Popping into London to celebrate 9 years together

Cheerio Friends!

Nick and I popped into London for the day on Monday for a little taste of this beautiful city and to celebrate our anniversary.

We woke up at 9 am and walked down the town to the Stone Station but were greeted with cancellation notices for our trains due to electrical supply issues. Thankfully, the transit authority arranged for a shuttle to pick us up (and other passengers) from Stone station and take us to Stafford, the nearest station where trains were operating. We ended up benefiting because rather than take the economy train, we were able to take Virgin into London, which was excellent albeit a bit crowded.

Stone Train Station...isn't it gorgeous? 

We arrived in London at lunchtime and had lunch with our friend, Roger, who used to work with my dad. He took us to this wonderful restaurant that had an old Victorian theme and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We each had local fish as our main. I would have taken a photo but it was so delicious I couldn't bear to take out my camera as it would detract from the gastronomic experience.

After a lovely chat and fabulous lunch, Nick and I took off to walk around London and soak up the English sunshine (about 73 F that day). We had both been to London and seen the major sites, so we knew doing something indoors wouldn't satisfy us, so we just walked as we pleased and enjoyed the jaw droppingly beautiful city of London.

We started in Piccadilly circus then proceeded to Saint James Park. There were so many tourists walking about ! I commented to Nick how, when sitting on a bench, you could easily hear 10+ foreign languages being spoken in this park alone - the joys of city living no? And again, no trip to a gorgeous British park would be complete without some garden photos.

Piccadilly Circus in London 

Nick and I at Saint James' Park near Buckingham Palace. Look at that gorgeous pink flower in the back! 

Saint James' Park in London ....so lovely and green!

View of the lake in Saint James' Park - I think this was my favorite from the day!

 Thirty minutes into our walk, my food coma had subsided and I was craving a bit of chocolate. Nick knew what to do - 5 minutes later I was happily enjoying a chocolate magnum outside Buckingham Palace.

Chocolate magnums are my favorite!

Changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. 

 Thanks to Roger's generosity, Nick and I were able to hop on and off the tube as we explored the town in the few hours we were there.

The London Eye and River Thames. 

Why hello there! 

On the way to see some sights, Nick found some colorful graffiti he thought was cool.

 We decided to check out a local market called Leadenhall market, a covered market that is one of the oldest in London (dates back to the 14th century!) and was used in several Harry Potter films (used to represent the area of London near the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley in Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone).

Leadenhall Market 

Originally a meat, game and poultry market, it stands on what was the center of Roman London. It was GORGEOUS - I will let the photos speak for themselves. We couldn't believe how beautiful this historical gem was..check out the architecture and the old-fashioned signs.

The pen shop..how darling!

Isn't it stunning? Nick and I were very impressed. 

Before we knew it, it was time to pack up and take the train back to Stone. We grabbed a dinner to go from Chop'd (a vendor in Leadenhall) and enjoyed it on the train ride back.

A splendid day indeed - certainly a memorable and fun way to celebrate our anniversary. Thank you again Roger for taking us to lunch and lending us the Oyster passes!

Back to Stone we go!

Nick took this one...I thought it was too good not to include.