How to Explore An Old Favorite – Visit London

After my mom’s visit to Grindelwald, we took an immediate trip back to the U.K.!

I’ve talked a lot about London on the blog already as one of our favorite places, the first place in Europe we both ever independently visited, and a city that while vast and occasionally overwhelming, feels so homey to us. So, I won’t go overboard in waxing nostalgic again, but wanted to share some some “new to us” gems!

We took the 90 minute flight to see the Eagles play at Wembley alongside some Geneva friends, and met our dear friend and #1 Eagles fan, G, and his wife B for a few days in the city!

F and P’s in London

THE LITTLE SCOOP: [THE BULLET POINTS]

EAT & drink:

Our October visit brought us to two new places that we loved – a bonus to seeing old favorites with new friends! With much thanks to our London expert, our friend C.  introduced us to classic pie pub The Windmill in Mayfair, one of our favorite London neighborhoods, and Dishoom, a stunning Indian restaurant favorite of Mindy Kaling (multiple locations!) Get the steak and kidney or the bacon, chicken, and leek pie at The Windmill and get as much as you can stuff yourself with (and try the chocolate chai) at Dishoom. We also went back to the pub (The Clarence) which we visited after we got engaged – and seven years later and expecting (even with an alcohol-free beer) it was a really joyous moment.

Screenshot of Mindy’s Instagram sharing her love for Dishoom!

Clarence Pub

STAY: 

We went to London with a big group so we stayed in a large Airbnb in Shepherd’s Bush Market. Not our favorite London neighborhood, but we were a quick walk to the tube and our needs were absolutely met by lovely hosts!

PLAY: 

The purpose of our visit was the Eagles game, but in the spirit of it also being Halloween and being enormous fans, we also were sure to visit the sets of the Harry Potter movies. You might remember we did a wonderful exhibit of the books on our last visit, and this time switched mediums!

As of October 2018, the studio tour cost was £ 41.00 per person – you must buy tickets online in advance. Also prepare for a bit of public transportation to arrive for your schedule departure time at the studio outside the city.

I recently did a Harry Potter book re-read and fell in love all over again with the characters and themes of choice, sacrifice, and love that shaped my childhood all those years ago. If you love HP I also strongly recommend the podcast Binge Mode which is currently doing a deep dive into all the books and movies – prepare for some adult content and spoilers!

To pun quite obviously – seeing the set was magic and while I can’t help but pick at the movies choices sometimes, seeing so many of my imagination’s favorite places personified gave me chills.

Took my breath away!

I solemnly swear I am up to no good!

If you know- then you know 🙂

Still waiting on my Hogwarts letter!

❤

Bus that takes you in!

eee!

Halloween in the Great Hall!

These two! 🙂

The next day, we walked around all of London’s hotspots in chilly weather and finally enjoyed the NFL game alongside 85,000 fans of all stripes and got to see the Eagles win – which this year, turned into a rare occurrence. (Sorry Philly people!)

Baby Ford’s first NFL game!

Eagles at Wembley – I took this well before the game started, there really were 85,000!

Whole crew came out!

As always, we loved being in this special city and were very happy to share the time with new and old friends. We look forward to returning in warm weather, and sharing it with Baby Ford very soon!

Working to get a post out about our Thanksgiving Madrid before our family arrives for our Christmas in Chamonix !!!🎄