Following several months of lockdown followed by two exams, I was determined to make the most of this summer as far as covid allowed me too. Therefore, I made a vague bucket list of not only places I wanted to travel to abroad, but also restaurants and activities that I wanted to try in London on the off chance that travel was prohibited again.
There were various things that I haven't yet managed, including getting a tattoo (as I was spending a lot of time in the sun and sea and didn't want to risk it getting infected), seeing a shooting star (despite star gazing a couple of times), and going on a banana boat. Nonetheless, I did manage to complete the majority of the bucket list and it meant that I always had things to look forward to and remained very busy throughout the summer. Granted, I made the list while we were still in lockdown in April so many of the London activities were completed as soon as the restrictions lifted in late Spring.
Travel
Live in Portugal
Although I love travelling and wanted to visit many places, this was the one trip I was desperate to go on, as I'd wanted to live abroad temporarily for years now but the opportunity had never arisen, especially since covid. Therefore, when my manager confirmed that I'd be able to work from Portugal as soon as the travel restrictions allowed, I was extremely excited.
I've written various posts about my experience in Lisbon, however to summarise, I had the most amazing time and the whole experience felt very Mamma Mia-esque as I was constantly meeting new people and exploring new areas and it was a lot of fun, especially given that I was there during the Euros so the atmosphere was very lively. I also managed to go on various trips in Portugal, including to an island with friends and up North with family.
I was also lucky enough to revisit Portugal at the very end of August. Despite Albufeira area being a classic party destination for Brits, it was my first time there as I was visiting a friend. The difference between this area and the rest of Portugal is stark - although there are an abundance of bars and pubs with live music, it is very much catered for Brits (which I did admittedly enjoy a lot), whereas in other regions in Portugal there is much more Reggaeton and Brazilian music (which I am a massive fan of too). A few cons were that many places in the old town didn't accept card payments, it was more expensive than I'd anticipated, and there were no brunch spots (although many cafés did offer a 'full English'). Regardless, it was a lot of fun and I was very happy to have been able to visit.
Go on a road trip in Spain Following on from my time in Lisbon, I went on a road trip along the south coast of Iberia, starting in Sagres, Portugal and ending in Motril, Spain, before heading up to Madrid. Initially, I'd planned to drive all along the coast until Valencia but we changed our plans at the last minute to see Granada as we'd already visited Valencia. I love visiting Spain as it gives me the opportunity to practice my Spanish and I like the food and people a lot, however what really topped this trip off was that after many years of waiting, I finally managed to ride a moped in Seville. To read more about this road trip, click here.
Visit Malta
Malta was one of the few countries in Europe that I hadn't yet visited and had heard a lot of mixed reviews about. I had planned to go several times over the last 18 months, however the trip kept getting postponed due to the travel restrictions in place. In September, I finally managed to visit the tiny country for a couple of days and it definitely surpassed my expectations. I wish I'd spent slightly longer here in order to visit Gozo as I only managed to visit Valletta and Mdina (both of which are stunning and left me very impressed) but I'm very glad that I got a taste of this small country.
Explore Norfolk Norfolk was the first place I visited after lockdown ended in April, and was the first thing I ticked off on this bucket list. This day trip included spotting seals on Horsey beach, eating fish and chips at a typical pub in the Broads National Park, and visiting Norwich cathedral. To read a more detailed description of this day trip, click here.
Have a uni reunion in Bristol
One of my main friendship groups at university was a mix of people from all over England as well as various Europeans, meaning that a reunion during the pandemic was impossible. Nonetheless, as the vaccine rollout picked up the pace, we put a date in the diary for August and waited to see what would happen. Luckily, by August most people were able to come to Bristol and we spent the weekend living out our uni days with each other, which was a lot of fun and was definitely needed. One of my favourite activities was playing darts in Flight Club as although I was useless, I'd been meaning to go for a while and the atmosphere was great.
Day drink in Manchester Similarly to the Bristol reunion, day drinking in Manchester had been on my bucket list for a couple of years but the opportunity had never arisen. After visiting Manchester last summer, I was very excited to revisit, especially as the friend I was visiting had gotten a new puppy only a few months beforehand. We spent the weekend up North and I loved the atmosphere in Manchester as we discovered various cool bars throughout the night. The following day, we took the puppy to the beach, which coincided with St Annes Kite Festival and was very enjoyable.
