubles! I did buy one, a London skyline bauble and I can’t wait to put it on our tree.
After the Christmas market we headed to good old MacDonalds for lunch and then wandered up Regents Street towards Hamleys. The NFL are here in the UK at the moment and Regents Street had been closed off to traffic which made it so much easier to walk about! There were loads of activities going on and a big stage with bands playing. The girls got their faces painted supporting the Miami Dolphins and we did spot some of the players but unfortunately I had no idea who they were!
The girls only had their eyes on one shop though and we soon found ourselves in the wondrous place that is Hamleys. When I was at school we used to hold our Christmas carol concert in London every year and we always went to Hamleys afterwards…it made it such a special day. We usually make the trip to Hamleys at Christmas time and it is so busy but this time, although there were still lots of people, we could actually wander around at our own pace without getting swept along in a sea of people! Phoebe and Lucie had a great time trying out the various toys and games and loved getting glitter tattoos and their hair curled and coloured!
It was soon time to say goodbye as Rachael and Lucie had to head off to collect Lucie’s big sister so we went on the mandatory battle around M&M world (I really don’t understand that shop!) and then a well deserved sit down with a cuppa and some cake.
Last time we were in London the new Lego store in Leicester Square had just opened and the queue to get in was about 2 hours long! There was a queue this time but we were extremely please to only have to wait 5 minutes before we were allowed in. Lego is a bit of an obsession in our house, more with Andrew and Archie than with Phoebe or me but we are all fans. We are booked for the third year running to go to Brick Live in half term and Andrew and Archie have just finished this major project!
We weren’t in the market for any big sets of Lego as, apart from the fact we have nowhere to put any more Lego at home, I wasn’t about to carry home a massive box on the train! Phoebe found herself a little Lego friends set though and we bought another small set for Archie. As it was starting to get dark we decided to wander down to Covent Garden. I lost my bearings a little and we found ourselves on the Strand where we decided to have some dinner. Neither of us were particularly hungry so we just shared a pizza in Bella Italia before strolling back up through Covent Garden and on to Leicester Square to catch the tube to Euston and then home. One of my favourite parts of the day was just being able to walk about in the evening without any agenda or any need to hurry anywhere. We watched all the people starting their Saturday nights out and Phoebe couldn’t believe how busy it was everywhere.
We had such a wonderful and I very much look forward to the next time! I made a vlog of our day and would love it if you watched – subscribe to my youtube channel for more fun videos!
SaveSave
#ablogginggoodtime
Nicola, I was going right along with you – loving to be living where there’s a slower pace of life, but still just an hour or so from London, jumping on the train, etc, etc – *then* you went to *McDonald’s* for lunch?! I still can’t believe the UK let McDonald’s in! 😀 Oh well. Glad you girls had a fun day!
Ha ha! There are lots of places I would rather have gone, but unfortunately the two 6 year olds won in that battle!
Ah this sounds like a fab day out in London. We live in London and hardly ever make the trip into the town, it all feels like too much of an effort. Claire x #ablogginggoodtime
Aww I love the girls jackets! So cool! We haven’t taken Mia to London yet but its on our list and my partner lived there for over 5 years and misses the place! We live just over 2 hours away by train so it would be a whole journey away. I would love to go and see the Christmassy bits in the shops 🙂
#bloggerclubuk
Wow looks like you had an amazing day and did so much! We have not yet made it into the Legostore as every time we tried to go the queues were massive! Thanks for linking up to #coolmumclub xoxo
Looks like you had a fab day! #dreamteam
Just loved your video, the girls are just so happy it can’t help but smile and feel happy watching it! Thanks for joining #ablogginggoodtime
Thank you so much…I really enjoyed making it!
Aww this sounds like so much fun! I love mummy and daughter days with my little one…hope we keep it up as she gets older. Thanks for linking up to #dreamteam x
Ah I’m so glad you had a great time and thanks so much for linking up at #fortheloveofBLOG. Claire x