So I had to go down to London to get my student visa from the US Embassy, so naturally we made a little trip of it!
Once we had arrived in London after a three-hour train journey, we had pre-ordered tickets for the V&A's latest fashion exhibition, of ballgowns from 1950 to the present day. It was a really lovely display, and the V&A just so happens to be my favourite museum ever.
We stopped for a quick pre-theatre bite at the Brompton Quarter Brasserie, which I definitely wouldn't recommend! Very overpriced, terrible service and mediocre food. Ah well, you win some, you lose some!
Afterwards we went to the Cambridge Theatre near Covent Garden to see Matilda, which is relatively new on the West End. It was a very well staged production and sitting in the upper circle didn't matter luckily!
Our hotel was The Westbury on Conduit Street in Mayfair, which was so chic and nice to stay so central. One of the best things about good hotels is the pillows! Mmmm so soft.
So the next day we did a bit of shopping on Oxford Street and Carnaby Street after a quick fruit-and-croissant breakfast from Pret A Manger - one of the things I notice in London is just how many Prets there are!. On Oxford Street, Urban Outfitters is my new favourite! Just my thing, and they were having a huge sale too so I picked up a few things for America. As usual I forgot to take pictures of what I got (apart from the one below, Instagram is my new obsession), but I might do a haul so look out for that! We also wandered the beauty hall in Selfridges, which is heaven, and I couldn't resist buying a blusher from NARS.
How cool is this?! From the Urban Outfitters sale, a watch with two faces - one for London time, one for San Francisco Time! This is the kind of thing I think is brilliant.
After a quick bagel and chai tea latte at Starbucks I made my way to the Embassy for my appointment. And yay! My visa was approved so I can now study in America!
After my appointment and a little cat nap in the hotel, we had an early tea at Aubaine on Heddon Street, just off Regent Street, which was a lovely French restaurant recommended by Rose from
The Londoner - after last night's disastrous meal, I thought we'd better go for a place that had been tried and tested! Luckily it was amazing - I had a mozzarella and tomato-jelly salad for starter, scallops, prawns and octopus with tomato and garlic bread with a side of fries (French ones of course) for main course and I shared a raspberry and pistachio cake for dessert with my mum, in a lovely French-style atmosphere.
We then walked to the Queen's Theatre on Shaftsbury Avenue to see my all-time favourite show, Les Miserables and it didn't disappoint! The only problem is that I end up singing the songs for pretty much the rest of the week but who's complaining?! Oh yeah, the people listening.
The next morning we had a quick breakfast at Starbucks before getting the tube to Liverpool Street Station to have a little wander round Spitalfields Market. It's nice to get away from the tourist crush of the West End, and the market was lovely! There were so many unique things (Mother of Pearl opera binoculars, anyone?), I probably could have spent all day looking over everything. I picked up a vintage Levis jacket so I came away pleased as punch.
All I can say is I love London! Most importantly, I got my visa but I also got some lovely things and had a fabulous break away with my mum too, ahh :)
