Is that Emma Watson?

Our neighbors across the pond have it made.

Not only do they have grandiose castles that would make any Disney Princess jealous, but they also have those accents, that make even the most mundane sayings sound like Shakespeare.

First stop: London, England.

Now, this wasn’t my first time in the city, so I was familiar with a few things here and there. However, with a place like London, there’s never a shortage of things to see. So, without further adieu…

London Highlights

Buckingham Palace.
Now sure, this is probably the most tourist-y place to visit in London, but that didn’t stop us! We saw the beginning of the Changing of the Guard, got our typical pictures taken at the gates to the Palace and walked across the street to take even more photos at The Queen Victoria Memorial. Because we were tourist and that’s what tourist do. #Unashamed.

Tea Time at Harrods.
I don’t even like tea. Warm, cold or otherwise, I may be the only Southerner who would rather forgo a beverage than expose her taste buds to Sweet Tea.

But Harrods wasn’t just about the tea. Harrods was about the experience. It was about the 7-floors belonging to one department store. It was getting lost in the gift shop and having to bite the bullet and make a phone call to find one another ($1 per minute isn’t cheap!)

Although I don’t care for the drink, I wanted to be fully immersed in all things British, which included sipping on some British tea. So, we made our way to The Tea Room, located on the 2nd floor of the store and were treated to our own personal tea pots, accompanied by beautiful Wedgwood china and delicious pastries. Basically, I was Lady Mary and this was Downton Abbey. 

Cheers!

Dinner at The Wolseley.
During our sightseeing tour of the city, we passed by a restaurant off of Piccadilly called The Wolseley. When our tour guide pointed out the local spot to us, he mentioned that a lot of celebrities like to dine there, but at the time, we didn’t give it too much thought.

Fast forward to our last night in London. After our stop in Harrods for tea and a ride  on Europe’s tallest ferris wheel (i.e. the London Eye), we were looking for a place to have dinner. Some of the people in our travel group had mentioned that they visited The Wolseley the night before and claimed to see some celebrities, so we figured we’d try it out. At the very least, we would enjoy some good English food on our last night.

As we approached the door, we were greeted by a doorman dressed to the ‘T’ and upon entry, soon realized that this ritzy restaurant was a far cry from our local Applebee’s. Though we did not have reservations, we were immediately seated in the front of the restaurant, which ended up serving us well for when we spotted her.

There she was, blog readers. Sitting a mere 50 feet away from us. The one, the only —

Emma Watson.

Now this is where we had a choice.

We could either continue to eat our dinner, leave the restaurant and always reminisce on that time when we saw Emma Watson,

OR, we could stop everything, attempt to discreetly take multiple pictures of her and try to make her our best friend.

I’ll let you guess which one we chose.

Now yes, as an American, it’s best to try and fly under the radar when visiting foreign countries. And it’s not like we got up in the middle of the restaurant, walked over to her table and asked her to take a picture with us.

But in the effort of being honest, we COMPLETELY fangirled.

Our attempts at getting a clear photo of her were ultimately thwarted as the older couple sitting in front of her (who seemed completely disinterested, btw) were blocking our shot.

Now this is where I had a choice.

I could have either tried to get the best photo I could from the comfort of our table and leave it at that,

OR, I could have gotten up to “use the restroom”, which just happened to be in direct route to her table so I could secretly snap a photo.

Again, I’ll let you decide.

Either way, Emma Watson and I are now besties in my mind.

Honorable Mentions

Taxi’s & Fitbit’s.
Someone lost her Fitbit in the taxi two hours after we landed in London 😂 (Don’t worry, she got it back).

English cuisine.
Like I mentioned before, this was not my first time in London. However, one thing that was completely different (for the better!) was the food! The last time I was in London (10 years ago), I remember eating my weight in bread and butter because the food left much to be desired. But this time was different. Every meal was delicious and I was pleasantly surprised.

Fun fact: The British eat baked beans for breakfast. I’m moving there.

The Tube.
The Tube, or London’s Underground, is probably one of the nicest underground stations that I’ve ever been to. Once we figured out how to read the maps and find the right trains, we felt like one of the locals. Word to the wise: Don’t stand too close to the platform, because there are some crazies in this world.

Until next time, London!

#TravelLikeABoss