Wanna Stick London in My Purse

Oh hiiiii from the other side of the pond! (<–I’ve always wanted to say that.)

When in London / Bev Cooks

I LOVE LONDON. It makes me dizzy how much I’m diggin’ this city. The pace. The food. (Some of) the style. The accents. The cobblestone. The bridges. The history. And the fact that everywhere we go I’m like, “THIS IS WHERE MARY POPPINS AND DICK VAN DYKE SANG AND STOOD AND SMILED AND DANCED.” I shout it. Just like that. People love me.

When in London / Bev Cooks

I don’t have a lot of time to “bang on” about every moment, as we’re meeting up shortly for a fabulous breakfast at City Hall, then headed to France on a train (<–like, who says that), but here are some personal highlights, so far.

  1. The words BANG ON. They’re my new life.
  2. Cappuccinos! I’ve never been into nice coffee drinks, but this city is convincing me. I’ve had two so far and I want 284 trillion more.
  3. Red buses and old telephone booths. You cannot get any more London than that, and I now desperately need a telephone booth in Kansas.

When in London / Bev Cooks

4) Notting Hill. Hello, it is theee cutest, most charming area in the city. Shops, bakeries, street food, curb markets, boutiques, the most stunning flat fronts I’ve ever seen. Look at that door! I could do an entire post on flat fronts. I don’t even know if flat front is the right word, but this is my blog and I can say it if I want. (also, Hugh and Julia)

When in London / Bev Cooks

5) The BREAD. Everything is rustic and artisan and beautiful and I gained 5 pounds just taking this photo.

When in London / Bev Cooks

6) There are pastries everywhere.  E v e r y w h e r e. And we aren’t even in Paris yet! I’m in major trouble. (p.s. those ^^ have cardamom in them and we all stood in the street and wept until our faces turned into ponds.)

When in London / Bev Cooks

7) TEA TIME. This could be another entire post on its own. We had the enormous pleasure of spending yesterday afternoon with this lovely British woman in her cozy Notting Hill flat making scones and shortbread. She taught us all about the history and art of tea time, and the breakdown of the different status teas and what message each sends. It’s complicated! I thought it was just like, “Hey, dude – want some tea?” Nooooonononono. There are different tiers of tea time. Different customs. Hidden messages. Secret codes. James Bond. Handcuffs.

8) Clotted cream. ‘Nuff said.

When in London / Bev Cooks

9) Smoked salmon, egg and cucumber sandwiches. I don’t want to tell you how many I ate, but it rhymes with SMALL DOF FLEM.

When in London / Bev Cooks

10) The architecture! Everything has either a steeple on it, pigeons around it, or such ornate beautiful detail that you want to punch it. It’s all just so magnificent and grand. And Mary Poppins. (By the way -I snapped a BUNCH of this, and NONE of them posted. Makes me crazy. But you should know that I fed the birds. And sang to the cathedral, then nearly got hit by one of those red buses. They are fast! Be careful in London.)

When in London / Bev Cooks

These are my travel gal pals, Ashlae (left) and Ashley (right). They have cool matching backpacks and defined calves. I hate and love them.

That’s all for now! There’s sooo much I’m leaving out, like this incredible food tour we took, complete with the most amazing chorizo I’ve EVER tasted, beautiful chocolates, wines, cheeses, olives, pickled GARLIC. Have you ever had pickled garlic? It will change the course of your life. And give you pickle face.

Today we’re hopping on the Eurostar and headed to Paaaaaaaris. I can’t even wrap my head around that. PARIS. I’ll be bonkers snapping from the train, so you best be follerin’.

More soon, chap! (<–is it okay that I called you chap?)

*this post and all of my travel is sponsored by Eurostar. THE TRAIN. Did you remember that I’m going on a train?

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16 Responses to Wanna Stick London in My Purse

  1. Tori March 23, 2016 at 4:20 am #
    Ha, I can't decide whether I should thank you for so much inspiration to get my butt to Europe, or be angry that your making me insanely want to go somewhere that I can't at this very moment! I'm leaning towards the former but the latter hasn't been ruled out yet. These pictures are beautiful and I think I'll use "bang on" all day now!
    • Silvia Heuven October 6, 2018 at 9:48 am #
      I love, love how excited you are about the scones, clotted cream, the buses and booths! You should have hop skipped along to Holland. It’s like being at Disney World and having all the cute little houses and window basket flowers hanging out of them and transferred to Holland. All the yards have cute designs of oval, cube, round hedges. Who has time for this apparently all the Dutch. Everything seems to have a a place and a place for everything ( I always wanted to say that!)
  2. Emily @ Life on Food March 23, 2016 at 4:30 am #
    Oh have so much fun and then take more pictures for us. I am super jealous and want to jump on a plane and go to Europe now!
  3. Joni March 23, 2016 at 9:12 am #
    Paris and London, my two favorite cities! Not sure how your photos will turn out, the Eurostar goes fast. Really fast! Enjoy!
  4. Dee @ The Kitchen Snob March 23, 2016 at 11:23 am #
    Thanks for posting from across the pond! <-- I've always wanted to say that. Can't wait to hear more.
  5. Nicola March 23, 2016 at 11:46 am #
    Sooooooooooo glad you got to have clotted cream! It's the main thing I miss since moving from Scotland > PA!
  6. Nicola March 23, 2016 at 11:51 am #
    *also - 'chaps' is good! thought you'd have a blast with cockney rhyming slang : Apples and pears = Stairs (My old) China - China Plate = Mate Donkey's - Donkey's Ears =Years etc etc etc
  7. Sarah @ Will Run for Pasta March 23, 2016 at 1:15 pm #
    If I wasn't already wanting to go, that cardamom pastry would have convinced me. We are not doing enough with cardamom on this side of the pond. Your trip looks fabulous, have fun on the train!
  8. Julia@Vikalinka March 23, 2016 at 5:00 pm #
    Thank you so much for writing about incredible food you can eat in London, Bev! I am so tired of people saying the Brits eat horribly. Not true!! Enjoy Paris!!
  9. Aimee @ Simple Bites March 23, 2016 at 8:57 pm #
    I feel your feels. One visit and I have London in my blood. Must get back there soon. Enjoy and have FUN!
  10. Brittany | Words Like Honeycomb March 24, 2016 at 7:47 am #
    SNaPcHAt is like the best this week, thanks to you <3
  11. Donna Shearer March 24, 2016 at 4:05 pm #
    You are so cute and funny! glad you are having a fab time. is that St Paul's cathedral? I stood under the dome and shot a pic straight up! it is one of my fav ones. I had to lie down on the trip home cause we ate so much rich food, drank and smoked their cigarettes. ha.
  12. Michelle March 25, 2016 at 2:07 pm #
    I got so into this post I suddenly found myself researching flats in Notting Hill. I probably shouldn't do that again until I win the lottery.
  13. Julie @ Table for Two March 28, 2016 at 9:00 am #
    Ugh, I'm utterly and forever obsessed with London. We went October 2014 and I have been dying to go back!
  14. Heather Buzby March 29, 2016 at 12:28 pm #
    London is where I belong. My husband and I went on our honeymoon (so many people there were like "why would you come here for your honeymoon?"). We feel homesick when we think about London. Plus the countryside, it's all to beautiful. ?

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. The Girl on the (Eurostar) Train - Bev Cooks - March 31, 2016 […] of gross, look at this flat front. I know I showed you one already a couple of posts back, but I can’t rightly help it. LOOK AT THAT. Almost makes me legit […]

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