london week three

during the week

My third week started off fun with drinks with an old co-worker at Punch & Judy in Covent Garden! We caught up and he shared some recommendations for restaurants and places I should go. Given that he’s a native Londoner, I was excited to add to my ever-growing list of places to see from a local! I went to the office for the first time on Tuesday, which was great though it did almost feel like I was an intern again – didn’t know where anything was! We had a tour of the building, which includes a cafeteria (new to me! We never had a company-only food court in NYC), and the 12th floor has 360 views of the city of London, accompanied with foosball, ping pong, and pool tables. It was fun meeting more people from the group in person and being back in an office atmosphere. After work, we grabbed some pints at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese pub, which, according to the sign, was rebuilt in 1667. They have a cellar bar and it just felt very British being there.

On Wednesday, I woke up sick so I took it easy the rest of the week and as a result, I don’t have many photos of activities from the week – mostly landscapes. I watched Netflix & Disney+, cooked, and went for a few walks to take it easy while I recovered. Thankfully, my sore throat and mild fever cleared up on Friday, which I was thankful for being that I had a busy weekend planned!

the weekend

I woke up refreshed on Saturday and went to get my nails done. I told the nail technician that I thought my nails looked “awesome” and he repeated it back to me, mocking my American-ness. I laughed at how obvious it is that I’m American by saying “awesome,” but I think the Brits need a little more “awesome”, “fantastic”, and “incredible” in their vocabulary! After nails, I headed to Brixton Village to Lost in Brixton to meet up with friends for drinks. It was so cute and they had great music. We went around 5 pm and all of the tables were reserved, so I’d recommend making a reservation in advance if you want to stay longer than a drink. We went to The Laundry for dinner, which was delicious. It was perfect weather to sit outside and enjoy the autumn air. I had the burrata starter with a side salad. The burrata was drizzled in truffle thyme honey and it was to die for. After dinner, we went to the O2 Academy for the AJR Concert! It was my eighth concert of the year and I had so much fun. They put on a very creative and interactive performance, so if they’re on tour again, I recommend going!

Sunday was London marathon day! I met up with a friend from NYC and we chased our friend’s dad around the marathon all day. It was a blast – we were able to catch him at the start, the 10k mark, mile 19, and the finish. It was very easy to get around surprisingly. I had thought it would be more chaotic on the underground and overground trains, but we didn’t have any issues! We ate at a small cafe in Canary Wharf for lunch between 10k and mile 19, which was delicious. He crushed the marathon and to celebrate, we had burgers at The Clarence. The energy in London was magnetic – there were loads of people around and everyone was just so happy to be there on the beautiful sunny day that we were lucky to get. After burgers, I took them to Punch & Judy because it was nearby and I had really enjoyed it from Monday. It was a great way to end a very fun weekend!