april 2024

Hello spring! Or sort of spring – as it ended up getting chilly again in London! April was a travel-filled month, with Ireland the first week (still working on this separate post) and then Sicily the last week (separate post coming for this too!).

After the whirlwind that was Ireland, I took the second week of April a bit easy during the week. I met my friend at Marugame Udon (we are obsessed), cooked meals at home, and hosted a work event at the Victoria & Albert Museum. They are open late nights on Fridays (until 10 pm!), so a few of us from work went to see the exhibits. It was my first time at the museum and I loved it – only the first floor was open, so I want to go back during normal opening hours to see the rest of the museum, but it was a fun free activity. Also, they have the BEST lemon biscuits at the gift shop. 10/10 recommend. After the museum, we went to Punch Tavern for our friend’s farewell party. We are so sad she’s moving back to the US! We also went to the Betsey Trotwood for a pint after Punch Tavern & it was a fun spot! I had a few yoga classes this week because I bought a pack and had to use them before they expired. My studio is only a 10 minute walk, so it’s very convenient & the classes are inexpensive as well.

On the weekend, George and I had a little picnic at the park near my flat because the weather was glorious!! Saturday night, my friends & I went to our friend’s house for her “housewarming” – she’s lived in the same flat since I moved over to London (we moved at the same time) and finally, we sort of invited ourselves over to her flat! We had such a fun night chatting & drinking too much wine & whisky! On Sunday, my friend and I took a day trip to Brighton, which is a coastal town accessible by train from London. We grabbed a much needed brunch at Fika – Sea Lanes, which was delicious and right on the beach. The weather was a bit less than ideal (cloudy & windy), but we made the most of it. We walked along the beach, which is rocky & not something I’m used to, so that was neat, and then we went to the pier! They had classic pier games and we played this game that was pretty much skeeball but your goal is to move the dolphin along the racetrack. My friend won a stuffed dolphin! We ended up playing four rounds because we wanted to win again, but no dice. We bopped around the North Laine Bazaar and found an adorable shop (the name of which I unfortunately can’t locate!). We stopped for a pint at The Heart and the Hand, this adorable little pub that had a juke box! We grabbed a meal deal from Sainsbury’s before taking the train back to London and it was the perfect day trip!

For the third week of April, I didn’t do much during the week, went for pizza at Detroit Pizza with George (their pizza is amazing – deep dish and their Caesar salad is divine) and volunteered at the community center on Friday. We have set up a food rescue with this pastry shop nearby my house, so I pick up the pastries & bring them to pass out to the participants at the community center. The pastries are GIANT. Photo with regular banana for reference below! I’ve really been enjoying volunteering there & look forward to going the weeks I’m not traveling. On the weekend, my friends from Spain came to visit! I haven’t seen them in five years and I was so thrilled they came to town. We went to Trade for lunch (my go-to spot), walked around the shops in Islington, went to the Alpaca for a pint, and hit up Meat Liquor for dinner (their burgers & fries never disappoint).

On Sunday, we went to The Breakfast Club for brunch – it was my first time going and oh my god, the pancakes were unreal. We went to the Columbia Road Flower Market, which was also my first time going and I’m glad I was going to Sicily in a few days, otherwise, I would have spent my life savings on flowers. It was HEAVEN for me & I can’t wait to back (it’s only Sundays!). We strolled around the shops in the area, went over to Brick Lane in Shoreditch for more shopping, and met up with George & our friends for mini golf to celebrate George’s birthday. We went to Junkyard Golf, which was a ton of fun! We played 18 holes (and it was only 18 pounds per person!) and you could have drinks while playing. The courses were really creative and it was a fun late afternoon activity. We went to a nearby pub for dinner, but they were out of half their menu & it was a bit of a disaster! We ended up at one of George’s favorite cocktail bars, Callooh Callay, which changes their menu often (it was Pokemon themed and now it’s McDonald’s themed!). To wrap up my friends’ visit, on Monday, we went to Kricket for amazing Indian food and then visited George at work! I had such a fun time with them & will be traveling to see them in June!