Visit the Lake District
My mum turned 50 this May, which would usually warrant a trip abroad, however given the circumstances, we instead spent the long weekend somewhere we'd never been: the Lake District. I always used to associate the Lakes with hiking trails and not much else, however there was plenty to do and it was the perfect weekend getaway. Given that it was forecast to rain the whole weekend, we were extremely lucky with the weather and even when it did rain, we put the fire on and drank hot chocolate so it felt very wholesome. My favourite part about the trip was driving a boat on Lake Coniston, however we also spent a couple of hours in Knaresborough and the Yorkshire Dales, which were both stunning. Read more about this trip here.
Spend a day in Brighton Of course, no Londoner's summer is complete without a trip to Brighton and, sure enough, in early September I was given the afternoon off of work so we took advantage of the heatwave on Brighton beach. We ate at Shelter Hall, which offered a variety of cuisines and options and was delicious, despite being overpriced.
Other honourable mentions include a day out on a colleague's farm in May, which was a breath of fresh air following four months of confinement in London, a visit to London's beach in Ruislip (which wasn't worth it), and admiring London's skyline from One Tree Hill.
Activities
See the sunrise and sunset Although I only saw a couple of sunrises after nights out, I saw many sunsets, especially by the river in Lisbon or on London's rooftop bars, as both cities provide incredible sunsets. I also love when the sun sets into the sea, which the weekend spent in Culatra allowed us to view daily.
Go to a nude beach Anyone who knows me knows how much I adore the swimming in the sea and beaches in general. Despite this, I'd never actually been to a nude beach but was open to the idea. In the Algarve, we went to a topless beach one day which had a few nudists but I am yet to partake in this activity.
Ride a moped
As aforementioned, riding a moped had been on my Bucket List for several years and I finally got to ride a Yego in Seville during my road trip in Andalusia, which was definitely a highlight of my Summer.
Learn how to surf One of my New Year's resolutions this year was to surf, as despite having had a lesson a few years ago in the Canary Islands, I'd never managed to stand up on the board. Living in Lisbon gave me the opportunity to spend an afternoon surfing and meet new people and was a lot of fun.
Go to a Cabaret night
As mentioned in this post, I attended Proud Cabaret in late May with some uni mates as it had been on my bucket list for a while but I'd never found an opportunity to go. It was a very fun night that left me in awe and I'd strongly recommend the experience at least once in your life.
Go to a comedy gig I'm a big fan of comedy gigs and usually go to a couple each year, but due to the pandemic many had been postponed so I hadn't seen live comedy in a while. One of the shows I had been looking forward to was Trevor Noah's tour, which was meant to be in September 2020 but had been rescheduled to the following year. Luckily, the covid cases weren't too high this September so the gig went ahead and I enjoyed it greatly. He combined humour with some thought-provoking ideas and it was so nice to have some semblance of 'normal' again. One of my all-time favourite books is his 'Born a Crime' and I'd very strongly recommend both his book and his standup if you want a good laugh.
I'd also intended on getting a new tattoo and piercing, however I didn't get the opportunity to do either of these as I spent the majority of the summer in the sun and sea and didn't want to risk an infection. I also wanted to see a shooting star and go on a banana boat, but neither happened so these will rollover to next summer.
Food and Drink
One of best things about living in London is the abundance of restaurants and bars to try and, as someone who loves socialising over food, I made sure to try as many places as possible.
Barrio
Barrio bars are some of my favourite in London, as the drinks are delicious, the atmosphere is usually lively, and most importantly, they play a lot of Reggaeton (one of my favourite music genres). The initial reason I wanted to come was to try one of their flaming drinks but since my first visit, I have returned multiple times. Of the bars I've been to, my favourite is the one in Shoreditch, followed by Soho, with Brixton in last place.
Mr Fogg's For my 23rd birthday, I'd been planning to go for drinks at one of Mr Fogg's bars, however a last-minute lockdown prevented this celebration. I had read (and enjoyed) the book 'Around the World in 80 Days', which is the theme of these bars, and the unique cocktails and vintage décor did not disappoint. Despite the cocktails being relatively pricey, it was a fun experience and I'd recommend visiting for a bit of novelty.
Madison
Madison is located by St Paul's, and being a rooftop bar in London, reservations here can be cancelled at the last minute due to bad weather. I'd been wanting to go for a few months as it is very close to my office and eventually I managed to get a reservation with some colleagues in May. Annoyingly, rain was forecast for the evening so they cancelled our reservation and then messaged at the last minute saying it could still go ahead (even though it did end up raining), so we went and although it was nice, it wasn't really my vibe.
