Hey there, Monday! Happy VALENTINE’S DAY!
My boys have baseball practice tonight, so I’m thinking it will be a quick family dinner followed by my girls and me watching a romcom before bed. I don’t know if you are doing anything today or not, but from my heart to yours, here’s wishing you so much love on this February 14th.
I have the third and final post on our trip to London today!
If you missed PART 1 or PART 2 make sure you catch those too!
In the meantime, here are our last two full days in one of our very favorite places…
On Sunday morning, we woke up and enjoyed our laziest/easiest morning of the whole trip. After a VERY full day the day before (Notting Hill and a drive to Windsor Castle plus a late supper), we were not in a huge hurry to get moving on this day. When we first booked our trip, we had football tickets for Saturday and were going to drive to Oxford on this day…but about one week before we left, the football club moved the game from Saturday to Sunday, so we turned in our rental car early and missed out on Oxford. I guess that just means we have to come back in the future, right?! 🙂
Andrew and I enjoyed breakfast and then walked on over to Covent Garden on this morning.
We took in a lot of people watching…
…and Sunday morning strolling…
…we stopped for a bit of looking in stores and lunch too…
…and then it was time to take the tube over to…
…Arsenal Station for our very first football game!
You guys, IT WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!
Andrew and I have been fortunate enough to attend some really ‘big’ games in the United States, but this game here TOTALLY WON AS THE BEST SPORTING EVENT WE’VE EVER ATTENDED!
I am positive that I won’t do it justice right now, but the energy, the crowd, the rules, the food, the ambiance, the lack of ‘fluff’, the athletes…the entire thing was incredible. We’ve already said that we will not be able to ever go back to London again without seeing another game. I think the energy is best summed up this way…when we were getting ready to head there, I asked Andrew to check and see if they had bag requirements. He looked and no, they don’t really care what bag you bring into the stadium but it said that if you show up wearing the other team’s colors, you won’t be allowed in. Bahahaha! Sign me up for that kind of competitiveness!
The energy was just fantastic! Andrew and I were easily swept up into the whole thing. After 40 years of not understanding why the world loves soccer (because it’s not a dominate sport here in the US), I finally get it. We are legit watching it on TV over here now too. Thank you, Ted Lasso, for being the inspiration behind this day 🙂 .
After the game, we headed back to our hotel, cleaned up and went to dinner at…
…Rules. Now, this place is like the oldest restaurant in London. It’s dripping in history…and the food was really fantastic…but the unusual ambiance is what I’ll remember most…
…it was just super over the top and unusual. If you want a super unique experience, this is it!
On Monday morning, we woke up for our final full day in London!
But first…
…another full English breakfast 🙂 .
After that, we were off to visit…
…the Natural History Museum! Friends, we LOVED this museum!!
From beginning to end, this museum was fantastic! It was laid out well with an easy to follow map. There were adorable cafes and places to stop all throughout. It had everything from dinosaurs to space, land life, sea life…it was really incredible!
After our morning at the museum, we headed off to shop but first, we found…
…an old bookstore (one of our favorite things to find!) where we bought several books for our collection including this one!
I love that it says her name on every page 🙂 .
After that, we walked down to…
…Harrods 🙂 !
From the food to the fashion, the entire store is something to see. We started at the bottom and worked our way to the top. You could spend all day in here!
After some museum time and some shopping, we were VERY hungry. We found another quaint pub…
…and enjoyed another lovely lunch!
When lunch was over, it was time for our private historic walking pub tour! Oh my gosh, THIS WAS AMAZING!!!! We had a three hour tour that mixed London’s history with stopping in four historic pubs for a drink of what they were known for. We walked about two miles, learned so much about the history of the city, it’s authors, it’s pubs, it’s good days, it’s bad…it was so informative and SO MUCH FUN! Andrew and I agreed that it was the BEST way to end our trip!
Here are a few pics…
After the BEST afternoon, we headed back to our hotel, cleaned up and went to enjoy our last dinner in London…
It was a very magical dinner at Scott’s to end our trip 🙂 !
The next afternoon, we hopped on a plane and headed back to the States. London in January, YOU WERE PERFECTION!!!! We cannot wait to come back and visit you again!
Don’t forget, we create amazing custom vacations just like this for all of our clients at Mix and Match Travel Agency. We would love to create one for you too! Please reach out to us today if you’re interested in a cruise, Hawaii, Alaska, Walt Disney World or any international destination (at this time, we are not booking domestic trips to places like NYC, ski vacations, Jackson Hole, etc).
Also, if you missed PART 1 or PART 2 of our trip to London, make sure you catch those as well.
That’s it for this Valentine’s Day! I hope you all have a wonderful day! xoxo
Erika Slaughter says
I’m here for each and every food pic! They just kept getting better!
Elspeth says
I’ve absolutely loved reading about your trip! It makes me want to plan one right now! Happy Valentine’s Day!
http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com
Sheaffer says
This was a totally magical trip! And the game looked like a blast!
