A London Blogger’s Weekend in Hawaii, Mexico and…
At the close of yet another sunny weekend, I wanted to give you a little peek at a London blogger’s life.
My Friday night started with an Internations event at Kona Kai.
It took me 90 minutes to get to Fulham because I live in North London.
Although the whole place was reserved for this expat organisation, I struggled to meet people. The venue and drinks, however, were fantastic.
A bartender even gave me two free ones. It definitely influenced this London blogger’s opinion of the club. 😉
However, since I was making little progress in meeting people, I left after one hour.
Saturday more than made up for this flop. Mina from Kings Road Rocks invited me to join her at Catherine’s birthday bash at La Bodega Negra, a Mexican restaurant. Catherine writes Lux Life: A Lifestyle Blog and is very, very cool.
I didn’t take many pictures inside La Bodega Negra because it was packed. And, well, I had way too much champagne to attempt a focused shot.
Catherine co-hosted the party with club promoter Diego Bivero-Volpe. Damn, can they throw a loco party!
In the early evening it ended, but Mina and I discovered the bar downstairs. Check it out if you go there!
On Sunday morning, I realised how stupid it was to drink champagne with tequila.
It hurts me just to look at that picture now.
Somehow I managed to make it to the London Blogger Brunch that Catherine organised in Marylebone for 11am.
I thoroughly enjoyed my food and time with 13 other London bloggers. At these events the chatter and connections run deep. Cheers to Catherine for throwing an epic party and hosting a fabulous brunch in less than 24 hours!
The Providores gave each of us complimentary porridge. Many bloggers ordered the French toast stuffed with banana and pecans with grilled smoked streaky bacon and vanilla verjus syrup. I had the hot-smoked salmon, two poached eggs and spinach on caraway toast with yuzu hollandaise. Yummy!
After brunch, I took a stroll down South Molton Street.
Next I headed through the Theatre District.
And of course, I ended up in my favourite hood, Covent Garden.
In less than two weeks I have a big birthday. I plan to spend the whole day wandering this area again. Any suggestions on where I should have dinner? Any restaurants need a London blogger’s review?
(Could I be any more cheeky or shameless?) 😉
I decided to take a slow walk down Monmouth Street to visit my super favourites: Kiehl’s, Caudalie, Hotel Chocolat, and Monmouth Coffee Company. Too bad the last one was closed because it was Sunday. 🙁
And, if you’ve read Sunny in London before, you know I can’t resist the original Neal’s Yard Remedies in Neal’s Yard.
I caught a sneaky photo of these two because I have never seen a pizza this big in my life. Had I not just polished off brunch, I would’ve sat down and invited myself to help them…
This pub was showing a popular sports game, but since I still had a Big Bodega hangover, I steered clear.
Then, I finally made my way to the Piazza, which was filled with its usual suspects and something new…
I couldn’t quite figure out what the big media circus was all about. Maybe you can tell me?
Despite Friday’s disappointment, my London blogger’s weekend was filled with sun and fun. Have you been to any of these places, Sunny friends? Where do you suggest I celebrate my birthday on April 26th? It’s a Saturday, so I want it to be outrageous!
Ahhh…us bloggers are always so busy. It was lovely to see you on Sunday!! As for your Covent Garden birthday, if you want a touch of New York go to Balthazar, or something really fun I loved Sticks ‘n Sushi. If you want something a bit more sedate or an afternoon tea, the Covent Garden Hotel is fabulous!
Lots of Love,
Angie
SilverSpoon London
Thank you for the great suggestions, Angie! I have some ideas, but I may make a last minute decision also.
That is one busy weekend!! Looks like the weather was lovely 🙂
It was pretty packed with stuff, Sammy. I hope the weather is great at home for you! It sounds like you’re having a wonderful ‘surprise’ trip. 🙂
tequila and champagne! that is one I’ve never tried and I thought I had done every tequila combination going. sounds like fun!
Well, it was fun at the time. However, the next morning I had another “f” word to use for it!!! 😉
You had such a lovely weekend. Didn’t realize you were part of Internations too, but I haven’t been to any of their events. Dying to see where you pick for your bday, I don’t even know enough about London to recommend anywhere yet.
Thank you for reading! I’m going to try an Internations event that’s on a weeknight. One of the few people I talked to that evening said they were less crowded and easier to manage during the week. I’ll let you know when I pick the event and maybe you’ll want to join me?
Good heavens, it’s hilarious to me that we end up in the same places so often without knowing it! We were in Covent Garden Sunday night as well (responding to the call of a milkshake). Since you love the Seven Dials area (one of my own favorites) I recommend the restaurant Kopapa, right across the street from the Cambridge theatre where Matilda is playing. Jeff and I have had quite a few great meals there.
The blogger brunch sounds lovely. How do get in the know about so many fab events, may I ask? I’d love to meet even more bloggers, writers, and freelancers!
I wish I had known you were there! I’ll be sure to email you regarding the next big bloggers event that I’m attending and hope that you’ll be able to join me. Thank you for the restaurant recommendations. I’ll need to make a final decision soon, as the birthday is next Saturday!
I love Seven Dials, as well. Travel to London as often as I can afford too. Covent Garden Hotel (for tea or dinner) and Monmouth are always on my itinerary. Loved this post!
Thank you for reading and commenting. Yes, London is expensive, so I try to find a balance of affordable and extravagant activities. Monmouth is gorgeous on any day for real or window shopping!
Tequila and champagne…together?! Or did you mean, champagne with a tequila chaser? 🙂 Either way it sounds like a recipe for disaster. I wouldn’t have been able to eat at brunch…
Happy early birthday, young lady!!!
Hey there! There was tequila IN the champagne. Sounds nutty, doesn’t it? I wouldn’t recommend trying it. EVER!
Wow! A world traveler without leaving your city! That looks like a wonderful time, minus the tequila and champagne….
I hope your week is going well. As always, I love traveling along with you.
Hugs!
Thanks, Jen! It was certainly an interesting weekend. I bet La Bodega Negra will be PACKED for Cinco de Mayo this week!