Last August I accepted a job with a company I used to work for. It was an exciting role and, as I had already worked there, I knew how amazing, supportive and fun the people there were. The company had grown since I was last there so obviously there were a few new people for me to get to know. One of these people was Sophie.
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| With Sophie at the work Christmas party, 2014 |
Sophie is a kiwi who was on her two year working visa, living in London and exploring Europe with any spare time she had. If you follow me on Instagram, you would have seen that earlier in August she had to head home. Now I know I can be quite difficult to make friends with. Don't get me wrong, I have amazing friends, ones I've had for years, or decades but meeting new people is not my forte. However the first time (well maybe the second time) I met Sophie we just clicked. She is an interesting, enthusiastic, considerate and ridiculously funny person and I am lucky to call her my friend. I wanted to repay her for all the great times we've had over the past year by giving her a send off she'd remember, even when we're old ladies snapchatting each other from the other side of the world. I decided to try and fill a day out in London with all the things she may not have done whilst she was here (and believe me, Sophie managed to fit in a ton of adventures in two short years!).
The first thing you need to do if you're going to have a long day out is stock up on a good breakfast. The perfect place for this is, of course, The Breakfast Club. We went for the one at London Bridge, as a lot of our day was going to revolve around that area. And we went for the two biggest breakfasts they had on offer!
I picked the American Breakfast whilst Sophie went for 'Ham so eggsited', So we basically had pancakes, tons of syrup, eggs, and whilst I had bacon and hash browns, Sophie had ham in-between each of her pancakes. And we were both defeated. Believe me, it takes a lot to beat either of us on the food front but these breakfasts were as delicious as they were enormous. The atmosphere in the diner/cafe is brilliant, and it seemed we had arrived on the first birthday of the London Bridge location as many of the servers were doing shots (at 10 am!) to celebrate. Not feeling the need to join in on drinking that early and also feeling a bit too full we went to walk it off with stops at Borough Market, the Golden Hind and Southwark cathedral. Then we headed towards the famous Tower Bridge.
Now, you cannot spend two years in London and not see Tower Bridge, it's one of London's most iconic landmarks, but some people may not realise that you can actually go inside the bridge. This was our next destination. It costs a few pounds (and we had a two for one offer) and you can watch a video about the history of the construction of the bridge, but we were more keen to get on to the glass walkway!
We took tons of photos, and I snapped the one of Sophie on the floor really quickly so we didn't get told off, but I swear the bridge employee saw us and just rolled her eyes at the stupidity of tourists! The glass walkway was a lot of fun, and the view was just spectacular.
The ticket price includes a trip to the engine rooms but as we were on a tight schedule we skipped that for a wander outside the Tower of London, a refreshing drink and a walk along the north side of the river.
We needed the refreshment provided in our ice-cold drinks as our next stop was 300 steps to the top of Monument.
The steps seemed to be neverending, and I definitely got a sweat on, but it only costs about £5 each, and you get a wonderful vantage point to see the cityscape of London. It's also a great place to take a bunch of selfies!
And we were only about halfway though our day out. Our next stop was to the Globe Theatre. As a theatre geek I love the Globe. I enjoy that it has been rebuilt in the same place, and to the same specifications as the original Globe. I get a buzz to think I could be standing in the same place as Shakespeare did. To emphasize that feeling I got us £5 standing tickets so we could watch a performance the same way Elizabethans would have hundred of years ago. The show was Much Ado About Nothing, and it was perfect!
Much Ado About Nothing is probably one of my favourite Shakespeare plays. It is fun, easy to follow and I can relate to Beatrice quite substantially. The actors in this cast were impeccable, particularly Beatrice and Benedick. It was a lively, boisterous and passionate performance that kept us all engaged. Just before the end of the first half I did start to feel a bit queasy (too much breakfast, too many steps and not enough water) so I left to get some fresh air. A quick sit down and a drink and I felt refreshed enough to go back for the second half. It did remind me that standing for two hours can be quite tiring and it can get quite stuffy in the theatre (despite being outdoors!). It's not enough to put me off, £5 is a bargain for a theatre show, but I'll give you some advice, if you having the standing tickets get there early, then you can grab a spot next to the wall to lean on!
And without further ado we moved on to our next stop. This one was suggested by Sophie and a good suggestion too as it was definitely time for a drink. We jumped on the river bus across to Embankment and headed to Gordon's Wine Bar, for a quick glass of wine. This wine bar is hidden underground near Embankment station and they are very generous with their wine pouring! You have to be careful not to bump your head on the low ceilings in the darkness, and like most of the places we visited I just wish we had more time to spend there.
And then we went to our penultimate stop, afternoon tea in the evening! We went to the Royal Horseguards hotel which I found on the Afternoon Tea website. It was very beautifully presented and they also added a message on the macaroons that I requested (Sophie's favourite saying whenever food is placed in front of her!). The service was a little slow but everyone was very helpful and everything tasted wonderful. We both went for a 'Strawberries and Cream' tea which was the strangest yet most exquisite drink I've tasted. I would go there again just for that tea! It tasted exactly as you'd expect - of strawberries and cream, but it was still strange to have those flavours as a liquid.
And without further ado we moved on to our next stop. This one was suggested by Sophie and a good suggestion too as it was definitely time for a drink. We jumped on the river bus across to Embankment and headed to Gordon's Wine Bar, for a quick glass of wine. This wine bar is hidden underground near Embankment station and they are very generous with their wine pouring! You have to be careful not to bump your head on the low ceilings in the darkness, and like most of the places we visited I just wish we had more time to spend there.
And then we went to our penultimate stop, afternoon tea in the evening! We went to the Royal Horseguards hotel which I found on the Afternoon Tea website. It was very beautifully presented and they also added a message on the macaroons that I requested (Sophie's favourite saying whenever food is placed in front of her!). The service was a little slow but everyone was very helpful and everything tasted wonderful. We both went for a 'Strawberries and Cream' tea which was the strangest yet most exquisite drink I've tasted. I would go there again just for that tea! It tasted exactly as you'd expect - of strawberries and cream, but it was still strange to have those flavours as a liquid.
To finish the night off, we went to our second show of the day. This one was 'Bend it Like Beckham, the Musical. I haven't seen the film, but I know the storyline. I had no idea if it would be good or not, but it is a new musical and I wanted to give it a go. And like everything that day, I loved every bit of it! I enjoyed the Bollywood aspect of some of the songs, it was very funny, colourful and I didn't want it to end. All the performances were great but Preeya Kalidas, who played Pinky, well, her voice absolutely blew me away. I really recommend this show, I hope it keeps going in London for a long time so lots of people have the opportunity to see it.
And that was it, our farewell day was at an end. A year of fun wrapped up, with us both having to head in different directions. It's not all sad though, I have finally started saving up for my return trip to New Zealand, so I can be shown around by a local. Although it may be a couple of years until I can get there I am looking forward to seeing my friend again, but for now I can keep up with her adventures via the magic of the internet! On top of that, Sophie's lust for life and the amount of adventures she squeezed in two years has encouraged me to get out and try new things, so look out for my upcoming '52 new things, in 52 weeks' where I plan to try one new thing a week, for a whole year! See you soon Sophie, and make sure you have a Burger Fuel for me, when you get home!
