Birthday Celebrations in a very festive London!

Hi everyone! It was my birthday on the 19th so I planned a little weekend getaway in London to celebrate! Fabio and I had booked tickets for a show called Beauty and the Feast and initially it was supposed to be just the 2 of us on the trip. But then my two best friends joined us as they wanted to celebrate my birthday with me! Which of course was so amazing and we had the best of times!

London is one of my favourite places in the world! Every time I visit, there is always something new to see and do. My favourite season to visit London though is definitely around Christmas. The gorgeous decorations and Christmas lights make it even more beautiful and shiny and just wandering around on the streets makes you feel uplifted and happy.  This time was no different and it was the best start for the new year in my life.

 

We rented an Airbnb flat on the buzzing Portobello Road in the heart of Notting Hill and although we were only there for the weekend, we managed to visit some of my favourite London areas, try delicious food and of course do some shopping-much to Fabio’s excitement 😀

Here are some of the highlights of our London trip!

Ottolenghi Deli in Notting Hill

 

Part of the Ottolenghi group of restaurants, delis and shops, this little taste-heaven is the perfect spot to indulge in delicious puddings, fresh salads and flavoursome snacks in Notting Hill. It is so difficult to choose what to order as everything looks amazing. I went for a baked chocolate tart with mascarpone and caramelised sesame triangle and OMG! It almost brought tears to my chocoholic’s eyes! The quality of all the ingredients used was evident and it was impressive that such a rich taste didn’t feel heavy.  The perfect treat!

 

Festive Lights on Oxford Street

 

My favourite shopping destination when in London, Oxford Street looks even more gorgeous when dressed in its Christmassy ambient. The decorations are captivating and add even more glam London’s most popular street.

 

Carnaby Street

Another very popular London area, this year’s theme for Carnaby’s Street decorations was Carnaby Christmas Carnival. Certainly not a very conventional theme for Christmas, still very beautiful and colourful.

London Birchbox Pop-Up Shop

 

 

While we were in Carnaby, we had the chance to visit the Birchbox pop-up shop! The brand’s first UK pop-up shop will remain open until the end of January and gives you the opportunity to build your own Birchbox choosing 5 products from different categories for £15. Some of the featured beauty brands include Benefit Cosmetics, Rituals, Caudalie and more. Full-size packages of Top 100 bestselling products are also available for sale.

 

Birchbox have done a great job with the interior design of their pop-up making it a very friendly and joyful space for its visitors. The display of all products is gorgeous and done with attention to detail making the building your box process very user friendly and pleasant.  You can find the shop at 43 Carnaby Street.

 

Peggy Porschen Parlour

 

I had seen photos of this super cute coffee and cake place and had already fallen in love with all the pink decorations (I’m a pink girl through and through I have to confess).  So I was determined to visit it on my birthday!

My lovely boyfriend and friends were patient enough to stand in the queue for about 25 minutes before finding a table to sit in which I am very grateful for 🙂 In the end I got to have a my Victoria sponge cake with very big, very pink candle and admire all the gorgeous, pink Christmas decorations.

 

 

For the rest of the lovely things we tried/visited/saw in London on my birthday weekend, tune in on Thursday for Part 2 of this post !

 

Love,

Eleni xx

 

 

 

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