Aimee Trammell-Hurt says
How did you handle the Covid testing requirement to return to the states?
Mix and Match Mama says
We tested in our hotel prior to departure. We had that scheduled prior to our trip.
Courtney says
Hi Shay! Loved reading about your trip to London. I hope to get there soon! I also wanted to say thank you for the archives feature on your blog now! I reached out a few months ago seeing if that was possible for you to have and I appreciate that you found a way to have it 🙂 so much easier to reference older posts now!
Mix and Match Mama says
Awwwww! I am so happy to have it added too!!
Shannon says
Dream trip! Would love to just hit copy/paste!
Laura says
What a great trip. I love London, such an easy walking city.
Kayla Bruce says
Well, I think London in January just became one of my top travel goals! How fun! Also, Oxford is my favorite place on the whole planet. You’ll definitely have to go back 😉
Paula R. says
Shay, Your entire trip recap has been magical. I know we’ve all caught the travel bug after reading your posts. London In January looks amazing. I did notice that in many of your pictures, it appears that there are real, living plants and flower baskets adorning entryways and windows. Everything was so lovely-even in winter. I’m sure that some of the topiaries and foliage were faux plants.
I know that it some places (like my snowy state) it would be hard to maintain real, outdoor plants in the winter. But man, everything looked so magical with the flowering plants and baskets in January!
Thanks for taking us along for the ride. I’m sad your recaps are over. Don’t you have more pictures to share, ha?
Courtney Mac says
Really enjoyed all of the food pics and restaurant/pub references!
Kate says
I’ve loved your London series – I’m from here and you’ve done a few things that I’ve never even done so this has inspired me! Thank you
Jelena says
I always love your vacation recaps, they are so well detailed and inspire me to start planning a new trip! My favourite part of your recaps are all the photos of menus you include! I love seeing what is offered!
Kelly says
Shay, I have loved reading your London recaps. A friend and I visited London in March 2020, getting home just before Covid shut the world down. One of the highlights, was visiting Chelsea Football Club at the request of my soccer loving son that was back home. Little did I know, it would be a very fun part of our trip and we didn’t even get to see them play! We will have to make sure catching a game is on the itinerary to London.
Michele says
I to, love seeing all the food pictures and how you can eat all this and remain so skinny!! Was also wondering if you go to church when you are on vacation on a Sunday?? Would have loved to see some pictures of the beautiful churches they have there.
Mix and Match Mama says
Awwwww! You’re sweet! It don’t indulge in everything, and I worked out every day on vacation, so that helps. We had plans to attend church in Oxford…but we’ll have to save that for another trip!
Victoria says
Oh my gosh ! Sounds like such a great trip and I’m so glad you loved your trip to Arsenal! THE best team and such a great club! Just don’t go to spurs next time…. they’re our rival team.
Glad you had a great time in our home town.
Claire says
Hope you’re having a great Valentine’s Day, Shay!! Sounds like an awesome trip… I think I need to hire you for sure one of these days! It would totally be a weight off my shoulders knowing your crew’s got it covered! 🙂 Also, I would love some rom-com recommendations? I have trouble finding fun but still appropriate ones for that age group.
Total side note but I am so glad Ashby’s 23rd surgery went so smoothly. I was praying for her. ❤️ And dang.. that girl is so special. She has moved lives and I know she will continue to. Love y’all.
Mix and Match Mama says
Oh my goodness, your prayers mean so much to us! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! We ended up watching the Olympics last night instead. Has your crew watched Crazy Rich Asians? That’s one of my girls’ faves!!
Margaret Porterfield says
I think traveling with your husband is so important! I was just wondering who keeps your kids while y’all are gone? I always have such a struggle with childcare when my husband and I try to get away together.
Mix and Match Mama says
Our parents alternate while we’re away. I can totally see where childcare would be really tough!
Joanne says
It does sound like you had a magical trip!
Pam Zercher says
We’ve traveled in England, Scotland and Ireland. It’s always “a full English breakfast.” What I have never understood is there a “half English breakfast?” ?
Mix and Match Mama says
that made me lol! I don’t know??!
Ashley says
So how many days/nights were you there for??
Mix and Match Mama says
Five nights!
Megan says
Loving your London recaps! Have y’all ever toured St. Paul’s Cathedral? If not, I would highly recommend it! So much history and the views from the top are incredible!
Amanda says
Loved your recaps. Would you mind sharing who you did the private Windsor and pub tours through?
Mix and Match Mama says
Thank you! We booked it through our travel agency. We would love to help you in the future though!!
Kara says
Random question.. my husband and I are traveling without our 3 kiddos for the first time ever and I wondered if you and Andrew have a living will when you travel without kids?!
Mix and Match Mama says
We do!
Elizabeth Kelley says
You have me CONVINCED that I must see London in late winter. Thanks for letting your readers live vicariously through you!