Walking in a winter wonderland

It's now very much a tradition of mine and Laura's to go to London every 6 months (ish - our summer trip this year was actually in September) and so the time had come for our yearly Christmas trip! I love London at Christmas and so going the first weekend of December was perfect for kicking off the festivities. Our coach got in at around half 12 (we didn't go as hideously early as we have previously) and then we went for some brunch in Belgravia before walking to Hyde Park for Winter Wonderland. The queue took an absolute age so we then had to rush like crazy to the other side for the Cinderella on Ice show, which is pretty much an extreme sport when trying to dodge crowds of people, pushchairs and various market stalls. We got there pretty much bang on time though and the show was amazing! I wasn't sure what to expect and worried it might be more of a kids pantomime but it was the opposite. It was an elegant figure skating routine, telling the story of Cinderella through dance alone (with no speaking or narration) and it was beautiful. The dancers must be seriously fit to perform that routine multiple times a day too! We came out of the show at around 3 so that was a great time to sit and enjoy a mulled wine (a drink I had more because it's festive, rather than because I actually like it that much) while watching it get dark, bringing the Christmas lights to life. It was pretty cold on Saturday so of course I wore something super warm and practical (nahhht). I went with a khaki mini skirt, white shirt layered under my j'adore black jumper, black thigh high boots and statement camo print faux fur coat (which I got complimented on by strangers yay).

Then for the second time that day, we had to rush like crazy to get to our next booking, because Hyde Park underground station was so crazy busy that we only just managed to cram ourselves on to the third tube that came along. Even so, once we got to St Martins Lane hotel just off Leicester Square, it was like walking in to some kind of adult Santa's grotto. It was so dark and warm and cosy with the prettiest Christmas tree, and of course treats! Not only did we have an amazing festive afternoon tea (so much cake we could barely move afterwards), but they had accidentally written our booking down as having prosecco so they gave it us for free!

As much as we all moan about social media and how it's toxic for self confidence and comparison and blah blah blah, social media is also really great because it's such a good platform for discovering new things. The only way I found out about Tonight Josephine (a bar in Waterloo) was because I've seen loads of people post photos on instagram with the well behaved women don't make history neon sign. It was amazing too - literally a woman's paradise. Not only are the cocktails amazing (and only typically London-expensive, not EXPENSIVE-expensive), but the decor is really cool, the music is good and the whole place is just full of women and girls enjoying themselves - no creepy men in sight (a couple of gay best friends and one or two boyfriends but the male quota was very very low). We were only there for a couple of drinks but it would be an amazing place to start a night out!

Then we got the tube back across the river to the Sky Garden (which we did go in circles a couple of times trying to find) where we've been trying to go for the last couple of times but it's always fully booked. I'm glad we did book though because walk-ins seem to be waiting for hours and standing in the cold in December does not sound ideal. Although it wasn't much warmer once you were in! The place is "naturally ventilated" (roughly translates as "freezing") but the views more than made up for it because you got a stunning view of London at night, including the Shard and St Paul's. 

Usually we shop on the first day and then do winter wonderland on the second day so we decided to change it up and did it the other way round this time, kicking Sunday off with shopping on Oxford street and admiring the Christmas lights. It also did some kind of fake snowing while we were there - it was like made of soap suds or something?

Then we headed to my absolute favourite area of London at Christmas time - Covent Garden! Their lights are the prettiest by miles and it's always such a good atmosphere with someone singing or performing. The mistletoe lights are my favourites! For day two, I wore a similar outfit (because with us having to carry our bags round all day, we try to take as little stuff as possible) and went with black thigh high boots, camo print fur coat and white high neck sweater dress. Although the dress clearly hasn't been designed with someone with my sized head in mind - I really struggle to get it on and off!

Then we went over to Soho for my first ever, and the most amazing ever, sunday roast dinner. Just to clarify, I have obviously had roast dinners before, I'd just never been out for one before this weekend. Also, we had been talking all weekend about how we believe that everything happens for a reason, and I argued that we learn the reason more often than we think we do, we just have to look for it. For example, we had looked online in the morning for good places for a roast in London and Blacklock was the first place to come up. Laura tried ringing as they opened at 12pm but they weren't answering. I said we should just try later so she rang again an hour or two later when we were out shopping and they said they had just had a cancellation and so we managed to nab the last available booking. So at first it seemed annoying that we couldn't get through earlier on, but if we had then they would've been fully booked and we wouldn't have got a table. See, you find a reason when you look for it! Anyway, once we got there we could see why it was fully booked. The place was incredible! A really cool, typically-soho vibe with roast dinners piled high in every which direction. We ordered a mixed roast of beef, lamb and pork, which came with potatoes, yorkshire puddings (maybe even better than my mums - sorry mum!), veg, crackling, apple sauce and gravy. There was so much food, we couldn't even fit it on our plates in one go! I also ordered a cocktail and a red wine (which I drink now because I'm a sophisticated grown-up) because sometimes, one drink just isn't enough. Then we finished off with white chocolate cheesecake (that we definitely didn't have room for) and got the coach home with very full tummies. Yet again, it's been a blast London - I can't wait to see you again soon!