A Country Bumpkin's Guide to London

If you've read my last post you'll know that Friday saw me venture to London. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't live in a field in the middle of nowhere, but my town isn't necessarily known for it's social buzz. I mean, we don't even have a Boots or Superdrug... (Is it me or does everywhere have one or the other, or both?) Anyway, I thought for today's post I'd compile a little guide to the big city

BLACK SNOT

I wasn't quite sure how to phrase this one in a more dignified way, but it is what it says on the tin. Blowing your nose after a day of tube travel always results in a tissue full of black sludge. Sexy.

THE MUSIC IS LOUD, ALWAYS

I don't know what it is, but every shop on Oxford Street always has reallllly loud music? It's almost like a daytime club, if you will, with its pounding bass. (Obviously minus the drinks, lights, pyro and dodgy drunk dancing)

CROSSING ROADS IS A NIGHTMARE

The amount of time I've stood on a kerb waiting for the road to clear, ready to cross, is crazy. London doesn't slow down, it's always busy, so if you see someone crossing, join them. I know that's certainly not the wisest of advice, but it's sometimes necessary.

GET AN OYSTER CARD

If you're going to be using the tube multiple times in a day I'd definitely recommend getting one. They're £5, and then you can just top it up with however much you'd like. It works out waaaay cheaper and it's just a lot easier than fiddling around putting a travel card in the gates. (This isn't sponsored, it's just that I've only just got round to getting one myself, and think it's a great idea)

ACT LIKE YOU'RE ON A MISSION

Do not show the slightest sign of weakness, this is especially true when waiting in a tube station. Focus at all times, and prepare to push. If not, prepare to wait for the next 3 trains, and you might just get on. 

'SPENDING A PENNY' IS NO LONGER A PENNY

Yep, we've all heard the phrase, but it's not quite true anymore. The charge for toilets, with inflation, is now basically a pound, so always have plenty of spare change, and not just of the copper variety. 

Can you relate to any of these?

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My Trip To The Capital

On Friday, I felt like a proper adult. I travelled to London on my own, and spent the day wandering around the capital on my own. I know for some people that'll be nothing, but I live in a really quite small town, and my sense of direction quite frankly, is appalling. None of my friends were free to go with me yesterday, but they kept texting throughout the day to check I was alright, and hadn't managed to lose myself in the middle of London. Luckily I didn't and I had a fab day.

After the two hour journey to Victoria, I hopped on the Victoria Line and headed to Sloane Square. Here I had a quick wander round before heading to Brandy Melville. I love that shop. However, I was slightly disappointed by what's in store currently, and only came away with one top. The next stop was Pret for lunch, I wanted something quick before heading to The Blogers Hangout Event. I had the macaroni cheese with kale and cauliflower, and wow, it was really quite delicious. On the way to the station I nipped into Zara very quickly and almost 95% of the store was on sale, amazing.

Now it was time to head to the Strand Gallery for the aforementioned event. But just before, I popped into a tiny Oliver Bonas store in the station, to see what all the hype is about. Am I a proper blogger yet? Anyway, I arrived at the event and had a great time. I met some great brands and was introduced to some really interesting products and concepts. Whilst there, the lovely girls from United Beauty painted my nails in this gorgeous muted grey colour, and finished them off with a gel topcoat. And oh my, I was/am still impressed. Their gel kit essentially turns any polish into a gel polish, it's insane, but you can remove it at home like you would any other polish, there's no soaking off required. Amazing.

Sass and Belle were also at the event, and I've totally fallen in love with their cactus and tropical summer collections. I stupidly didn't take a photo of their stand, but trust me, it was cute, Having looked at their website, I'm pleasantly surprised by how well priced everything is, so that's a big thumbs up from me. I hadn't heard of Pink Parcel before the event, and it's basically a period subscription box. It's £10 a month, and as well as the necessities, you also receive a mini treat box also. This includes; chocolate, tea, makeup, nail polish as well as some skin care. (Don't quote me on that, but the ones at the event did!) The Perfume Shop had a stand, and I've genuinely fallen in love with so many new scents, especially tropical ones. Other brands at the event included KB Hair Extensions, T-tox and Nature's Wish. 

Once I'd finished at the Strand, I headed to Oxford Circus to do a bit more shopping. That Topshop is hugeeee and possibly the easiest shop to get lost in.I walked past the same rail of jeans about 6 times before finding the way out. (See, I said my sense of direction sucks.) Anyway, I picked up a few more bits before heading to Victoria, ready to head home. Overall I had a really great day, exhausting, but great. If you'd like, you can read about my last trip to London here.

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London Discoveries

Last Tuesday my best friend Ed and I went to London for the day. It was lovely. We caught the coach up, and arrived in Victoria at about 12. Rather than an hour by hour account of the day, I think the highlights would be better...

So, when we arrived we headed straight to Covent Garden, as we fancied going to Bill's for lunch. (The 193 steps at the tube station never get any easier do they?)  But when we arrived we couldn't find it? And it's probably fair to say that we were verging on hangry* at this point. So instead we went to Spaghettihouse for lunch, and it was delicious. I finally tried that San Pellegrino Limonata that's been doing the blogger rounds recently, and it was lovely. Am I Zoella yet?

I also dragged Ed to the Brandy Melville on Kings Road, and I think I fell in love with 99.6857685% of the items in there. Other highlights of the day include; Lola's Cupcakes. I'd never had Red Velvet before, but I'm now obsessed. It's sooooo good. We also went to a really cool juice bar, where I had a green juice in an attempt to make up for the rest of the day's unhealthiness. That's my logic for you.

For dinner we went to Leon, and I'm still not sure what I think. I mean, it was just different. We ate in, and so were taken round the back to this low lit room where we were inches from the other customers. I had grilled halloumi and quinoa - am I hip and relevant yet? I mean, the food was nice, the atmosphere just wasn't quite what we were expecting.

Surprisingly I didn't do too much shopping while in the Capital, but I'm sure I'll show you the few things I did buy in the near future.

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