London, UK

Almost 5 years after leaving London in 2019, we finally made it back for a visit. It’s as magical and energizing as we remember.

ITINERARY

• 11 nights in an Airbnb in Primrose Hill, London.

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Day 1 & 2: May 15 & 16, 2024

• Flew From Los Angeles to London Heathrow.

• Took the tube to Paddington (first time on the Elizabeth line!) and then a black cab to Primrose Hill.

• Checked into our Airbnb. We could see our old flat from the living room window.

• Dinner from Oka. An old classic as tasty as ever.

• Walked around Primrose Hill.

Primrose Hill from our Airbnb

Flowers in Primrose Hill

Day 3: May 17, 2024

• Breakfast from Melrose & Morgan.

• Took the bus to Kensington.

• Kensington:

  • Holland Park. Strolled along Holland Walk.

  • The Design Museum. The main draw was the skateboarding exhibition. It was as cool as we had hoped.

  • Lunch at San Pietro.

• Weaved our way walking toward Knightsbridge:

  • Pembroke Mews.

  • Adam and Eve Mews.

  • Iverna Gardens.

  • St. Mary’s Gate.

  • Cornwall Gardens.

  • Kynance Mews.

  • Petersham Mews.

  • Princess Gate Mews.

  • Ennismore Garden Mews.

• Dinner at Laz Camden. Delicious.

• Hung out with friends in the park.

SKATEBOARD, The Design Museum

SKATEBOARD, The Design Museum

South Kensington

South Kensington

South Kensington

South Kensington

South Kensington

South Kensington

South Kensington

South Kensington

South Kensington

Knightsbridge

Day 4: May 18, 2024

• Breakfast at Greenberry. Another old classic, also as tasty as ever.

• Primrose Hill Food Market.

• Walked around Primrose Hill and Regent’s Park. We sat on a bench in Regent’s Park for a very long time, taking it all in, people watching, and reflecting on how strange but wonderful it was to be back.

• Lunch from Camden Lock Market (Oh My Dog!).

• Cupcakes from Primrose Hill Bakery. Another old classic. As you’ll see, we went back many times.

• Dinner with friends at Acme Fire Cult in Dalston. Amazing food and lively atmosphere.

Primrose Hill

Primrose Hill

Primrose Hill

Primrose Hill

Camden Lock Market

Day 4: May 19, 2024

• Breakfast from Melrose & Morgan.

• The Barbican:

  • Barbican Art Gallery. The exhibition “Unravel” was terrific, especially with how it ties to Britt’s art practice.

  • Barbican Conservatory.

• Walked through The City.

  • St. Paul’s Cathedral.

• Millenium Bridge.

• Tate Modern. We had tickets to the Yoko Ono exhibition. Was really interesting learning more about her as a person and artist. We enjoyed how interactive the exhibition was.

• Lunch at Borough Market. Gujarati Rasoi. Samosas, parathas, mango lassi. Really tasty.

• Bermondsey:

  • White Cube Gallery. We saw “A Confession of My Sins” by Georg Baselitz. Enjoyed his use of color, especially in his very large paintings.

  • Maltby Street Market.

    • Chocolate pudding cake from Kegarmo Vegan Bakery. We’re silly and didn’t realize this was vegan until after we bought it. But it was delicious.

• More time in Primrose Hill. Enjoyed the summer festival and a park stroll with friends.

• Dinner at Emilia’s Crafted Pasta.

Unravel, Barbican Art Gallery

Unravel, Barbican Art Gallery

Barbican Conservatory

The Barbican

The Barbican

St. Paul’s Cathedral

St. Paul’s Cathedral

River Thames

Yoko Ono, Tate Modern

Borough Market

Georg Baselitz, White Cube Gallery

Ropewalk, Bermondsey

Day 5: May 20, 2024

• Breakfast from Melrose & Morgan.

• Hampstead:

  • Lunch at Silverberry.

  • Hampstead Heath:

    • Parliament Hill.

  • Neighborhood walk. This was an old favorite neighborhood loop of ours.

    • Well Walk.

    • Flask Walk.

    • Streatley Place.

    • Back Lane.

    • Holly Mount.

    • Holly Walk.

    • St. John-at-Hampstead Church & Cemetery.

• King’s Cross:

  • Granary Square.

  • Coal Drops Yard.

  • Dinner at Dishoom. Samosas, black dahl, rice, garlic naan, gunpowder potatoes. We were very excited to be back here. Was as delicious as ever.

