For two girls with busy schedules, we’ve managed to have a heck of a good time this year! Kelly had a quick business trip to take to London and I had an airline credit burning a hole in my pocket, so we took a leap over the pond for a jolly-old weekend in festive London.
Charles Dickens Museum | London
Charles Dickens Museum London
While Kelly was at her meeting on Friday I enjoyed a few hours of walking around the city in the chilly sunshine before arriving at the one place I had hoped to visit most, The Charles Dickens Museum. I debated between the Dickens and Sherlock Holmes attractions before the trip, but once I found out that Dicken’s actually lived and worked in the museum’s location there was no question where I was heading.
My afternoon at 48 Doughty Street was more than I had even hoped for. This is where the author wrote Oliver Twist, The Pickwick Papers and Nicholas Nickleby! Artifacts, manuscripts, and personal items were placed strategically throughout the 4-story townhome making the self-guided tour comfortable and engaging.
I ended my visit with a cup of mushroom soup and a glass of wine in the Museum’s petite cafe. My tiny table has a view of the author’s small but welcoming backyard city patio with its worn bricks, small flower pots, and winter sheen. I couldn’t have asked for a more charming spot to appreciate Ebenezer Scrooge’s and David Copperfield’s London and the author who brought their voices to life.
Love Hate Social Club | Portobello Market | Notting Hill, London
Portobello Road, Notting Hill
The next day we followed a friends advice and headed to the Portobello Road market in Notting Hill. We went through practically every stall in the huge open-air market, enjoying the friendly locals, their unique treasures, and the holiday vibe.
Flea marketing in the U.S. is fun, but we forget how young our country is! So much of what the antique vendors had on display in the U.K. were a hundred, two hundred, three hundred years old and they thought nothing of having them out in the elements at a street fair. I was on the hunt for vintage Dicken’s books after my museum visit and found a pair of marble-edged beauties signed by the publishes dated from 1878 at a random bookstall. JACK-POT!
The highlight of the trip, however, was getting a new tattoo with my Kel! We’ve gotten tattoos together over our 30+-year friendship, but never the same one so it was a special occasion for us both. We chose a Nordic symbol of friendship to mark the event and I think it’s my favorite to date.
Wrist wrapped and adrenaline-surged, we progressed to Part II of our plan to tour the pubs of Notting Hill. Bite, pint, repeat! The recommendations we had received we spot on and we can say with confidence that we got the full London experience.
It was a short trip, but one of the most memorable vacations I’ve ever had with this amazing Super Woman I get to call my best friend.
Cheerio!
