Traditional London weather

After a last walk with Barney and one more cuddle, we made our way to Düsseldorf airport. Everything went as usual and our plane took off for London with a half-hour delay. The flight duration is really nothing to talk about. As soon as you reach cruising altitude, you're practically already descending. ☺️ We were both very impressed with the handling at London Heathrow. Passport control and baggage claim were a breeze. We shared this positive experience directly as well, as this airport also has electronic feedback options, with a question asking 'How did you like the passport control process?' And then there are 4 smileys 😃🙂😐😠 for you to choose from, of which you should select one 😊

From the airport, we took the subway to the hotel, which took about 30 minutes. On the way from the subway station to the hotel, we already encountered a Beagle 😍 as this breed originally comes from England, we are curious how many more Beagles we will see.

Our accommodation for the next 4 nights is the Urban Villa Hotel outside of London. The value for price in London itself was simply too poor/expensive for me, so I chose a hotel outside the city. The transportation connections from the hotel are excellent, so we only need about 30 minutes by subway (without changing trains) to reach the center of London. Let's see if the commute annoys us so much that we say next time we should stay closer to the city. Our hotel is also very nice, modernly furnished, with spacious rooms and a kitchenette (not that we need it), and there is a small supermarket right next to the hotel. So far, everything is great 😃

Unpacked our things, freshened up quickly, and then off to London. I didn't bring my camera, as despite what the weather app predicted 🙄, it was raining. This small drizzle wouldn't have been good for the camera and photos. So you'll have to settle for cellphone pictures today 😉

And as I mentioned before, since it was raining, we decided to explore the major shopping streets so that we could occasionally go into stores to dry off.

We got off at Leicester Square and walked from there towards Piccadilly Circus. From there, we encountered famous, big and small stores and fast food restaurants, mostly located in protected pedestrian areas (cars cannot pass through due to concrete blocks). What I really like here are the charming little alleys with their somewhat lesser-known shops. There are also many pubs, which, unlike German pubs, are far from dying out and are located in beautiful old buildings. The term 'tavern' is very fitting.

We continued along Regent Street from Piccadilly Circus, where the big and expensive brand stores have settled. From a traditional Burberry flagship store to the (completely overrated) hip Michael Kors store. Similarly, in my opinion, the side streets with their little alleys are more beautiful ☺️ There we also found a vegetarian/vegan restaurant where we will definitely eat at least once 😃

At some point, we took a detour back and walked through the Carnaby Street area. This area became well-known in the 60s due to the fashion designers located there. You can also find the famous Shakespeare Head pub, founded in 1735.

And last but not least, we walked through China Town ☺️ It's not comparable in size to New York, but also not in terms of cleanliness. 😐 Because this Chinatown was the best we've seen so far. It wasn't dirty or particularly grimy, and we could walk through undisturbed. A new experience 😊 We also had a snack there before taking the train back to the hotel.

Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be better and nicer - let's hope so - and we will do the traditional London sightseeing tour. ☺️