The Europe Diaries : London and Brighton

Hey guys! I hope that you are all doing fantastic! I’ve been back from Europe for an entire week. Time feels like such an illusion lol. I’m so excited to share all about London with y’all today! London had been at the top of my travel bucket list for years, and I couldn’t believe I was actually getting to cross it off.

Day 1 – So, we took a red-eye flight into London, and I will not lie, I slept terribly. We had been up for about 20 hours at this point. It was a mess. However, we met the kindest soul on our flight, and he helped us take the Underground into the city. We never caught his name, but I will never get over how nice he was. We lugged all of our luggage through Heathrow and customs. (Customs threw me off because it was so easy to get through) then took the Elizabeth Line straight into the heart of the city. We stayed at The Assembly in Leicester Square, and it was a great experience. They could hold our luggage because it was too early to check-in. So, we handed off the luggage and went out to explore. I really enjoyed staying in Leicester Square. We were pretty central to a lot of sights! We saw Big Ben, The London Eye, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace. We also got to check out Primark, which I LOVED. I wish there were more in the US. When we could check-in, we headed back to our hotel. Once we got our luggage and got back to our room, we took the best nap I have ever had in my entire life. After naps and showers, we got ready for dinner. We went to Jacuzzi in Kensington for dinner, and it was amazing. I actually found it on Tiktok and it did not lead me astray. After dinner, we took the tube back to the hotel and had some pretty amazing sleep.

Day 2 – Day two started with a full English breakfast. It was so good. I was skeptical of trying beans and toast, but that was one of the highlights. We walked from Leicester Square to Bill’s in Covent Garden. If I go to London again, I would go back! My friend and I split the breakfast because there was so much food. The Earle Gray tea was sooo good! After breakfast, it was off to the British Museum. This museum is free and well worth seeing, in my opinion. There was room after room of pieces of history. It reminded me of a mix of the MET and the Natural History Museum, which are both in New York City. We spent a couple of hours at the museum, saw what we wanted to see, and then decided to head out and see more sights. We headed to SoHo and popped into a few stores there. They have an H&M Home store, and they have the most gorgeous flowers! After checking out some stores, we went off to find Piccadilly Circus. It was very touristy, but I’m so glad we saw it! That night, we had dinner at the Garden which was connected to our hotel. The food was delicious and the view was breathtaking. We could see Big Ben, The London Eye, and the Shard. We were heading to see Wicked on the West End, however, after an unfortunate incident that ended in my friend and I getting popped on by a bird in St James Park, we had to go back to the hotel and miss the show. We’re honestly still recovering from it lol.

After day 2 we flew to Nice, France for our friend’s wedding. We spent about two weeks traveling to other places before ending our trip in London. I’ll share the other posts soon, but for the sake of this post, I’m skipping to the end of the trip.

Day 3 – This day was a travel day for us. We took the Eurostar from Paris to London. I highly recommend that if you’re able to! When we got back to London, our first stop was King’s Cross. We saw Platform 9 3/4 and went into the official Harry Potter shop. That was such a cool experience! We left King’s Cross and took the tube back to Lecister Square. We stayed in the same hotel both times we were in London. After dropping our bags, we headed out to grab food. We ended up going to Nandos. We were influenced by Niall Horan. My friend and I had been talking about trying Nando’s literally since 2012. Oh my gosh, y’all. The food at Nando’s was incredible. I wish they were more common in the US. We left Nando’s and walked to Hyde Park. Taylor Swift was in London for the Eras tour when we were there. They had a pop-up merch stand so we sent out to find it. We walked for what felt like ages, my friend was such a trooper. I impulsively bought the blue Eras Tour Crew neck because why not? But I’m honestly so glad that I did. We had even thrown out the idea of trying to find cheap Eras Tour tickets, but in the end, I’m happy with the crewneck. Dinner was at an Italian restaurant near our hotel. It was good, but, we had just been in Rome, so that made it a little less impressive. Then we were so tired that we just went to bed.

Day 4 – The next day, we took the train to Brighton. My friend and I have been keeping up with Zoe Sugg and Alfie Deyes for years. They live near Brighton and frequent it, so we thought it would be fun to check it out! It was the cutest seaside town. We shopped, ate fish and chips by the sea, and saw the pier and arcade. Brighton was such a neat place. There are a ton of vintage shops, record shops, and cafes. I’m a huge Atlanta Braves fan and I even found a Braves shirt in one of the secondhand stores. Needless to say, it came home with me. It was such a fun day trip and is only about a 2-hour trip from London. When we got back to London, we had dinner at the Devonshire. It’s a pub and a restaurant. It’s also apparently Ed Sheeran’s favorite pub. The food was out of this world.

