My First Trip to London + budget tips

Hey everyone,

It's already a week ago that I flew to London. I can remember the months I've waited for my first trip ever to London. I've always really liked England and all the beautiful buildings, shops and the English language. The people are really nice and they helped us with tickets and directions. I have really fallen in love with this city. Read further for some fun things to do in London and budget tips! Let's get right to it! 

FIRST DAY SCHEDULE

Friday: Last Friday me and my family packed our bags and went to Schiphol Airport to take a flight to London Heathrow Airport. I flew with British Airways and was really surprised by how friendly the staff was. The plane was also very big and we even got something to eat and drink. After a short 45 minute flight we arrived at Heathrow. It's really exciting to actually be in the city you've dreamed of for so long! We took the Heathrow express to Paddington Station and that took us only about 15 minutes. Paddington is a very nice neighborhood and the buildings are so pretty as well. I love older looking buildings and it really gives the place a different atmosphere. The red busses are so cool and we took one to go to Aldwych where our hotel the Waldorf Hilton was. We took line 23 that goes from Paddington to Aldwych via Oxford street and Regent street. It was the perfect bus for a some sightseeing and seeing all the shops like Harrods, Marks & Spencer, John Lewis and many more. The hotel was really nice and there was a man, a typical English man opening the hotel door every time. 

As I'm always hungry we went for lunch to Covent Garden. Covent Garden is a really nice place with all kinds of unique shops and delicious small restaurants. There is always a performance going on and you are never bored. I can't remember the name of the restaurant where we ate. But I'm sure you'll find a yummy restaurant. I ordered bread with tomato soup and bacon. It was really good and also healthy. What I noticed was that really very restaurant had healthy choices. After a good lunch we walked to our hotel to see if the room was ready. We rested for a little bit and went to the Tesco Express to collect a few croissants, yoghurt and magazines. In the evening we went to the musical in the Novello Theatre called Mamma Mia. The musical was so fun and it really makes you happy! At the end the public was singing along and everybody was dancing haha! It a feel good musical and I really recommend it if you go to London. 

SECOND DAY SCHEDULE

Saturday: On Saturday morning I woke up really early and as I don't have a bath at home, took the opportunity and took a long relaxing bath. Than we went for breakfast and my favorite thing was the yoghurt. In Holland you don't have a yoghurt with a flavor that tastes like that and in Italy they have the same yogurt as well. (The brownies were yummy too) Today we walked to Regent Street and Oxford Street for a little bit of shopping. It was from our hotel a 15 minute walk. I went to Superdry, Antrophology, Jack Wills and a few more. I also went to the famous toy store Hamleys and it was really cool to see all the toys and bears! I really wanted to buy a bear but they were so expensive. We didn't go to the warehouses as they were a few streets ahead and it was a little bit too far. We decided to go to our hotel and rest a little bit. In the evening we went to the Lion King musical. I didn't think I was going to like it but I did. They played it really well and the little boy and girl were really talented to play such a big role so young. 

LAST DAY SCHEDULE

Sunday: The days really flew by. It was also darker earlier there than in Holland so it made the days even shorter. I still really wanted to see the Big Ben and Buckingham Palace where the famous wedding of William and Kate took place. Afterwards we went to the British Museum which was really interesting. We went to the African Animals exhibition and the mummies were really cool to see as well. Than we headed back to the airport and ate something at Starbucks and flew home.

LONDON BUDGET TIPS

Tesco express: London is quite and expensive city. It's impossible to go out for dinner and lunch everyday. The Tesco Express is a great way to keep the budget low and still have a great meal. Their is a Tesco supermarket almost on every corner so it's really easy to find them. 

Bus: we actually took the same bus, line 23, as the sightseeing tour bus that was double the price. At home we already bought an Oyster card and it's great if you want to go by bus not only one time but for a few days in a row. It's a great money saver and it's handy because you can't pay with cash in busses. 

Musicals: there are a lot of small shops in town that offer last minute tickets to musicals like Mamma Mia, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and more for a great discount. If you're lucky you can find some great tickets at a good price instead of buying them online in advance.  

Thank you very much for reading today's post! I hope you now want to start traveling too! There are so many fun things you can do in London, so next time I'll definitely go to the London Eye. 

QUESTION TIME - Have you every been to London?

Have a lovely day,

Isabella❤