London Called

Wednesday 1 May 2013



For the last few months I've been scanning for quick, direct flights out of Norway in hopes to do a little Spring shopping.  I moved here with a wardrobe fit for the tropics, purchased new things for Winter yet really needed some clothes that would be appropriate for a Norwegian Spring & Summer (i.e. not hot.) Shopping isn't fantastic in Stavanger and while I can certainly find what I need, it's so expensive here and doesn't seem worth it to pay a lot of money for a mediocre selection.  (There's also a 25% import tax on anything shipped in thus that was not a feasible option.)  So, I scanned for flights to Copenhagen, Stockholm, Amsterdam, London, Edinburgh, etc.  Flights to any of those destinations for a weekend were expensive and after continually checking back for deals, it became apparent that we just weren't going to get somewhere cheap so we bit the bullet and booked a trip to London.

London has never been high on our list of places to visit.  It's not that we didn't think it would be a good city to travel to - we just figured we'd get there eventually whether we really planned it or not.  Well, London, you exceeded my expectations.  I can't quite put my finger on it... perhaps it has to do with coming from a Commonwealth country and growing up looking at so many iconic London images or perhaps it was just entering a bustling city after months in our quiet, Norwegian town, but London won us over pretty quickly.  Also, it was pretty darn nice travelling to another English speaking country and I cannot discredit how smooth and easy everything was just because we could read the signs.

Shopping was semi-successful, as my credit card can attest to, but I didn't get everything I was looking for.  There was just too much to do and as happy as I would have been perusing the shops day-in and day-out, I'm sure Joe wouldn't have appreciated it.  Perhaps next time I'll schedule a mid-week trip by myself so I'm not dragging my husband around and can avoid the sheer craziness that is Oxford Street on a nice, dry, Spring Saturday afternoon.

The Particulars...
+We flew via Norwegian direct to Gatwick.  They offered the most reasonable flights and had great timing with a 19:40 Friday night - 21:05 Sunday night return ticket.
+From Gatwick, we hopped on the Gatwick Express which took us right to Victoria Station near Central London in about 30 minutes.  Do note, there isn't much space for luggage on that train so if you're travelling with a lot, you may want to hire a taxi.  The train departs every 15 minutes (30 minutes on Sundays) and costs £19.90 for an Anytime Single ticket although you can save £2 by pre-purchasing on the internet.
+I found us a great deal on a swanky London hotel in Covent Garden.  St Martin's Lane Hotel was in an amazing location which made it easy for us to walk to practically every sight we visited.  It's also a really hip hotel that has some super cool features that play with coloured light.  Even with the deal, it wasn't cheap but as compared to other London hotels in the centre, it was worth the extra few £'s for the location and funky room.  (The deal is valid until May 16 so if you're looking for London accommodation and don't mind splurging a bit, you can check it out here.)
+We arrived quite late Friday night and decided to eat in the hotel restaurant, Asia de Cuba.  An Asian-Cuban fusion restaurant sounds like a bizarre pairing yet it was oh-so-good.  The crab croquetas were delicious as were our main courses of pan-seared ahi tuna and Cuban BBQ'd chicken.  They also have a very extensive cocktail list (I enjoyed the Chilli-Passionfruit Caipirinha.)

And... a very happy May Day to you all.  It's one of our many public holidays in May here in Norway, celebrated as Labour Day. Unfortunately, Joe's boss didn't get the memo and scheduled a very important, not to be missed meeting for noon.

19 comments:

  1. happy may day! we fortunately got the day off and have enjoyed the much needed break : ) i'm so glad to hear you found SOME stuff for spring and summer! it can be so difficult to find stuff in new countries that a.fits right and b.doesn't cost the equivalent of your grocery bill.

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  2. Nice work! London is so iconic and so cool. We happily spent a week in London, and still didn't see everything we wanted to; so many great things to do and see and eat!

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  3. My boyfriend will be studying abroad in London, while I'm in Norway, so chances are I will be spending quite a bit of time there... though, I'm slightly concerned about the flight prices. Flights from Bergen seem relatively reasonably priced, especially mid-week, but I guess we'll see.

    May Day is also a public holiday in Germany - hope you had a great day despite the work! :)

    xx
    Melanie

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    1. If your schedule is flexible, prices tend to be better. We can often only fly Friday night - Sunday night so that Joe doesn't have to take time off work and generally can't find a return ticket for under $500 each. It's costly. Funny enough, prices going one way will be cheap but returning is often triple the cost. It's a bit frustrating!

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    2. I live in London, and fly home to Bergen regularly. I'm going home on the 16th of May (and back to London on the 20th). Return tickets with Norwegian cost me 700 NOK. Not a bad deal!!

      A small tip for you guys going from Gatwick to Central London - don't get the Gatwick Express. Get the normal train, it's £10 (and cheaper if you book ahead)!

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    3. That is a great deal Malin! I've heard that flights to/from Bergen are a bit cheaper than Stavanger but have never investigated it. I can't even get a return ticket to Oslo for that cost!

      We did take the normal train on the way back to the airport as we just missed the Express. It was fine but it was uncomfortably crowded - all seats taken and people crammed throughout the aisles & in the doorways. I think the appeal of the Express is that it runs every 15 minutes so you know you'll get to the centre within 45 minutes maximum. We sat on the normal train for at least 25 minutes before it even departed.

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  4. So glad you guys enjoyed London... one of my favorite places!!!!

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  5. Sounds like a great weekend getaway! May Day is a holiday here in Honduras too. I wondering how North America got stuck with it in September??

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  6. first of all, I really enjoyed your post title. I have no real explanation why, but it just makes me smile.

    secondly, I'm feeling incredibly jealous right now that you can just hop over to places like London so easily. especially for shopping! this is the problem with living in America! ;)

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  7. glad you enjoyed London! its one of my most favorite cities for a weekend trip!
    hugs from Brussels

    www.brusselslifebeauty.blogspot.be

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  8. I highly recommend Helsinki for shopping next time...you won't be disappointed =)

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  9. I used to live near Gatwick. Glad you had a good time.


    Bonnie Rose | A Compass Rose

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  10. Love the photo! I'm glad London was able to put on a lovely weekend for you, weather wise. Selfridges is definitely a way to feel successful with shopping!! Maybe if you come back mid-week, we can hit up Le Pain Quotidien for food!

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  11. When were you here? Shame we didn't meet up! Glad that you had fun. :-)

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    1. Just last weekend but I saw that you were in Granada so I didn't reach out! Next time!

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  12. oh YAY I'm so glad you had a good time! about to go read your more recent post about the weekend, too, so keep your eyes open for another comment :)

    but also this: "London has never been high on our list of places to visit. It's not that we didn't think it would be a good city to travel to - we just figured we'd get there eventually whether we really planned it or not."

    there are SO many places I think this about and sometimes I get really strange looks from people when I say it. especially for honeymoon planning - when we're living in England aagin, which we will be eventually, somewhere like Amsterdam will be a cheapish long weekend trip. why worry about checking it iff now when, from the US, we might as wel go somewhere more exotic as long as we're spending the money and effort and time? I know we're in an incredibly lucky situation to be able to say that, but... it's true.

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  13. LOL yeah London will do that to you, she makes you fall in love with her. I remember the exact moment I fell on love with London, it was a lovely summer day and I was walking over the millennium bridge a cool breeze blew and I could hear live music coming from the near the Tate Modern. I felt at one and peace with the City there and then.

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