Another way to see London (if it's not your first time)

I've been to London multiple times while I was studying in Oxford. Sometimes it was for shopping, seeing a show, or doing some sort of weird activity I found on the internet (vampire conference, anyone?). That was usually with my roommate or on my own, and I didn't use the time to actually visit the city.
Other times, my family, boyfriend or friends from home would come to visit me and that's when we would do all the sight seeing. Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, St. James Park, London Eye, Shakespeare's Globe... we've all heard these names, and a lot of us have seen these places. Sight seeing is a great way to discover London for the very first time. But it doesn't have to stop there: especially when you're going there a second, third or, in my case, probably the twenty fifth time, you might be interested in seeing different parts of the city.

Matt and I went back to London this summer, and spent quite a lot of time putting together what we wanted to see and do. And since we ended up being very happy with our time there, I thought I would share my favourite activities.

Southbank Summer Festival

We ran into the Southbank Summer Festival by accident while we were walking around London, waiting to check into our Airbnb. That's why there isn't a ton of pictures: it's really hard to operate a camera when you have your hands full with luggage. Still, it was a really nice experience on a sunny day. There is a frozen yogurt truck (more accurately: a giant pink bus), lounge chairs, music performances, food trucks, and probably many more things that we didn't see on our short visit. I feel like London is full of those festival type activities in the summer, and it's a nice way to spend a couple of hours - or even just walk through on your way to someplace else!

Leake Street Graffiti Tunnel

There's actually not much to say about this: it's a tunnel with graffiti in it. It's pretty cool and a great place to take pictures, and you don't need to plan tons of time to see it. 10 minutes should be enough to cross the tunnel, but it's definitely worth a detour!

Columbia Road Flower Market

The first (and most important) thing to keep in mind if you want to see the flower market is: go there on a Sunday. Not Friday, not Wednesday. It has to be a Sunday, or else there will be no flowers. And no market. This being said, it's a cute little street that gets super full on Sunday mornings, and though I do not like crowds (at all), I still enjoyed making my way through it. I didn't get any flowers because, let's be honest, they would have never made it back to Paris anyway, but I definitely would have if I had someplace to put them, or someone to give them to.

Shoreditch

Shoreditch is my new favourite place in London ever since I've spent a whole afternoon in the area. It's full of street markets and vintage shops, graffiti art and street festivals - everything I love for a chill day in the city! We walked there on a Sunday, right after our morning at the flower market, and were quickly sucked in by the whole atmosphere. We found a little market that sold food from all over the world, and had an outdoor bar with fake grass on the ground where we sat and ate and drank Pimm's and Cider. It was truly the best thing! I'm not sure if that's happening every day of the week and in other seasons as well, but try it on a Sunday afternoon in Summer and I'm sure you'll fall in love as well!

Notting Hill and Portobello Road

Ever seen pictures of those pretty pastel coloured houses in London? Yep, that's Notting Hill. The part of London that looks like all the rich people live there, kind of. It's very pretty in a fancy, clean, colourful kind of way. Perfect for pictures, and if you're looking for antiques, too. Portobello Road is full of antique shops, and if you go a little further down this street, you'll also find vintage stores and markets. It's a truly nice place for a stroll, even if you're not looking to buy anything, and if you have a little extra time on your hands, I would definitely recommend checking it out!