ENJOY CHRISTMAS TIME IN LONDON: AN exploration of culture, cuisine & city secrets
What you’ll get from this blog
The first thing to say is that flying to London on December 24 was brilliant because the tickets were very well-priced.I think tickets were also cheap because public transportation, trains, the underground tube, and buses don't run on Christmas Day; I want to point this out in case you plan to visit during that time of the year. So we took a National Express bus from Heathrow to Terminal 3 to Victoria Station and hopped in an Uber to our hotel.WHERE TO STAY
We stayed at an apart-hotel called Bermonde’s Locke. Locke Hotels is a company that has apartment-hotels all over Europe. We stayed at the one near Tower Bridge because I wanted to stay near a top attraction in the city. Since it was my lover’s first time in the city, I was excited to see him get excited about the trip.We had a lovely studio apartment with a queen bed, a gorgeous blue-tiled bathroom, a fully stocked kitchen, a washing machine, and storage. Everything was beautiful, and the staff was phenomenal. The space is very queer-friendly and diverse, and the lobby is a nice co-working space. I wish I could stay at the apart-hotel much longer; everything was sooo great! But I’ll be back on my next trip to London. I highly recommend staying here when you visit London; there are a few Locke hotels around the city. I believe the price for four nights was $680. Click here for a total travel budget of how much we spent during five days in London. 
I love staying at the Hoxton, so on our last night in London, which was also my lover’s birthday, we stayed at the Hoxton in Shoreditch it was ridiculously priced but understandable because it was New Year's Eve. My only beef is that their trend of having TVs that dont show streaming services NEEDS TO STOP.The Hoxton is still a vibe, though, I’ve been to the one in Paris, London, Chicago, Portland, and Amsterdam.Where to Eat
On Christmas day, we were still jetlagged and in no mood to ride half an hour for our dinner reservations, so we decided to wing it and have dinner at Shakedown inside the Dixon Hotel. The food hit the spot, so much so that we visited twice during our stay. I had lasagna, pork wine, a bread tray, and dessert. It was a great way. It was a great night, and then we rested. So, if you are in London for five days, this guide will help you.For breakfast, and if you like eggs, go to Eggslut, a boutique diner that only serves meals made with eggs, and our sandwiches were delicious. There are a few scattered around London.Craving Chinese food? Go to Plum Valley in Chinatown. I visited in 2022 and couldn’t wait to go back. The food was terrific. I strongly recommend you try the Mongolian beef and rice. It will blow your tastebuds awayyyyyyy.Before you leave Plum Valley, Google search for someplace called Chinatown Bakery; it is about a 2-minute walk. Pop in there for some even more delicious dessert. They have pastries that look and feel like cloud foam, and everything tastes sooo good! On god! I promise you will not gonna regret it.
If you plan to go to London before April 2024, get breakfast at Prada Cafe. I had a filling yogurt bowl, orange juice, chocolate, and a bread basket. The reservation-only cafe is inside Harrods, one of London's biggest, most prestigious shopping centers. Super bougie. And visiting Harrods is an absolute, absolute must. It has a lot of luxury shopping as well.Have a celebration coming up? Even if you're not celebrating, I strongly recommend having dinner at San Carlo Cinchetti, an Italian restaurant. There are about 3 in London, we visited the one in Knightsbridge (opposite Harrods) for my lover’s birthday and everything was fabulous!
It works here because you don't order single food plates; you order multiple dishes off the menu and then share. We had a port wine and cocktails to start. Five-course meal of Prosciutto San Daniele and Gnocco Fritto, Spaghetti Carbonara, Lasagne al Forno, Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks, and then we had dessert dessert, which was the most spectacular part of the evening. We ordered the Mantecato alla Nocciola, and our waiter made the dessert before us. This man came out rolling on a cart with a giant bowl of ice. The ice was shaped like a bowl, and he created the dessert in front of us. And other tables also watched in awe and wanted to order the same thing. At the night's end, the staff sang Happy Birthday to my lover. We devoured our dessert and toasted it with glasses of limoncello. A ten over ten night! 
Things to do
On our first night, we walked the Tower Bridge, which had a fantastic view of the city. I can 100% confirm that the best time to see/walk across the Tower Bridge is at night. During the day, every time we passed by, it was cramped with people. It felt like we were walking across the Brooklyn Bridge in New York during the day.Because we were staying close to Tower Bridge, we walked over to one of the Christmas markets in London, Christmas by the River, right by the Thames. There was a lot of food and great options. We had sausages, gluwhein, hot chocolate, crepes, and Poffertjes. If you’re visiting in December, look out for the Christmas markets around London. Another great one I saw last year was in Leicester Square, but when we got there, it had closed for the day.Me and the Hoxton, we just go together. So, while I was in London, I hit all three. On night two, my lover and I went to the one in Southwark and enjoyed drinks in the cozy lobby. On night 4, we visited the one in Holborn for late-night tea and sticky toffee.On your itinerary for London, wandering around Soho is a must; there’s a lot to see, do, window shop, and eat in the neighborhood. I returned to SOHO because of a tattoo shop called the Gypsy Stables. When I was in London in 2022, I met a tattoo artist who got me one of my favorite tattoos, my Harry Potter Deathly Hallows tattoo, so I went back to get another one. His name is Danny. If you're in London looking for a tattoo artist like, 1 million percent recommend Danny. I got an avatar tattoo and screamed most of the time because there was a lot of shading work, and it hurt. I kept asking, “Danny, why are you trying to hurt me?”You should also wander into Piccadilly Square; it’s a must-see area of London. If you know what New York’s Times Square is, this is a version of it. It's just so much happening. Also, be super careful because you're constantly being warned about pickpockets.