Vinegar Yard There is a lot of hype about Vineyard Yard in London Bridge, and after sitting two of my ACA exams in June, I decided to celebrate here with some school friends. The atmosphere was nice and the food was good but I found this place to be very overrated (and overpriced), and much prefer the vibe at the nearby Flat Iron Square.
Rail House Café
My favourite meal to go out for is brunch, especially in London as there are so many incredible places to try. One of the spots I was excited about was Rail House Café in Victoria, and it did not disappoint. I almost always order pancakes or eggs Royale, and on this day the pancakes prevailed. They were really delicious and I'd definitely come back here, especially given how easy it is for most Londoners to get to.
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This Michelin star restaurant is located just off Green Park station and it's clear to see how they attained the prestigious star. The waiters were very attentive and although I got one of my usuals (eggs Royale), it had been prepared in a unique way that I hadn't tried previously and left me very impressed. That said, only you only got one egg on an English muffin as opposed to the usual two and of course, it was more expensive than most brunch places.
The Dorchester As with Mr Fogg's, I had been planning to celebrate my birthday with an afternoon tea at the Dorchester. My birthday is the day after Christmas so they were offering live jazz music (which I love) on the day, however the sudden lockdown disrupted these plans. Instead, we came in May and it was phenomenal; the service was impeccable, the food was delicious, and the ambiance was very classy. Of course, the Dorchester is gorgeous and it was a very enjoyable afternoon (despite getting a Congestion Charge fine).
The Ritz
After spending the majority of the summer abroad, I couldn't wait to revert to certain aspects of my British culture and decided to celebrate my return with an afternoon tea at the Ritz with some work friends. This had been planned several months in advance and was relatively cheap compared to most of the classic afternoon tea experiences at only £55 per person for the traditional menu. The waiters were very attentive, offering us several refills and even bringing a couple of additional desserts on top of those on the menu. I appreciated the live music and loved the hotel, though I'd probably recommend the Dorchester slightly over it as it was grander and the dining area is felt more private.
Smiths of Smithfield Along the same theme, a Sunday roast is a quintessential part of British culture and I'd heard good things about Smiths of Smithfield. This is a rooftop restaurant overlooking St Paul's cathedral and offering a great view of London. The roast was more expensive than it would be in a typical pub but it was delicious and the portions were massive!
The Fat Duck For my mum's 50th birthday in May, we treated her to lunch at the three-Michelin star restaurant, the Fat Duck. I say lunch, but the ten-course menu lasted for four hours and in reality it was definitely more an experience than a lunch. I wrote about this meal in more detail here, but in summary I was left extremely in awe and it was possibly the most unique lunch I've ever had.
SushiSamba
I'd heard a lot about SushiSamba and couldn't wait to finally try it (despite not actually being a massive fan of most things on the menu). That said, I was thoroughly impressed with the food and this restaurant definitely lives up to the hype. It is located on the 38th floor of Heron Tower in central London and presents an incredible view of the city. The restaurant itself is well designed and clearly a lot of thought has been put into the menu; a lot of the things that I wasn't expecting to like I ended up loving so it's definitely worth trying something new. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the cocktail, however that was just down to personal taste.
Claridge's, Nobu & Egg Break There were three restaurants on my summer bucket list that I haven't yet managed to visit, and those are Claridge's for afternoon tea, Egg Break for brunch, and Nobu for lunch. All three places have been highly recommended to me and have great menus so I'm hoping to experience these very soon too!
Miscellaneous
Dye my hair
For years I had wanted to get balayage but was apprehensive as I hadn't seen balayage on curly hair and wasn't sure if it would suit me I finally decided to take the plunge last year, however covid struck and hairdressers were forced to close. The silver lining of this was that it gave me time to do some proper research and I ended up making an appointment at Hare & Bone in Fitzrovia for late May. As mentioned in my post, I was enamoured with the results and couldn't recommend this place (and Amy) enough!
Try tofu & Quorn This item was very rogue but one of my New Year's resolutions had been to eat less meat and try different alternatives, so I was determined to do this. I really enjoyed the tofu (despite the time it took to prepare) and didn't mind the Quorn sausages either and definitely want to make more of an effort to reduce my meat intake going forward.
Despite August being a complete write-off (I had covid so had to isolate for 2 weeks and then couldn't get the second vaccine for a further 4 weeks or travel), I really enjoyed this Summer and feel like I definitely made the most of it. I had two exams in early June which meant that I had to be in London until then, allowing me to explore many new restaurants and bars that I otherwise wouldn't have, and after my exams I spent two months in Portugal and Spain, which I loved as I could be carefree and fully enjoy myself.
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