Our weekend away in London

On Friday 16th June it was the Hubby and my 10th anniversary and we decided we would go to London for the weekend. The boys were staying with my sister, so I spent the afternoon packing for us and the boys and after school on Friday I dropped them off at my sister's house. 




The trip down to London


After dropping the boys off with my sister I headed home and we chilled out before getting in the car and driving to Edgware. The drive was fine, we listened to an audio book and chatted and arrived in Edgware at about 9:40. It didn't take long to work out which train we needed to get on and we hopped aboard.

In our bag I'd packed a bottle of Jim Beam Apple, we planned to drink it in the hotel room once we'd settled in. The Hubby couldn't help himself though, and pulled the bottle out while we were sitting on the train. We only had a small drink but it was so nice and got us smiling. 

During our trip on the tube we discovered that the station right by our hotel had been closed, we had to get off a stop before and walk the rest of the way. That was fine, we were ready to leave the tube (it was very hot), we hurried outside into the fresh air. We walked roughly 1 mile from the tube station to our hotel. 

It didn't take us long to settle in for the night, by the time we were in the room having eaten and settled down it was after midnight.




Saturday


Waking on Saturday morning was brilliant, I didn't have to get up immediately and sort out breakfast for everyone. I got to laze around in bed, play on my iPad, and read on my new Kindle. Of course when you're so used to getting up in a morning it wasn't long before I was feeling restless and we decided to head out of the room.


The front of Corus Hotel, Hyde Park. White building with flowers in flower boxes under windows


When we stepped outside the sun was already shining down and we could tell it was going to be a hot day. We were staying at the Corus Hotel which is situated right by Hyde Park so we crossed the road and decided to walk through the park. Hand-in-hand we strolled into the park and I had to take a photo of the fountain. 


Entrance to Hyde Park, with a cloudless blue sky
We walked into the park and I smiled, I couldn't wait for the walk.


Fountain in the bright sunshine, Hyde Park.


We followed a path that went through the park, passing this Peter Pan statue on the way.


Brass Peter Pan statue in Hyde Park


plaque on the floor by peter pan statue


After the statue we found a small cafe, offering coffee, juice, and most importantly breakfast pastries. We bought ourselves a Pain au Chocolate and a blueberry muffin and continued our walk along the path. As we walked towards central London, and as I stood by the lake, I could see the Shard and the London Eye in the distance.


Swans on a lake, cloudless blue sky with London skyline in the background
If you look closely you can see the Shard poking above the trees in the distance behind the tower block. 


Man walking along footpath next to a lake in Hyde Park


Our walk through the park ended and we reached Knightsbridge, Harrods was across the road but wasn't open yet so we decided to keep walking. On our side of the road though we passed a Harrods Property agent and we stopped to take a look at the kind of properties they offered. There were a few that took my fancy...


Concierge, gym, pool and a spa... all for £15k per week. Yep, no problem! 😱


This one looked amazing and for only £15,000 per week (!!) it could've been ours. Oh my!


There was another apartment I saw too, that one was cost £28 million to buy!! I told the Hubby the only way I'd ever move to London was if I could live there. Don't think a move to London is on the cards any time soon though.




Saatchi Gallery



From there we wandered the streets and headed towards the Saatchi Gallery. The last time we visited London we really enjoyed the displays there so we thought we'd go again. Unfortunately this time there were a lot of selfies on display and I'm not one to consider selfies 'art' I'm afraid. I found it really strange that someone taking a photo of themselves every day for a month was classed as art. It's certainly not my idea of art.  I did however find it rather funny that they had this photo on the wall

Pilot taking a selfie out of plane window while flying


This photo has been proven as fake recently! It did make me laugh though.

Upon further investigation we did find a few pieces we liked, and no, they weren't selfies.

This one had a camera in the frame...

Saatchi Gallery piece, camera inside a picture frame. The picture displayed in lines.


Then there was this...

Man standing in front of art in Saatchi Gallery, the piece is mimicking the man.

And here's how it worked.



The Hubby really liked this one and inspected it for a while. He liked how it worked when he could see the pieces moving. We stood there for a while.

