Lovely London: Part 1

As we sped away from Paris on the Eurostar, through the countryside of France we sipped our last bottle of rosé and nibbled on french bread and cheeses. The train ride to London from Paris is very quick and easy. We definitely prefer it over the hassle of flying and dealing with Heathrow Airport. Once we arrived in London, we had a quick bite of dinner and visited with friends before heading to bed. 

In the morning, we woke up and headed to one of our favorite chain restaurants in the UK, Bill's. This place has a nice rustic feel to it with enamel tea pots that are ever so lightly worn in, antique looking ceiling tiles and candelabra center pieces in the evening. Ivy, not being able to wait another moment before having a cream tea (a pot of tea with scones, jam, and clotted cream) ordered the Queen's Cream Tea Birthday Special. Eve and our friend A (who we were staying with) ordered poached eggs on avocado on toast and berry banana pancakes. Yum!

After breakfast, A left to do some PhD research (she's such a smart cookie) and we headed off to Oxford Street for a bit of shopping. Our guilty shopping pleasures in the UK are Primark, (The Forever 21 of England), Accessorize (an accessories shop) and New Look (clothing shop). We ended up picking out some killer Harry Potter PJ's at Primark and some cute fluffy purse charms at Accessorize. The summer sales were going on and it was hard not to buy up half of every store!

Once we had wondered all the shops on Oxford Street, we were starving so we headed to the Borough Market right across the street from our friends apartment. This market is AMAZING! It is full of fresh produce, local cheeses, craft ciders and beers, oyster bars, meat shops and more. We could definitely live happily ever after if we only ate here for the rest of our lives! We gobbled up tasty prosciutto sandwiches and a few glasses of sparkling rosé. Later Eve tried a fresh pressed green juice from one of the vendors as well. Seriously yum!

After lunch we went back to the apartment to take a nap and rest our feet. Once A returned from her work we met up with A's boyfriend D and had dinner by the river Thames. We walked past the tower of London and the Tower bridge. We stopped for dinner at a tapas bar and watched the sun set over the river. Once we finished dinner we all went out for a drink at a local pub where Eve and A sipped sparkling wine and Ivy drank her favorite cider, Rekorderlig. 

The next day we started with brunch at Spitalfields Market. This is near where Eve lived a few summers ago for a summer university course. We ended up going to breakfast at Blixen. We ordered scrambled eggs with mushrooms and truffle ragu, a double rosti with spinach poached eggs and parmesan cheese, and side of truffle popcorn all washed down with bubbly, naturally. :)

Afterwords, we took the tube to the Regent Street, where we ran, not walked to Fortnum & Maison. This shop is one of the most beautiful stores in London and filled with tins of cookies, jars of jam, picnic baskets, a huge selection of wines, and more. We wondered in awe for some time dreaming of one day filling our home with all its treasures, then we ran downstairs for the ultimate summer treat. Champagne Popsicles! Their packaging is so pretty we almost didn't want to open them, but lets be realistic, we never waste champagne! 

We bought the pops and headed off to sit in Green Park down the street and enjoy the summer sun. 

Once we had sunned and enjoyed our champagne pops we headed back towards the apartment and walk along the river. By the time we got back though (15 minutes later) it was pouring rain so we were forced to dry off in the apartment till A returned from the library. Once she got back, we walked to Borough Market to try out one of the oyster bars we had spotted earlier. Richard Haward's Oysters had a great deal of 4 oysters and a glass of prosecco for only 10 pounds!

After the oysters, we got changed and met up with a group of friends at a small wine bar called Champagne+Fromage (the name says it all) before heading to Roka Aldwych for a fabulous dinner celebrating our fellow American friend R's masters graduation.

After dinner, we all headed home to rest up for the next day and all the magic to come (hint hint!). Stay tuned!

xxx Ivy & Eve

Travel in Style With a Carry-On Suitcase

When traveling with only a carry-on suitcase the main goal is to try and pack as much as possible while still having enough room to shop while you are on the trip...or just buy a new suitcase for all your shopping and check one bag on your way back! As kids, we remember packing for two week trips using the biggest suitcase we could find, and even then they were never quite large enough for all the clothes we wanted to wear. Now that we're older, and travel on our own, we like to keep our luggage to a minimum (carrying/rolling around big suitcases inside trains/airports and buses just gets exhausting and annoying).

Traveling with a carry-on suitcase can be a daunting task. How do you to decide what to bring and what to leave at home?! We get it, and still struggle with this issue. The biggest thing to think about is trying to pick items that you can wear with multiple outfits, ie. jeans which you can wear with a basic white t-shirt and sandals or dress up with heels and a cute silk tank top. Scarves and statement jewelry don't take up much room and can transform an outfit. Being strategic about what you can wear multiple ways is key. Our saving grace for this packing "mission" is the Ziploc Space Bags! All you have to do is slip your clothes into the bag, seal the bag, and roll/press the air out! It shrinks the clothes to half the size they originally took up. Brilliant!  Also keep in mind that all your liquids have to fit in a small Ziploc baggie and you can't bring liquids larger than 3oz. Here is a list of things we typically bring on our holidays....

Ivy's Beauty Essentials:

• Aquafor
• CeraVe face wash and PM cream
• Foundation
• Makeup removing wipes
• Eyeliner
• Eyeshadow pallet
• Mascara
• Favorite red lipstick (Keep It Red)
• Travel toothbrush
• Deodorant 
• Hairbrush

Lexie's Beauty Essentials:

• Foundation
• Face powder
• Eyeliner
• Eyeshadow pallet
• Contouring/blush pallet (ISH Contour kit)
• Mascara
• Makeup brushes (eye shadow, blush, contour)
• Deodorant
• Travel toothbrush
• Rollerball Parfum
• 1-2 lip glosses/ lip sticks
• Hairbrush

Things We Share:

• Toothpaste/Floss
• Sunscreen 
• Medication (Advil, Advil cold and sinus, Emergen-C) Being sick on a trip is the worst! We pack only essential incase of emergencies. These are essential since in america we are given the luxury to have off the shelf drugs that actually work! We swear the drugs on European super markets shelves are just sugar. 

Here is what we recommend for packing a carry-on suitcase: 

• (2-3) Pairs of pants 
• (5) Shirts
• (2-4) Dresses, rompers, skirts
• (1) Shorts (if needed)
• (3) Shoes (one pair of sandals, one good walking shoe, and one pair of heels)
• (2) Bras
• (10) Undies
• (5) Socks
• (1) Swimsuit (always bring one just in case!)
• (1) PJ's
• (2) Jackets (One jacket for warmth and one rain coat incase it rains)
• Jewelry- bring a few items that can be layered together or go alone
• (1) Sunglasses 
• (1) Umbrella
• Chargers & International Converter if necessary
• Makeup/Beauty Bag
• (1-2) purses (one everyday and one fancier)

Keep in mind this is our recommended list for a trip similar to ours spanning 20 days or less. We will be doing our laundry abroad. 

Remember to check with your airline to confirm your bag meets the required size limitations, and to make sure you can bring another "personal item". Ivy will be using a backpack to put her camera bag inside, laptop, and her airplane essentials this trip. While Eve uses a tote bag. Make sure to wear your heaviest/bulkiest clothes on the flight to limit the weight and save room in your bag for souvenirs.

We hope this helps you next time you have a weekend getaway or an extended vacation!

xxx Ivy & Eve