TRVLS & COMIDA

“You brought what in your carry-on?” 

Keep reading. I will tell you what happened to us at the Heathrow Airport. It’s all good, nothing bad happened, but I learned my lesson. Also there is a lot of people passing by, I will soon doing another post introducing myself (again! I love talking about me) 

We’ve been to a few places since my last post so the posts will be according to the latest trips. We’ve been to Disney, and to Atlanta (our former home to pay some long visits to our friends). I also set foot in Europe for the first time in March. Josh has been there before, a few times. 

I changed the name of the blog to match the YouTube channel for TRVLS & COMIDA, I also added a professional email, to make it official—so many chances in just a few months. So much progress has happened to Live Out Loud Too Brand, but your girl is tired. Arent we all? Who said that traveling constantly for content wouldn’t make you tired? I’m exhausted, but I will recharge because I’m only starting! The post today is about our trip to London! I’m going to tell you everything since this is my first time and you should prepare yourself accordingly if you you visiting the city!

1)- Getting there: 7/10 ( We got lost)

I wanted to visit London since 2005 when I first hosted a British student at my house back in Brazil. So finally being able to make this trip, I got pretty emotional as we were in the boarding line. We flew United Airlines since they have direct flights from Denver and I really wanted to get some miles on my card. The plane is very – not comfortable- and every seat was taken. I’m a very nervous flyer and I couldn’t get any sleep. After about 9.5 hours and a little hoovering over London, we landed safely. First thing first, pass through customs and immigration and then pick up the suitcase. From there, you have to find your way out to the city, it can be by Shared Ride, The big red Bus, or the Train. We opted for the train because it was faster. If you taking the train you will take the Picadilly Line, and then transfer according to where you going. To pay for the train, you can use your credit or debit card, you don’t need to get a physical card. You will be in Zone 1 or 2. 

2) Accommodation: 10/10

For this trip, we decided to stay on Airbnbs, because our purpose its to travel on a budget, and have a space to ourselves where we can cook, have a fridge, do laundry and enjoy quiet neighboorhoods. Our Airbnb was located on Earl’s Court neighboorhood, a very cozy area, close to supermarkets, restaurants and shops and farther way from the buzziling tourist areas ( they tend to be quite expensive towards the visitors). We stayed in two different ones, because we travelled to Paris for a few days – 2.5 hours by train I couldn’t resist- 

Everything depends on your budget and what kind of accommodations your are looking for. The second airbnb looked more like a boutique hotel accommodation, with a few different apartments in the building. We got an upgraded apartament because the hostess thought we were really nice people. 

  3) Food 10/10 

My absolute favorite subject in every trip. Say whatever about London, I think the food was fantastic. As a multicultural city, with a lot of diversity and a lot of immigrants, you will find any kind of cuisine you want. We tried curry fries in Camden Town, Pastries and drinks at Borough Market also pancakes at Bermondsey Square. We got bubble tea in Chinatown, Fish and Chips at The world of Harry Potter StudioTour, Coffee at Hyde Park and tea at the bookstore ( I really need to use the wi-fi and the bathroom). As we were staying at the Airbnb, we went to Tesco Supermarket and got us a few items for breakfast and dinner. We never have 3 meals a day while on a trip. We snack a lot, but we don’t have expensive meals

4) Sightseeing and entertainment  5/10 ( I should have booked the tours) 

London Hop on Hop off Bus Tour!

Five days its definitely not enough. I wish I could stay at least 2 weeks, and for a full experience as a local, a full month. Its a good thing in fact because I want to keep coming back, over and over, as much as I can. I will thought, strongly advise you to book tickets in advance, because I couldnt go to the London Eye, take the tea party bus and other attractions because I was a lousy planner.  

5) Weather  3/10 

We live in Denver, so its hard to get disappointed with bad weather. Here we have 7 months of arctic cold blast, and we have no other choice, besides dealing with the gray cloud above us for the time being. London was fine. Sun the morning, cloud and rain in the afternoon, sometimes sunny again. The clouds kept moving around, the weather was mostly gloomy, so always have a small umbrella and a hair tie, because it can get windy. We went mid March and it very springy and beautiful.    

Tips and Tricks about visiting London:

Be patience with the city trains. They might be late, cancel or postponed to a different time all together. If one line is cancelled it will be a major rush to find your way back. 

Dont take a small portable safe on your carry-on luggage. I didnt realize that every airport security is different and its not TSA. TSA is runned in America and America only. At Heathrow airport the agentes stopped me, inspected my bag and asked me if I had a locker. It took me a while to understand that it was my small personal safe, I took just in case the airbnb was not safe. I said yes, they made us open, inspected thoroughly. I was ok with it, but if you are late to your flight, you are doomed. Heathrow airport is massive, it takes about 20 minutes walking until we get to our gate. 

Have a wi-fi set up for your trip. I was afraid of getting an E-sim card and most of my trip was trying to find coffeeshops and free internet to get direction. I wasted time and got lost over and over. Make sure you get one of those E-sim app providers. I will never go anywhere outside the country withou a functional internet on my phone. 

Be ready to walk. London is very pedestrian and bicycle friendly, you can walk for miles and don’t even realize it. Get yourself comfortable shoes and comfortable clothing. 

Make sure to visit Camden town and and the Bourough Market, the oldest Market in the city.  Walk the London Bridge and the Big Ben. Eat street food and hop on the red buses, they are slow, but its a lot of fun. 

After all expectations: 

London makes you feel like you are living in a Rom-Com movie, or the latest Spiderman with Tom Holland. Everything looks historical, because it is. You see castles, forts, great architectural accomplishment and the iconic red phone booth. 

Above all, make sure to have fun. In London its guarantee to find fun, good food and its easy to move around! 

See you next week!