There were some fun pieces...

man stood in front of camera in Saatchi Gallery, his eyes are steaming in the feed

Man's eyes appear to be steamed out, an effect on a video feed in Saatchi Gallery
My eyes!


And this...

Piece of metal art that has a shadow of a man and a woman's head.


The piece itself was metal bugs by the looks of it and both the Hubby and I thought it was cool. I found it intriguing that what looked like a ball of metal mess created such a cool shadow, and on closer inspection it wasn't a ball of mess at all.


Close up of metal art in Saatchi Gallery, it is made of bugs

A mass of metal bugs shaped together to portray the shadow of a man and a woman.




Buckingham Palace


From there we wandered towards Buckingham Palace where they were preparing for the Queen's birthday celebrations. There were barriers and hundreds of people standing waiting for the guards parade. Not wanting to be in the sun for too long (I burn really easily) and not particularly enjoying the crowds we moved away from the area, after taking a few photos of course!


People crowded on paths close to Buckingham Palace

Taken from the middle of the road it was the best opportunity I was ever going to get!


Woman standing in front of monument in front of Buckingham Palace.

Queen's Guards parade, the road is lined with Union Jacks and the soldiers are walking towards the camera
I had to take this one while crossing the road but think it came out okay.


People line streets outside Buckingham Palace. The roads are clear.
And of course Buckingham Palace


Whenever we've been to London before and seen the various memorials I haven't taken much notice. I walk by and note that they're there but I don't stop and look. This time we did and for a moment I let the significance of it hit me. It truly was amazing what some people did in order for us to live the way we do today. 

World War 2 Memorial Hyde Park



It wasn't long before we were ready to get out of the sun and have a rest so we headed back towards the hotel, which is where I spotted another fountain.

A fountain in Hyde Park, people playing in the fountain


We grabbed a couple of sandwiches from Pret-a-manger (amazing sandwiches by the way) and went back to our room for a well-earned rest.




Evening out


We had booked a meal at Hawksmoor Knightsbridge and earlier in the day we had discussed getting a cab there. Of course we didn't realise just how expensive London cabs are and after discovering that a quick 10 minute cab ride cost a little less than £10 we decided we'd walk through Hyde Park again.

Hubby and Morgan Prince take a selfie in Hyde Park
The Hubby and I as we started our walk through the park again.






  • Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.

Lao Tzu





It was lovely getting ready for the meal, it's been ages since I got dressed up to go out and although I don't wear a lot of make-up or spend hours getting ready it was still nice to feel like it was something special. 

Hubby and Morgan Prince take selfie in front of fountain in Hyde park
We had to get a photo in front of that fountain.


I wore my Lady Vintage Navy Hepburn dress (£50) with a white belt and white petticoat underneath. I also wore my Shapeez, the most comfortable bra I've worn in a long time. It shaped my top half, hiding all those unsightly bulges, so that my dress looked great. The Shapeez is a wonderful bra and oh-so-comfortable, it works wonders on your top half let me tell you. 

Morgan Prince, wearing Lady Vintage Hepburn dress in Navy. White belt and navy shoes.
Feeling good in the knowledge there are no bulges thanks to my Shapeez.


Close up of woman's back.
Smooth and comfortable


You don't notice you're wearing the Shapeez, it's brilliant. I've worn it lots so far and have to keep washing it because I love it so much. You know that feeling when you finally take off your bra at the end of the day? Well you get that feeling when you're wearing the Shapeez, there's no restriction or pinching anywhere.


smooth back
No unsightly bumps here!


It works really well under t-shirts too! Even a big girl like me can hide those dodgy bulges (you know the ones I mean right?) with a Shapeez and the fit is great. I'd highly recommend one, plus they do other styles too! Do check them out.

My Hotter shoes were comfy, they rubbed a little but I figured they'd be fine. It's not like they were six-inch heels or anything. 

After getting ready we walked from our hotel to the restaurant, following a similar path to earlier that morning. This is when we spotted a Rolls-Royce ice-cream van - how awesome is that?!

woman stands in front of Rolls Royce ice-cream van


When choosing my outfit for the evening I hadn't considered how hot it would be or how much walking we had to do. By the time we arrived at the restaurant I was very hot, very tired, and my feet hurt.