Whether in London or wherever you visit in England, you NEED to experience High Tea. Let me tell you, the English don't play about their tea, and that's great because I'm a tea lover as well; give me some loose-leaf tea and some honey, and I’m golden. I strongly recommend having tea, specifically at The Ivy. There are a few scattered around London, but we had a table near Tower Bridge with the best view of the bridge from our table. So with High Tea, you can have either tea, hot chocolate, or coffee and then a tower of scones, sweet desserts, sandwiches, butter, cream cheese, jams, yeah, you have to experience that! It was delicious. Everything was delicious.
From Piccadilly Square, it’s a short walk down to Chinatown; add that to your list! And if you go during the holidays, expect it to be PACKED!You CANNOT visit London without going to Notting Hill. If you’re going via Tube, the closest train station is Notting Hill Gate. It is a stunning neighborhood in London where all the houses are painted brightly. It is beautiful, and you know a bunch of rich people live there because there was a Porsche on every corner. It is a must-see neighborhood! The reason we actually went there was because we were trying to eat another egg-themed diner called Eggs Break. If you get a chance, please go there. The reviews were brilliant, but we didn't end up inside because the line was so long, and we were starvingggg. We’ll be back next year, even if I have to get up first thing in the morning just to eat their food.Lastly, holiday season or not, you need to visit Convent Garden.
How to get around London
The first thing you need to know about navigating London is that in this big city, everything is about 30 minutes to an hour away by train or Uber. We didn't take a lot of Uber and hopped on the train a lot because we live in Chicago.London’s underground train system is called The Tube. So if you hear people talking about the tube, that is what they're talking about.The second thing is to have your Google Maps (inline and offline versions) handy. Open it up, put in your destination, click the train/bus icon, and it'll show you specific trains or buses that will take you to your destination. And when you get to the train station, follow the signs. The third thing you need to know is it's pointless running to catch the train because it's so deep into the ground. My lover was so bewildered by that. You're so deep in the ground that you’ll have little cell signal. Just keep that in mind, um.You can buy a ticket, AKA an Oyster Card, but I think using your credit/debit card with the tap feature is a bit more efficient. If you have an iPhone, all you need to do is set your preferred card in your Express settings feature, and you’re good to go. I show you how to do this here.Another BIG thing you must remember is that you have to tap your card, the SAME card, to get in and out of the train station. Also, when you're getting on the train, the space between the platform and the actual train is enormous, so mind the gap! You’ll hear it often on the PA system, so be careful. 
Day Trip to Birmingham
On day four, we checked out of our hotel and headed to Birmingham to see my best friend. We caught our train from London Euston and in about 90 minutes my lover woke me up because we had landed at Birmingham New Street Station. Tired and hungry, we stopped at Nandos, and let me tell you, the Nandos in the US have NOTHING on the ones in the UK; everything was delicious! It was raining, as it had done every day since we stepped foot in the UK. We headed to our lovely guesthouse in the Jewelry Quarters called Frederick Townhouse. The photos online did NOT do this place justice; it was very charming, and the breakfast spread included in our reservation was far better than we could have imagined! I still have dreams about how good the cheese and the cold cuts tasted.I made reservations at this Greek place called Mythos Greek Taverna, and everything was wonderful! The vibe, the staff, the food, the drinks, the ambiance, and the music! I highly recommend it. It was soooooooooo good to see my best friend again; she got off work and met us there, and we all had such a good time. I wish I could make the night last forever; I hadn't seen her in a year, and a few hours was not enough, but it was very cherished. She gave us a midnight tour of Birmingham in the freezing cold, and when the clock struck twelve, we belted out a happy birthday to my lover :) 
Luggage Storage
For our day trip to Birmingham, we didn't want to have to carry all our luggage, so we used a luggage storage facility. There is luggage storage all over London. We used one called Stasher, which shows you different locations in London where you can lock up your luggage for a fee. A lot of them are in train stations and I'm not crazy about the idea of locking my luggage at a train station because of the high foot traffic. Thankfully, right next to our hotel was a Premier Inn that had a luggage storage service. So, if you're ever planning to do a day trip while you're in London, please look at Stasher. There are a few other ones, but Stasher is the one I used.Things to Note
We didn't do all the top attractions because the weather was horrible. It rained every single day in London. And that's one thing you need to know. It rains a lot in London. London tends to be gray and dull.We wanted to eat at many places but could not because they did not take reservations, so we had to stand in lines we did NOT love. I'm that girl who needs a reservation to go into any restaurant. That waiting to get in? It’s not my vibe. And it was a huge bummer having to miss out on some fab places because I’m not waiting an hour in the cold for heaven knows how long.It's also important to mention the exchange rate as we talk about your budget for London. If you're coming from the US, the exchange rate will slap you in the face. If our bill was 30 Pounds, the Dollar equivalent was almost $50. So, just a heads up, London is not cheap.Click here for a total travel budget of how much we spent during five days in London.
I’ve made it easy for ya’ll by hyperlinking all the important spots. If you want more juicy deets on my London trip, click here. Until I book another flight somewhere… who knows where, follow me on Instagram and TikTok for more travel stories, tips, itineraries, and gist.