Little trip to London

A couple of weekends ago me and the boy went to London for his admission ceremony to the Solicitor's roll. We got to London reasonably early and dropped our bags off at the hotel. As the room wasn't ready we decided to go to Covent Garden for lunch. We walked past some lovely posh shops (unfortunately he didn't buy me any Louboutin shoes or a diamond ring!) and managed to end up at Buckingham Palace (I blame the boy!) Anyway considering we were there we went for a walk down the Mall to have tea with the Queen (not literally!) The Mall was still closed off from the Royal Wedding so there wasn't all the traffic that you normally get and was lovely to walk down.


Following our little detour, we finally got to Covent Garden and had a walk round. We found a lovely little patisserie called Patisserie Valerie on Bedford Street that had the most delicious almond crossiants which had marzipan in the centre! We also found an old sweet shop called Mr Simms Olde Sweet Shoppe on New Row that had sweets in jars which reminded me of when I was younger so had to get some cola cubes and sherbert lemons!


After a lot of searching we finally found a pub which wasn't too busy for lunch called The Sussex on Upper Street. We managed to find a table straight away and ordered our drinks and food. The food was lovely and we didn't have to wait long for it to arrive. I had the vegetarian fish and chips and the only complaint was that the batter on the halloumi was a bit too oily for me. 

Paddling in the Diana Memorial

As the weather was beautiful we decided to take a walk through Hyde Park to the Princess Diana Memorial. I didn't realise that you were allowed to paddle and play in the fountain but there were lots of people there so we decided to join in. We were absolutely soaked by the end of it but I loved every minute and would definitely recommend it for a summers day. 

Jimi Hendrix Suite

Once we had finished being big kids we made our way back to the hotel to check in and get ready for the evening. We had booked the Jimi Hendrix Suite at the Cumberland Hotel which is near Marble Arch and it was fabulous! Anyone who is a rock and roll fan, like myself will absolutely love this room. The room is the last known address for Jimi before he died and the hotel created this beautiful room to mark the 40th anniversary of his death. The website mentions a rare 'flying v' guitar which is on one of the walls, unfortunately this is no longer there as some previous guests had vandalised it so it had to be taken down. 


We went to Thai Square in Covent Garden for dinner as I am a huge Thai fan. The decor is beautiful and traditional for a Thai restaurant. We ordered a vegetarian platter for our starter which was ok, was a bit bland for us and we would of liked a bit more sweet chilli sauce to dip with. I ordered Thai green curry for my main with steamed rice which was beautiful and very hot! The boy had Seafood Nam Prik Pao with sticky rice which he said was delicious. The service was ok, we had to wait a while for our drinks order to be taken but apart from that all the staff were very attentive.

The boy becoming a Solicitor

We then went to Ronnie Scotts which is in Soho and one of the oldest jazz clubs in the world. I'm not a huge jazz fan but I enjoy watching/listening to live music rather than going to a club or bar so I thought I'd give it a go. It was absolutely amazing! The band was brilliant and played superbly together. The band consisted of jazz musicians from all over the world and of all different ages. I loved the saxophone players who just blew my mind! The seating arrangements are like in the old movies where there is a lamp between the two of you and the service is brought to you. I would definitely recommend Ronnie Scotts to anyone and everyone, especially playing who love live music!

Picnic in the park

The following day was the boy's admission ceremony which was in the Law Society buildings on Chancery Lane. The building was beautiful and I was very proud when the boy went up on stage to have his certificate presented to him and become a Solicitor (finally!)


To celebrate we went to Marks and Spencers and bought a picnic to have in Hyde Park. We found a beautiful little spot in the rose garden and enjoyed our picnic which included sealed glasses of wine! I love the green spaces that are all over London and when the weather is nice most people are out enjoying the sunshine.


Before we went to catch the train home we paid a visit to Trader Vic's which is inside the Hilton Hotel on Park Lane. Every time I have visited London my Dad has always told me that I need to go to Trader Vic's for a Pina Colada as per the song Werewolves of London so this time I finally went! Unfortunately I am allergic to pineapple so couldn't have a Pina Colada but I had a lovely cocktail called a Peach Tree Punch. The boy had a Mai Tai which was very strong! The Mai Tai was first invented by Trader Vic's in 1944 and is what the bar is famous for. The service was excellent and the decor was beautiful. It was a lovely experience and a great way to finish off our little trip to London. 

Cocktails in Trader Vic's