For the first time, my husband and I were able to take a 2 week vacation during the summer! We always took our vacations during the holidays and always ended up needing a vacation from our vacation. This time, we were able to fully enjoy and experience the places we visited to their fullest while it was warm in Europe ;)
Our fist stop was London. We left on May 31st on our one year anniversary and had the best time ever! I fell in love with the British architecture and the posh life of course. We were lucky enough to have friends in London so we got to visit the touristy spots as well as the hip local spots. The night life was fun and similar to NYC and so we partied as well. We were in London for 4 days and stayed at the
Mandarin Oriental in Hyde Park. Thanks to a wedding gift, our stay was fully covered! I had seen a lot of pictures in magazines and editorials of the Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, London Eye, and the red telephone booths and always dreamed of being there in person. This year that dream came true! It was just marvelous! The parks, the streets, the shops, and the buildings are just so beautiful. While Luis and I walked the streets of London I kept thinking about the Parent Trap movie when "Hallie" visits her mom. Get a sneak peek of this scene
here and that is exactly how I was in the taxi on our way to our hotel, except I had my iPhone out the whole time snapping pictures!
Here are my iPhone 6 snaps of what we did and where we went!
Our Uber ride to our hotel cost around 41 pounds and it took us about 40 minutes to get to Hyde Park from Heathrow.
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| Mandarin Oriental lobby |
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| Mandarin Oriental |
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| Tea time at the Mandarin |
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| Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park |
We went to
Aqua nueva for drinks,
Chotto Matte for dinner, and then to
Tonteria for some dancing on our first night!
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| Aqua Nueva |
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| Aqua Nueva |
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| Chotto Matte |
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| Tonteria |
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| Us at Tonteria |
We explored the touristy places on our second day and walked from our hotel to Buckingham Palace, Parliament Square (Big Ben), London Eye, Oxford street (shopping street), and the beautiful Hyde Park & Green Park.
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| Buckingham Palace |
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| Parliament Square |
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| Big Ben |
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| Household Cavalry Museum |
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| Red telephone booth! |
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| <3 |
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| Changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace |
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| Changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace |
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| London Eye |
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| Green Park |
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| Hyde Park |
We met up with our friends at
Sushi Samba for dinner. We then went upstairs for a few drinks at
Duck & Waffle. I had read that Sushi Samba was rated one of the best rooftop restaurants in the world by
Harper's Bazaar and when our friends took us there, I was super excited!
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| Sushi Samba |
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| Sushi Samba patio |
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| Sushi Samba |
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| Cheers! |
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| Duck & Waffle |
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| Our view from Sushi Samba |
Our last full day in London, we visited the Notting Hill neighborhood and brunched at
Beach Blanket Babylon. We then took a stroll through the beautiful neighborhood. For dinner, we went to the best Indian restaurant that we have ever been to!
Gymkhana. We then went to
Cirque le Soir for some more dancing. I fell in love with how sophisticated and clean London was. London is a beautiful city with lots of history and beautiful things everywhere!
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| Beach Blanket Babylon |
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| Beach Blanket Babylon |
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| Beach Blanket Babylon |
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| Notting Hill |
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| Cirque |
The next day we woke up, had brunch around the hotel and were on our way to Barcelona, Spain! We stayed in Barcelona for 8 nights and definitely enjoyed the city to its fullest! By the 3rd day we didn't even need a map. We stayed at the hip and modern
H10 Urquinaona Plaza Hotel right by where everything was. The only time we took taxis were to and from the airport, and to visit Park Guell and La Sagrada Familia. We walked everywhere and loved every bit of it! By the 3rd day we agreed that the best neighborhoods were El Gotico and El Born which were right next to each other and right by our hotel. One of the days we walked from our hotel to Barceloneta beach. It was a great walk but the beach was definitely a tourist trap, so we were very glad that we didn't stay near there. We only went to Las Ramblas once, this too was a tourist trap. We loved the hidden tapas places in El Gotico and El Born and loved the ease and convenience of getting around. There was always something to do and see and when we got tired, we would just lounge by the hotel pool. The people in Barcelona were one of the nicest people we have met during our travels. I was just fascinated by how modern everything was and by Gaudi's legacy. Our favorite brunch spot was
Al Sur Cafe (Lluria)! Our favorite tapas restaurants were
Tapeo and
Casa Alfonso. Our favorite roof top bar was at the
Ohla Hotel. I was so surprised by the fact that the native language was Catalan, the drink of the city was a gin and tonic, and the architecture wasn't colonial at all. Food in Barcelona was super cheap compared to London.
Below are my snaps from Barcelona!
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| H10 Urquinaona Plaza Hotel |
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| Plaza Urquinaona |
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| El Gotico! |
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| Palau Guell |
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| Palau Guell |
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| Palau Guell |
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| Palau Guell |
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| Palau Guell |
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| Palau Guell |
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| Las Ramblas |
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| El Gotico |
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| Palau Guell |
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| Palau Guell |
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| Barcelona Cathedral |
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| H10 Urquinaona Plaza Hotel |
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| Us at Arco de Triunfo |
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| Al Sur Cafe |
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| Casa Batllo |
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| H10 Urquinaona Plaza Hotel |
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| Go Barca! |
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| Petit Pot Cafe (right next to our hotel) |
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| Gaudi's House at Park Guell |
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| Park Guell |
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| Park Guell |
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| Park Guell |
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| Park Guell |
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| Park Guell |
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| Park Guell |
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| Ohla Hotel rooftop bar |
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| Mercat de Boqueria |
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| Park Guell |
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| Park Guell |
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| La Sagrada Familia |
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| La Sagrada Familia |
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| Inside La Sagrada Familia |
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| Picasso Museum |
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| La Taguara Areperia (Venezuelan food) |
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| Ciudad Condal Rest. |
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| XOXO |
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| Barceloneta Beach |
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| Barceloneta Beach |
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| Ohla Hotel rooftop bar |
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| Streets of Barcelona |
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| El Born |
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| Xampanyet Restaurant (most popular tapas place) |
We had a blast exploring London and Barcelona! Can't wait for more adventures! YOLO is my motto ;) Go and explore the world, there is so much to see and learn!
XoXo,
Keily
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