I wouldn't recommend wearing a Shapeez on a super-hot day - not because it's not comfortable but because it covers your top half. Being covered that much on a hot day may not be what you want. Nor would I recommend trying to wear new shoes on a hot day while walking more than 2 miles! 




Hawksmoor Knightsbridge


I was so glad to walk into the building and down the stairs. It was slightly cooler (but not by much) downstairs and I was definitely glad to be out of the sun again. We sat at the bar waiting for our table to be ready and decided to order some drinks.


Fish House Punch - a cocktail. This is the one I chose, it was fruity and fresh and refreshing after that long walk. It didn't last me very long but did give me that 'after-alcohol' glow.

Peach drink in a cocktail glass, lemon and mint poking out of the top of the glass.



Full-fat Old Fashioned - this is basically bourbon with butter. I know, sounds odd right? The Hubby chose this one, I didn't because I thought it sounded a bit too strange for me. I did try it though (obvs!) and you could totally taste the butter. It was strange, and strong, not something I could've drank but the Hubby seemed to enjoy it.

A glass of bourbon with giant ice cube


Starters



Salcombe crab salad with brown shrimps & little gem


crab salad with brown shrimps, little gem, and radish.

My starter. Crab is one of my favourite dishes when done well and I couldn't help but try this one out. It was, again, refreshing and light. The mixture of radishes with crab meat and prawns was tasty and with a splash of lemon juice on top it finished it off lovely. I thoroughly enjoyed my salad.



Half Dartmouth Lobster

Half a lobster, cress garnish and a quarter of a lemon on a white plate.

The Hubby's favourite dish. Whenever the Hubby sees Lobster on a menu it is difficult for him to refuse it. I don't like Lobster so can't tell you what it tasted like but the Hubby enjoyed it. The only issue he had was cracking the shell, he did end up splashing his shirt a little. Apart from that though it looked like it went down a treat.




Main



Fillet Steak & Chips

Both of us ordered this and I have to say it made me laugh. When the steak arrived it was just steak on a plate, no garnish, no side-salad, just the steak. I don't think I've ever seen that before and was amused by it. After tucking into the steak though I can understand why there isn't anything with the steak, because, to be honest, you don't need anything. The steak speaks for itself. It was succulent and tasty, the outside was cooked to perfection and the inside was soft. I like my steak medium-rare and that's just what I got. It was one of the best steaks I've ever had.

Fillet steak on a white plate

chips, arranged in a tall brass glass


On a side note though the Hubby mentioned that he thought I could do that at home. I'm pretty good at cooking steak, even if I do say so myself, and while the ones I've cooked in the past have been significantly smaller than the one we had at Hawksmoor I think I could do it. I'll be trying it out in the next few weeks.




Dessert



Braeburn Tart

apple tart with scoop of ice-cream on a white plate



After the salad, and the huge steak and chips, I was feeling rather full so I wanted to choose something that wouldn't be too heavy. The tart came with cinnamon ice-cream and was delicious. Not too tangy like some apple tarts can be, it was the perfect end to the meal.



Sticky Toffee Pudding

sticky toffee pudding topped with clotted cream, surrounded by toffee sauce, sitting in a white bowl

The Hubby's dessert looked bigger than mine. I didn't mind because I was already full but I did try it. The sticky toffee pudding was very rich, with clotted cream on top. The cream helped with the strong flavour but it was nice. The Hubby enjoyed it a lot but did mention that he was rather full when he'd finished.


After finishing the meal we were both stuffed, I don't think we could've eaten another thing even if someone paid us. 


We walked back to the hotel (my feet hurting the whole way) and relaxed in the room for the rest of the night. We'd walked miles and we were worn out, not to mention the heat!




Sunday


Sunday morning we woke and decided to head straight back home, we were ready to see our home and relax in a place we knew well. 





Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. 

Oscar Wilde





The weekend was brilliant; I learned a few things about myself (coming in posts soon), got to spend some time alone with my Hubby in the gorgeous sunshine, and we celebrated being married for 10 years. 

How did you enjoy the sunshine?