London, I Love You

It's no secret that London is one of my favorite places to visit. I've been there 9 times now and have such a love for the city. This was a trip I took in the fall and it was such a beautiful time of year to be in there. All the leaves were just changing color and there was a lovely crispness in the air. I had the opportunity to stay at the beautiful Edition hotel in Soho, which I absolutely loved! I was within walking distance of many of my favorite places, including Hyde Park, which derives part of the name for this site. I spent a week visiting all my favorite areas and eating delicious food and getting high tea whenever I could.

Claridge's high tea was an especially beautiful experience and one I will be repeating the next time I'm in town. As always I had to make the usual rounds to Selfridges, Harrods and Bond Street for all my shopping. My lovely friend at Van Cleef & Arpels took me around to all their boutiques and showed me some incredible treasures, which I will be sharing in a different post. I always try to eat as much Indian food as I can when I'm in town, since New York is nowhere near as good for Indian food, and visited one of my favorites, Dishoom.

As I had been to London many times before, I decided to travel on a solo vacation for the first time. I have never traveled anywhere and not had travel companions or stayed with a friend once I arrived. I was a little nervous to go off on my own, concerned I would be bored or lonely or unable to eat dinner by myself! However, I found that wasn't a problem at all. I had such a wonderful time doing all the things I wanted to do without having to wait for someone else to catch up or go and do activities that I wasn't that into. Overall, I had the loveliest experience exploring new places and visiting old favorites, seeing old friends and making new ones, and I certainly cannot wait to return for another visit!