• Walked back to Primrose Hill via Regent’s Canal.

Hampstead Heath

Hampstead Heath

Hampstead

Hampstead

Hampstead

Hampstead

Day 6: May 21, 2024

(Unfortunately, we were suffering from allergies, so we took it easy to rest up a bit.)

• Breakfast from Melrose & Morgan.

• Lunch from Melrose & Morgan.

• Cupcakes from Primrose Hill Bakery.

• L. Cornelissen & Son. Amazing little art supply shop.

• Holborn:

  • London Review Bookshop.

  • Dinner at Master Wei Xi’An. Delicious.

L. Cornelissen & Son

Day 7: May 22, 2024

• Breakfast from Melrose & Morgan.

• Lunch from Melrose & Morgan.

• Cupcakes from Primrose Hill Bakery.

• Primrose Hill High Street:

  • Richard Dare. An old favorite kitchen supply store.

  • Primrose Hill Books. Love it here.

• Mayfair:

  • Goodman Gallery. Atta Kwami’s work was on display. We loved the small structure he built.

  • White Cube Mason’s Yard. Danica Lundy’s work was on display. Surreal work. Wouldn’t normally be our thing, but we both really liked it.

• St. James’s Park.

• Westminster:

  • Parliament.

  • Big Ben. Was under renovation that last 2 years we lived in London, so it was nice to see it in all of its [restored] glory again!

  • Westminster Bridge.

• Walked along South Bank, past the London Eye, and over the Golden Jubilee Bridges to Covent Garden.

• Dinner at Sagar. Tasty.

• Adelphi Theatre to see Back to the Future. Loads of fun.

Atta Kwami, Goodman Gallery

Westminster

London Eye

Big Ben

Day 8: May 23, 2024

(Rico worked in the office and Britt went out to meet friends. We’ll leave those parts out.)

• Chinatown:

  • Dinner at Tokyo Dinner.

  • Walked around.

• Cupcakes from Primrose Hill Bakery.

Chinatown

Chinatown

Day 9: May 24, 2024

• Breakfast from Jolie Corner.

• Somerset House.

• Covent Garden and Seven Dials.

  • Neal’s Yard.

• Walked through Mayfair and Soho.

• Afternoon Tea at Sketch. An absolute classic.

• Hauser & Wirth. We didn’t like what was on.

• St. Christopher’s Place.

• Marylebone. Popped into Daunt Books.

• Regent’s Park.

  • Queen Mary’s Rose Garden.

• Dinner at Trishna. Really tasty.

• Cupcakes from Primrose Hill Bakery.

Somerset House

Covent Garden

Covent Garden

Covent Garden

Covent Garden

Covent Garden

Neal’s Yard

Afternoon Tea at Sketch

Mayfair

Mayfair

Mayfair

Daunt Books, Marylebone

Marylebone

Marylebone

Regent’s Park

Regent’s Park

Regent’s Park

Day 10: May 25, 2024

• Breakfast from Melrose & Morgan.

• Walked along Regent’s Canal from Primrose Hill to Little Venice.

• Notting Hill:

  • Flow Gallery. Alternative gallery space.

  • Portobello Road Market.

    • Lunch from Falafel Point. Delicious.

  • Hillgate Place.

• Dinner at Feng Shang Princess. Despite having lived so close to this for years, this was our first time. We wish we would say the wait was worth it. It was OK. A nice novelty.

• Cake from Luminary Bakery.

Regent’s Canal

Little Venice

Little Venice

Notting Hill

Notting Hill

Notting Hill

Notting Hill

Notting Hill

Hillgate Place, Notting Hill

Day 11: May 26, 2024

• Breakfast from Jolie Corner.

• Columbia Road Flower Market.

  • Cake from Lily Vanilli.

• Sunday Roast at The Engineer. The nut roast wasn’t very good.

• Strolled around Primrose Hill neighborhood and park.

• Walked through Regent’s Park to Marylebone.

• Dinner at OPSO. And old favorite, as good as ever.

• Walked back through Regent’s Park to Primrose Hill.

• Cupcakes from Primrose Hill Bakery.

Columbia Road Flower Market

Columbia Road Flower Market

Columbia Road Flower Market

Primrose Hill

Day 12: May 27, 2024

• Breakfast from Bayley & Sage (picked up in Marylebone the previous day).

• Train to Heathrow.

• Flew from London Heathrow to Los Angeles.