Day 5 – Day 5 was our last full day in London. We had a super early wake-up call the next day, so we tried to keep the day lowkey. We took the tube to Borough Market. There were some amazing food stalls. We tried a lavender lemonade, a prosecco spritz, and the famous chocolate-covered strawberries. There were other vendors I’d love to go back and try! There was also a place to get a frozen Aperol spritz and I think about that every day. We had lunch at Padella and it was pretty good. We debated to walk to the London Bridge, but we had seen it the day before on our train ride to Brighton. We went back to our hotel and chilled out before heading to see Heathers on the West End. We did pop into a pub and have some food before going. 10/10 experience. Heather’s was phenomenal. It closes this summer, so I’m glad we got to see it. We hung out after the performance and even met some of the cast. They were all so kind. It was a great ending to our trip.

All in all, London was one of my favorite parts of the trip. I would go back in a heartbeat. I hope that you enjoyed reading about that part of my trip! I promise the other posts will be up soon. If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to reach out! Thank you for reading!

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In a New York Minute!

Hey guys! I hope that you guys are doing well. I can’t believe that it’s taken me this long to sit down and actually write a blog post about my trip to New York in October. I’m very excited to share it with you guys!!

So, a couple of my friends and I decided to go to New York for a little long weekend getaway. We flew there on Friday and came back on Monday. Flying in on Monday was so much cheaper than on Sunday, so I’m glad we did that!!

On Friday, we got into the Laguardia around 9:20. We didn’t want to pay for a driver or Uber/taxi. So, before we went on our trip, we looked into taking public transit to our hotel. That option won, and looking back, it was a great experience for us. We took the Q70 bus (it was free) to the subway stop in Queens. From Queens, we took the subway all the way down to the Financial District.

I’ll be the first to say that the hotel we picked was not my first choice, nor was it my favorite. We settled on the Millenium Downtown because of the price. The lobby was very nice, and most of the staff we encountered were amazing! By 11, we had dropped our luggage and were ready to head out into the city!!

The girls and I were hungry and in serious need of coffee, so our first stop was breakfast. We went to Zucker’s Bagels. It was a few blocks from our hotel. The bagels were decent, but I wasn’t a fan of the coffee. All in all, it was a fine place to grab some food. After breakfast, we headed even further downtown to go to the Staten Island Ferry. It is totally free and runs every 30 minutes. If you don’t really care to go to the Statue of Liberty, this is a great way to see it! We spent about an hour and a half going to Staten Island and back, but it was so worth it for the views!!

For lunch, we had already made reservations at a Harry Potter-themed pub called the Cauldron. The drinks were all witchy-themed, so it was perfect for Halloween! The girls and I split appetizers. The drinks and food were pretty good, but I’m not sure that I would go back.

After we ate lunch, we did a little more exploring around the Finacial District. We saw Wall Street, The New York Stock Exchange, and Trinity Church. Trinity Church is where Alexander Hamilton is buried. I’m a Hamilton nerd, so of course, we walked through the graveyard to see his grave. We wanted to go inside the church, but sadly, it was closed for a private event.

Eventually, we got back to the hotel and checked in. It took a while and a few rooms, but we finally got situated in a room with a breathtaking view of the Brooklyn and Washington bridges.

For dinner on Friday, we had reservations at Parm in Battery City Park. It was like 15 minutes from our hotel. If you don’t know, the owners of Carbone (the super expensive Italian restaurant in NYC) also own Parm. Parm is much more affordable. I had an Aperol Spritz and the rigatoni in a spicy vodka sauce. It was so good!

Day 2 was so fun! We got up and took the subway all the way to the Upper West Side. We spent a few hours in the Museum of Natural History. It was a rainy morning, so spending a few hours in a museum was a great idea. Lauren and I did a coffee run before going into the museum. About Coffee was the spot we got lattes at, and they were so good!!

Once we were done at the museum, we headed to El Coco. It’s a taqueria with several locations in NYC. They have happy hour all day, which means $5 margs!! I enjoyed the food here and the vibes.

After the museum, we ventured through Central Park. It was raining and leaves were falling so it was a quintessential fall in New York. Later that night, we headed toward midtown to a Halloween-themed rooftop bar. It was so cute! Magic Hour had incredible views and delicious drinks!

Before the night ended, we stopped by Joe’s Pizza for a slice (or 2). It was so good!! And fairly priced. We took the pizza back to our hotel room and ate and hung out.

Day 3 started with us going to Brooklyn and checking out the romance bookstore, The Ripped Bodice. If you are a romance lover, and are in New York, you have to check this place out. It’s absolutely amazing. Before we went back to the city we got another coffee. This time it was from Beanmongers. I had a pumpkin pie latte that was to die for. Even though I spilled half of it in the subway.

We went back to the city and took a stroll through SoHo. I did no shopping, but window shopping can be fun, too!

After shopping, we decided to head to the Upper East Side, grab lunch, and hang out at the Met. We went to Pick-A-Bagel and my sandwich was so good! Then we headed into the Met. We made the most of the time we had before they closed. The Met is the most amazing thing. I could spend days exploring.

Once we were done at the Met, we went to Levian Bakery. Their cookies are so delicious. Then, it was off to the West Village to explore for a little bit. We saw the apartment from Friends. (And Cornelia Street, for all my swifties out there!)

