After six and a half weeks apart, me and Matt were reunited last week and got to spend three days together in London! I've found long distance particularly hard this summer because he joined the working world and I began preparations for my PGCE, so we've been pretty preoccupied and haven't been able to meet up as much as we normally would.The short amount of time we had together last week definitely makes up for the time spent apart though and it's not long now until we see each other again at graduation, where we'll be celebrating together with both of our families! My visit last week was so lovely that I wanted to share it on my blog - this is a personal post rather than a generic 'top tips' style upload, read on if you're interested!
TACKLING THE TUBE
My train arrived into Kings Cross at 5:00pm, just as Matt was finishing his shift, so he wasn't able to meet me and I had to tackle the tube ON MY OWN! He drew me out a map, sent over some very thorough instructions, and was on stand by to come save me if I got lost - that was a pretty likely event to be honest, my sense of direction is terrible... BUT I somehow managed to get myself on the Metropolitan to Uxbridge, by the third stop I had secured myself a seat, and about forty minutes later I arrived! We, of course, had a couple of drinks before going back to his and having "dinner" with his family. If you ever have to get the tube and don't have a Londoner guiding you through the journey then I'd strongly recommend getting the Tube Map app, it let's you plan out your routes and keeps you up to date with tube times and prices!
OXFORD STREET
On Thursday we took a trip into Oxford Street so Matt could try on some potential graduation suits. I have to admit that even as two people who don't love shopping, once you're on Oxford Street there's a slight temptation to have a nosy in every single shop, because they're so much bigger (and better) here than they are anywhere else! So we did just that and first had a wander into Lush. We were met with bright displays, soapy smells and LOTS of people.
If you're looking for a present for somebody or even if you just want to treat yourself, Lush is the place to make that purchase. My personal favourite product of theirs is the Twilight bath bomb!
Not too far up the road from Lush is Topshop! We popped in here to see if there was any suitable jewelry to accessorise my graduation outfit, but we soon became distracted by their cactus display... If I lived in London and could have transported Barry home with me there and then, I would have.
We were partially successful in our shopping endeavor, I got some earrings and Matt managed to work out what size suit he'll need, we also quizzed the staff in John Lewis and Debenhams on their aftershave and perfume prices then bought ourselves £120 of fragrance... (Debenhams was the best price!) After all that shopping we were ready for a drink so hopped back on the tube and went over to America Square to enjoy some cocktails in our fave place - Revolution!
We loved going on Rev's dates when we were at uni in Lincoln. It's cheap, the cocktails are made properly and taste amazing, the food's super yummy and the atmosphere is so laid back, it's perfect for us! The Rumbull is 100% our top choice. Feel free to have a scroll through the above photos to see us enjoying them!
EXPLORING CENTRAL
Six cocktails later we decided to stop off in central on our way home to break up the tube journey - it was definitely a tipsy decision, but a good one too because we ended up on a little photo shoot and I got lots of groovy pictures! We walked round the Thames, over Tower Bridge and along to the London Eye (stopping off at the arcades en route and wasting £10.00 trying to win a Peter Rabbit teddy...) and we took lots of photos on the way! This part of London always looks impressive, but especially so at night when it's all lit up!
I've never actually made it onto the London Eye because Matt's not the best with heights (or spending money... sorry not sorry Matthew) but I've seen it lots of time and it never fails to impress, I imagine the views are incredible!
After walking round here we made our way over to Trafalgar Square, racking up an impressive 13,000 steps in total for the day, although Matt no doubt did a few more because while I stayed on the ground, he climbed up the lion and posed for some photos for me!
Is he even your boyfriend if you don't make him pose for 100 pics? No. No he is not.
SPARKY'S DOG WALK
The next day we set out on a dog walk to the Malt Shovel, one of Matt's "local" pubs - if you consider a 40 minute walk local (I do not.) We love a good dog walk though, Sparky's an even better photo op model than Matthew is!
Sparky enjoyed his trip to Death Valley, although all of our feet were sore because of the pebble path - if West Drayton council are reading, sort this out please, I'm basically a resident and this classes as a formal complaint.
I remember when Matt first took me along this route, I was honestly surprised at how pleasant and tranquil it was considering we were in London! It's not all city-scapes and famous landmarks, sometimes it's scenic and peaceful spots with rivers and lakes, all perfect for Sparky to have a swim in!
He's not the only one that enjoys his walks either, I focus on the end goal of the pub and Matt's always finding things to keep himself entertained along the way!
21 going on 12 right?
We found this rope swing last year and this time around it had been upgraded to a tire swing! Matt swung, Sparky barked, I photographed.
Eventually we ended up at the pub, drowned rat in tow, and first sat in the beer garden to enjoy our well earned bev's. As the wind picked up we moved inside to stop Sparky from shivering to death, and stayed put here for a couple of hours to avoid the rain! The pub's right next to the canal and has both a pretty exterior and interior. Not to mention that they sell Berries & Cherries Old Mout, which is just about my favourite drink ever. Days like this one make me excited for the next few years, when we'll hopefully be living together somewhere with a dog of our own - a pug named Bug if I get my way!
I had such a brilliant time down in London and can't wait for more adventures with Matt. Only two more weeks and we'll be back together again at graduation! We have lots of places we'd like to visit in the future, so expect lots of blog posts to documents these little trips! Thank you for reading, feel free to subscribe to keep up to date with future posts, and if you have any posts about your trips then link me up via any of my social medias (linked at the top of the blog) I'd love to check them out and share some of the love!