Thanks to the vaccination and the warmer temperatures (yes, summer finally arrived in Switzerland!), the COVID-19 restrictions were slowly lifted cautiously and gradually. Travelling is still a difficult option though, so let me share another travel diary with you. In the next few weeks, I am going to take you to London! Just like Japan, I try to visit London once a year. This blog post will be about my London trip back in summer 2018, where I went with my BF and my friend including his wife. We booked our stay at the Bridge Apartments (Tanner House 1B 66, Flat 66, Arc House, 82 Tanner Street), which was one of the best accommodation that I booked in London so far. The location was great and we could literally walk to the Tower Bridge within 7 ~ 10 minutes. Since my BF and my friend’s wife haven’t been to London before, we did the usual touristy thing and visited some sightseeing spots around London. I included some “new places” to our travel program, so that I could tick off the famous market “Camden Town” and the cat café “Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium” from my bucket list. I thought of sharing some of my personal favorites (hot spots, museums, restaurant, shops etc.) below. This makes more sense than keeping them ‘unpublished’ on my computer drive – right? Feel free to share your recommendations about London! Always open for new ideas and suggestions.
GENERAL TRAVEL INFORMATION
Currency
The currency of the UK is the British Pound £. One British Pound is about 1.30 Swiss Francs / 1.39 US dollars (2021).
Adapter
In England the power plugs and sockets are of type G. The standard voltage is 230 V and the standard frequency is 50 Hz.
Transportation
The public transportation in London is comprehensive and covers all corners of the city. You can use trains, buses and trams. The best way to travel around London is to purchase an Oyster Card. The card works same as the IC card of Japan – touch your Oyster card in at the start of your journey and touch out at the end on the yellow card readers to pay the right fare. The card itself costs £5 (deposit, which can be refunded, if you return it) and you can top it up with any credit amount you like.
Things to do in London
Museum
– Natural History Museum
– Museum of London
– Victoria and Albert Museum
– British Museum
– London Science Museum
– Sherlock Holmes Museum
– The Museum of Brands
– Grant Museum of Zoology
and many more!
Sightseeing & Shopping
– Tower Bridge
– Big Ben
– Buckingham Palace
– Royal Botanic Gardens
– Camden Town
– Westfield Stratford City (Shopping Mall)
– Japan Centre (Japanese food, ingredients, everyday grocieries etc.)
– M&M Store
– LEGO Store
Restaurants (personal favourites)
– Bubba Gump (Seafood restaurant chain, inspired by the 1994 movie Forest Gump)
– Rainforest Cafe (Theme Cafe)
– Sky Garden (London’s highest public garden)
– Dans le noir? (Dining in the dark)
– Inamos St James (Japanese)
– Beach Blanket Babylon (An English Mansion of Rococo Elegance)
– Coppa Club (Igloos)
– Barge House (Yummy bread dishes)
– Maxwell’s Bar & Grill (They have amazing Shakes!)
Café (personal favourites)
– Garfunkel’s (English breakfast!)
– Amorino Cafe (rose-shaped ice cream)
– Milk Train Cafe (cotton candy & ice cream)
– Draughts (Board Game Cafe)
– Cereal Killer Cafe (Home of the world’s best cereal)
– Soft Serve Society (fancy ice cream)
– Nosteagia (bubble waffles)
– Elan Cafe (Pretty Cafe)
– Aubaine Selfridges (Pretty Cafe)
Afternoon Tea
Sweet & Savoury treats in London is a must! Make sure to have Afternoon Tea in London. My favourite link for all Afternoon Tea places can be found here:
afternoontea.co.uk/uk/london/
My personal favourites/bucket list are:
– Sketch London (pink & cute)
– Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium (Afternoon Tea with cats)
– Afternoon Tea Bus (Sightseeing + Afternoon Tea)
– Kona Restaurant (Alice in Wonderland Afternoon Tea)
– One Aldwychd
– The Royal Park Hotel
– Hilton London Padington
– Boulevard Brasserie – Covent Garden
– Ham Yard Hotel – Soho
– Number Sixteen
– The Soho Hotel – Oxford Street
– The Brasserie at The Tower Hotel
Harry Potter related:
There is no other place than London, where Harry Potter fans can live out their Wizarding dreams! Here’s the ultimate list of things that all Potterheads should do:
– Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter
(Experience the magic of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter)
– Harry Potter Walking Tour (Discover the movie locations with Muggle Tours)
– Harry Potter Souvenir Shop @ Kings Cross
– Buy merchandise @ House of MinaLima
– Watch the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child theater show in London
– The Georgian House offers magical “Harry Potter themed” rooms
– The Cauldron Potion Bar London – Magic Themed Bar (Magical Cocktail Experience)
– Look for the entrance to Diagon Alley (Leadenhall Market)
– Have a Harry Potter themed Afternoon Tea @ Cutter & Squidge – The Potion Room
Appartment Tanner House 1B 66
Flat 66, Arc House, 82 Tanner Street, SE1 3GN
(4th Floor)
PS. The old paper notes are not valid anymore! 
Gatwick Airport – Londn City ~ £7.05 
Underground advertising
This movie is so good!
This was our appartment (Tanner House)
It was very central – only 7min from Tower Bridge
The Shard 
Breakfast @ my favourite Restaurant Garfunkel’s 
English Breakfast the best! 
M&M Stores 
Pokémon Drinks! 
Japan Centre 
Lego Store 
At the souvenir shop 
Camden Town 
Cyberdog London (detailed blog post follows!) 
My favourite and recommended place:
Tottenham Court Road –> Breakfast @ Garfunkel’s –> Shopping @ Primark
@ Primark 
My Primark Haul 
Tower Bridge 
My crew <3 
We had afternoon tea @ Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium
Blog post follows!
Lunch @ Le Pain Quotidien 
Love this restaurant, it is just next to the London Eye! 
Big Ben (sadly, it was under construction) 
Babba Gump – the food is damn good! 
Ice Cream meets cotton candy (Milk Train) 
Rainforest Cafe (Jungle themed Restaurant) 
Taiyaki!
(Chinatown Gate London)
They also have Matcha ice cream 
yum! 
London Sky Garden 
We have been here :) 
Last dinner @ Constancia (Argentine Grill)
It was soooo gooood!
Miho's Happy Life 