Day 4 was our last day. We had mostly packed the night before. Coffee that morning was supplied by Gregory’s Coffee (so good!!), and breakfast came from Liberty Bagels (also so good!!). After a quick breakfast, we stopped to check out Charging Bull. Then, we went back to the hotel to get our bags and head to the airport. Everything went smoothly, and we were back home by the end of the day.

I really love New York. I’m so glad I got to spend a couple of days. I’m already planning my next trip. I hope that you guys enjoyed reading this. If you got this far, THANK YOU! (:

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Nashville Trip Review

Hey, y’all! Happy Monday! I hope that you guys are having a great week. So, I sorta took last week off, it was unintentional. Last Sunday, I left for Nashville. We stopped in Atlanta for a Braves game. (SO FUN!!)

My friends and I were in Nashville from Sunday to Wednesday. Today, I’ll be sharing pictures from our trip! It’s basically a big photo dump from Nashville.

First, I did want to share the link to the Airbnb that we stayed at! I loved it. It was in East Nashville and was very clean! It was perfect for me and my friends. Click here to check it out.

Like I said earlier, we started out by stopping in ATL and watching the Braves play! It was so much fun, hopefully I’ll be going back soon! We left Atlanta and headed to Nashvile. Once we got into the city, we didn’t do much else. Except make a Target run lol. The next morning we ventured out for breakfast before heading to the museums. We went to Sky Blue Cafe which is in Edgefield. They had delicious coffee and breakfast. (I had already dug into my breakfast when I decided to take a picture hahah!)

After breakfast, we headed downtown to check out some museums. I took so many pictures in the Country Music Hall of Fame. I promise I won’t bombard you with them all. But, I will share this mural that was in the Hall of Fame. It was so precious, and who doesn’t love Dolly Parton?!

For lunch we headed to Miranda Lambert’s restaurant on Broadway. It’s called Casa Rosa and it’s a Tex-Mex place. The vibes were amazing! It was so cute and the food was delicious!

After lunch, the girls and I headed to the Johnny Cash Museum. I’m not gonna lie that was probably my favorite part! I love Johnny Cash and seeing all his memorabilia was amazing!

That was really all we did on Monday. We were tired after a full day, so we hung out at the airbnb on Monday night and ate Shake Shack.

Tuesday morning we headed to the Gulch and ate brunch before our hair appointment at The Dry House. We ate at Milk and Honey and it was delicious! I had a waffle and I’m still thinking about it hahah!

Once we finished in the Gulch, we headed to Green Hills for our hair appointment. I enjoyed getting my hair done, it was a nice treat! After that, we went over to 12 South, to do some mural hunting and shopping!

Tuesday night we had reservations at White Limozeen which is Dolly Parton’s bar. It was literally like something out of a dream for me. The aesthetic was everything! If you’re heading to Nashville you have to go! And be sure to make reservations!

After White Limozeen we headed downtown to hear live music. I think my favorite place place was Blake Shelton’s bar, Old Red.

Wednesday was our last day. We headed to The Frothy Monkey for breakfast in 12 South. It was so so good! Their coffee was also great!

Before we left Nashville, we went to Centennial Park. It was gorgeous and if I lived in Nashville I would go there all the time. It was so peaceful! The last thing we did before leaving, was go to The Mall at Green Hills. It had a lot of great stores like Nordstrom and Zara.

Thank you so much for reading today’s post! I hope that you enjoy!!

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What to Pack for the Beach

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Hey y’all! Happy Saturday! By the time you guys are reading this, I’ll be in a car on the way to the beach. Hallelujah! I wanted to do this post and let you know what I pack for the beach. So, I’m just gonna give you a rundown of what you should 100% pack and down below I have some cute picks that you can even shop.

So, for a beach trip you definitely need a few fun swimsuits. I’ve gone a little crazy this year in the swimwear department. I love buying fun and unique ones. Aerie has cute ones and the ones in today’s post are both from J. Crew Factory.

Another necessity is a good pair of denim shorts. I feel like for a beach trip, they can be dressed up or down. You can rock them with a fun tank or even a plain t-shirt and sandals!

Speaking of sandals, if you’re heading to the beach, you need a good pair. You can wear them with shorts, pants, or dresses and they’re just a great addition to your wardrobe. I love my Sam Edelman slides and I linked a pair below for you guys!

You also need some fun dresses! I have gotten so into dresses lately. Like, I think I’m a little obsessed. And I picked some super fun ones down below!

Thanks so much for reading!

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Travel Bucket List

Hey guys! So, this week has been so crazy. It’s definitely getting close to the end of the school year and I can FEEL it!! (Can any of my teacher friends relate??)

All this talking/thinking about summer has me wishing I was on a beach right now (or at least in the middle of exploring a city that I’ve never been to before lol). It got me thinking about my travel bucket list, and I thought it would be fun to update it and share it with you guys. While there are places on my travel list that I want to visit again, this list only consist of places that I’ve never been to. I’m hopefully going to Nashville, TN this summer and NYC in the winter. I’ve been to both places and I LOVE them. And one day I hope to cross these places off my list!

Where would you like to visit?

Thanks for reading!

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