The first of a few recaps from our European adventure is here! London, England was my absolute dream destination and where I’ve wanted to go for years and years. I’ve always wanted to see the architecture and rich history London has to offer and my obsession with the royal family only added to my wanderlust.

The biggest question I’ve gotten about our trip was if we did it on our own or if we went through a travel agent. The answer is that I booked everything on our own. I had a lot of friends from college who have traveled to Europe on their own and took in every piece of advice I could get. Traveling to Europe is so easy because their public transportation is fabulous! I booked everything I could ahead of time and we winged 95% of our food selections which honestly was perfect. I didn’t want to spend too much time researching where to go because I didn’t want to be running on a strict schedule and I wasn’t sure when we would be hungry and where we would be at.

Another question we got asked a lot was what our favorite city was that we visited. Seth and I absolutely loved London and I’m so glad it was everything I wanted it to be. We got to do a ton of exploring without feeling overwhelmed with set plans 24/7. We had down time to visit the local pubs, chat with the locals, try all kinds of food, ice cream and pastries.

We stayed in Notting Hill which was the perfect location for us! It was walking distance to Kensington Palace (the residence of HRH William and Catherine) and so close to food, shops, the Underground and lots of garden areas. We found the best ham and cheese croissants here and had our favorite meal just steps from our hotel.

While in England we got to visit all of the big tourist attractions (London Eye, The Shard, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, etc.), take a day trip to Stonehenge, ride a double decker bus, tour Windsor Castle (where Prince Harry will marry Miss Markle!), visit Oxford and go to the Warner Brother’s Harry Potter Studio tour.

We also happened to be there when Catherine Middleton birthed Prince Louis!! CUE MY EXCITEMENT. Seth jokes that I planned our trip in April so that I could catch a glimpse of Kate, but it all really was a big stroke of luck! We visited the Lindo Wing the night before she was admitted on a whim and the whole experience was amazing! We did try to go see her walk outside, but we were on a scheduled tour of Stonehenge and missed it by 40 minutes. It was still surreal to be there when it all happened.

There was not one thing that I can say I disliked about London. Well, maybe the tube eating my $10 metro ticket. 😉 But, the history is spectacular, there are beautiful gardens everywhere and the wrought iron is absolutely gorgeous!

I will never forget this once in a lifetime trip!