…is colder than spring or fall! Regardless, we had a fabulous few days hanging out in one of our favorite cities. Walking through city parks and neighborhoods is a great way to work off jet lag, so we set off on foot to enjoy!

First stop, Russell Park, right across the street from our London “home away from home” the Kimpton Fitzroy.

Love the after work London pub scene, such a great way to end a school or work day (says Zoe!). Every pub we walked by was full with spillover into the streets.

Some random street scenes…

Food…food…and then some more food! Zoe carefully curated our restaurants and I give her 5 stars. We started out by a return trip to a wonderful little neighborhood Italian gem, Vasco and Piero’s in Soho. Based on the owner’s Umbrian roots, each dish has just a few simple ingredients and all pasta is made on site. Think homemade tortelloni stuffed with mushrooms with an Umbrian truffle sauce! We were joined by high school bestie Gretchen’s son Brent who is also studying this summer at the London School of Economics (LSE).

The next day, we ate dinner in the theatre district at a fantastic Michelin star Sri Larkin restaurant…Paradise Soho. I cannot rave about this place enough, every bite was a burst of texture and flavor. The favorite dish – little layered bites of dough with green chili custard, kithul glaze, date and lime chutney and Valencia’s Queso Curado sprinkled on top. The owner told us this dish was inspired by the cheesy toast bites he would eat every day after school.

I didn’t manage to get a shot from dinner on our 3rd night at Bombay Sapphire, as we were too busy enjoying the company and great food! We were joined by our friend who came over early for a work trip from Cork, Ireland to join us for dinner (Annamarie, her daughter Erin and Erin’s boyfriend Bobby); and Zoe’s friends ‘Em, Henry and Kiera. Three bottles of wine later…we just couldn’t be bothered with photos.

We also snuck in an afternoon at Camden Market and I had the best falafel platter I think I’ve ever tasted. I wish I could recreate every bite of this plate…

London means ABBA? Zoe and I share an obsession with ABBA, and having done the ABBA virtual experience (ABBA Journey) last time we were in town (do not miss this!), we decided to treat ourselves to Mamma Mia this time around. Gary had not seen the movie so was really confused (did they write the songs just for this movie?). I will say seeing it performed with some pretty outstanding performers/singers was better than the movie (sorry Meryl, Pierce, Colin, Amanda etc.).

We needed a stroll after that Sri Lankan dinner so headed over towards Buckingham Palace for some pics and steps. Zoe wasn’t too impressed with the Palace (first time walking by after living here for a year, you see what her priorities are, or rather aren’t…she’s just not a monarchist).

That sums up our 3 days in this city…next stop Edinburgh!