How I’d spend the weekend if I lived in London…

Don’t get me wrong, I love living in the Devon countryside and it definitely has it’s perks, but sometimes I wish I could live in a big city and enjoy all the sporadic goings on that are constantly happening. Despite the cost, the noise, the pollution and everything else that people seem to hate about living in the city, sometimes I dream of being able to just pop down the road to the theatre, or all the cool cafes within half an hour, or even just being able to walk to buy a pint of milk (unless you get it straight from a cow, my nearest milk is 5 miles away!) Recently, lots of cool opportunities have arisen, especially as a blogger, but unfortunately a trip to London, or anything other big city beyond Bristol for that matter, requires quite a bit of planning and travel cost. I’m lucky enough that this weekend I’m heading the opposite way, back down to Falmouth. However, if I wasn’t, this is how I’d like to spend my weekend in London:

SATURDAY

I’d get up nice and early, and go and see some of my friends who have migrated there. It would probably involve rummaging around a cool vintage market like Spitalfields or Portobello Road, looking through books and clothes, china and cameras, furniture and doorknobs. We may even stop off and have some lunch somewhere similar to Borough Market for a supple of delicious street food, snacks and fresh veggies and artisan bread to take home. I’d probably then like to go and see a typical attraction, but maybe one I haven’t been to before. As it’s Halloween, there are probably some fantasticly spooky things going on at places like the Tower of London or The London Dungeons, but perhaps instead we could head for something slightly calmer such as a beautiful gallery or one of the museums (I’m a sucker for a bit of learning!)

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I reckon that dinner that night would be really quirky, hopefully involving cuisines from somewhere far fetched around the world. I remember visiting Miranda in London once and she took me to a Lebanese restaurant. Not only was it delicious, but I had absolutely no idea that Lebanese food was so popular there were entire restaurant chains dedicated to it!

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In the evening, as we’d have had a busy day, I’d love to go and see a show. I’ve recently been told that the English National Opera have opened a new show in the Coliseum in London. Since going to La Traviata in Poland, I’d love to see another opera (I can only imagine it would be even better sung in English!). La Boheme at ENO* looks like a fantastic example of a contemporary interpretation of an operatic classic and follows the trials and tribulations of a young poet and seamstress torn apart by poverty. I was also incredibly impressed that tickets are available for as little as £12 each (turns out London isn’t quite as expensive as I expected!).

As the opera starts at 7.30pm and is completely central, close to both Leicester Square and Charing Cross, I reckon they’d even be time afterwards for a sneaky cocktail or two! This may or may not end in a rowdy chorus of some of the best songs from the show, but HEY, noone knows me in London! There’s nothing like making the most of an evening in London!

SUNDAY

Whenever I’ve ever been out before, “just one drink” is usually fatal, so I can imagine a lie in would be greatly needed on Sunday morning. As I discovered once before, there are also some fantastic places in London to have a leisurely Sunday brunch, often right in the middle of a park. The perfect place to sip on coffee, munch on a hearty breakfast and maybe even take a stroll whilst admiring instagramming the beautiful Autumn scenery.

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Sunday afternoon would probably involve a funny film, or a Netflix binge, interspersed with natter about anything and everything. We’d maybe even shift our bums out for long enough to stock up on some goodies from Whole Foods (we just don’t have these in the West Country, it’s unfair!) before inevitably taking the long trek home on the train.

Now I want to spend the weekend in London, which would be a complete contrast to my actual weekend plans involving lots of sea, sand and cider. Sometime soon I’ll make it up to the big smoke and possibly even do everything on this list! Do you have any other recommendations for your favourite London weekend?

*Although this post was sponsored by English National Opera, who are performing La Boheme at The Coliseum until 26 November 2015, I wouldn’t have posted it unless it was something I would actually have liked to do anyway!*