We are back in the States and enjoying our time in New York. I can not believe we have wrapped up the first five months of our travels. Alex and I enjoyed Portugal immensely and I'm so glad we were able to spend this time traveling around the country. It will be an experience I will not soon forget.
Read MoreWe have officially checked out of our London flat and are currently staying at an airport hotel awaiting our early-morning flight to Portugal tomorrow. It feels so bittersweet typing this knowing our time in London is officially over.
Read MoreFor our last road trip while we are in the UK we rented a car and headed to Rye, a 2 1/2 hour drive South East of London. We started our morning at Pett Level Beach. Online, I read during low tide you are able to see stumps of ancient trees which are part of a fossilized forest dating back to the most recent ice age. Luckily we came at the right time and were able to spot a few of these stumps.
Read MoreOn Sunday we woke up to a perfect fall day, sunny and low 70's. We wound up taking the bus to Highgate in North London where we started the morning by visiting Waterlow Park, a 20-acre green space. It was the perfect place to sit in the sun and watch the people go by. We spent a bit of time walking around the park and enjoying the weather.
Read MoreYesterday, Alex and I headed South to the neighborhood of Brixton. Brixton is an interesting area in London as it recently went through a gentrification process; however, it was able to maintain its strong African-Caribbean influence.
Read MoreOver the weekend Alex and I spent a day exploring two neighborhoods in South London. We started our morning in Belham, a pretty residential area with cute restaurants, boutiques and commercial stores, where we got breakfast at Milk. We read online it gets busy early, so we arrived about 15 minutes after it opened and by the time we got our breakfast it was packed and there was already a line out the door! Needless to say, there was a reason it filled so quickly. The food was delicious!
Read MoreWhen we first decided to move to London, we were unsure where we wanted to live. Alex reached out to a friend of his who is from London for some guidance. Two of the neighborhoods he suggested were Parsons Green and Fulham (located next to each other in Southwest London). We ultimately decided to live in Notting Hill, but ventured out this past Friday to visit this area and both really enjoyed it! It definitely had a neighborhood feel with lots of shops and cute restaurants.
Read MoreIf you haven't already noticed, Alex and I are trying to visit different neighborhoods in London while we are here. We've found it a great way to explore the city and to see how each place has its own feel and charm.
Last week, we made our way towards Chelsea in west London. It is boarded by the Thames River to the south. Chelsea is up there as one of the most affluent neighborhoods in London with lots of shopping and beautiful Victorian homes.
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This past weekend we had the most beautiful weather in London (high 70's and sunny). It is now back to being a bit more cold and cloudy, but it was great while it lasted! On the last day it was predicted to be warm we headed 40 minutes north to Hampstead. After exiting the tube both Alex and I commented how this area looked and felt like a little village and further from the city than it actually is. Hampstead has one of the largest and wildest green spaces in London and we spent the afternoon wandering around the streets and exploring all the small details.
Read MoreMy mom turns 60 today (!!!) and before she left London, we went to the Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter's Tea at the Sanderson Hotel to celebrate her birthday.
Read MoreOn Thursday, we headed over to the Victoria and Albert Museum, the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design. One of the things I have loved about London is many of the museums are free to enter. This museum is HUGE and you could easily spend hours here. We walked through several exhibitions including: fashion, jewelry, stained glass and furniture. I didn't take any pictures inside the museum, but we did enjoy walking around.
Read MoreEarlier this week, we visited Regent's Park in north-west London. We started our afternoon by grabbing lunch at nearby Monocle Cafe. The menu is Japanese-inspired and was delicious!
Read MoreYesterday, Alex I spent the morning touring the City of London, a neighborhood incorporating the historic center and central business district of London. We started our morning at Postman's Park, the site of a former churchyard and now houses a memorial with the names of ordinary people who gave their lives saving others.
Read MoreWe spent Saturday walking around our neighborhood in Notting Hill. When we decided to start our travels, we thought London would be the perfect place to begin. It's English speaking, we are used to larger cities after living in both San Francisco and New York, and knew there was a lot to explore. We chose to live in Notting Hill as it is neighborhoody and centrally located plus, in all the pictures it looked so quaint and beautiful - it definitely does not disappoint!
Read MoreWe spent the afternoon in Fitzrovia which is an eclectic neighborhood about a mile from Trafalgar Square. We started the day eating at a Taiwanese restaurant which was delicious and then meandered through the streets and mews admiring all the old buildings and churches. Fitzrovia is a neighborhood with a mixture of retail shops, commercial buildings and residential homes. There were a lot of side streets and alley ways which we enjoyed exploring.
Read MoreWell, we have arrived to London in one piece! We did have an interesting experience in customs after landing as we wrote on the custom forms we were going to be in the country for 61 days. The customs officer was nice, but very thorough in his questioning and wanted to see proof we were not planning to stay in the country longer. He asked to see our flight information from London to Portugal, which I could not locate on my phone, so instead showed him our rental car reservation and all our Airbnb confirmations in Portugal. This seemed to satisfy him as he stamped our passports and we were free to collect our bags.
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