I went to London last week for Sabrina Carpenter at Hyde Park and I thought I would share some of the other things we did while we were away. I did do a little vlog but thought it would be good to do a corresponding blog post with some more info.
Borough Market
So this one was not a planned activity, we ended up in the market because we were waiting to eat at the Breakfast Club. The Breakfast Club is a chain of restaurants in London which serve breakfast, we went to one for the first time a few years ago and loved it so wanted to go back. The one we chose was near London Bridge and while we were waiting we walked through Borough Market because it was nearby.
It was a really cute market! I think it would be nice if you lived in London and went there to pick up things for a dinner party or something. Definitely a place I could imagine being a lot if I lived there, very influencer vibes.
We got a fresh juice from one of the places and it was really nice and if we weren’t waiting to get food I’m sure we would have tried something from one of the stalls there.
Wicked
I feel like you can’t go to London without seeing a show and the next one on our list was Wicked. I was on the fence about getting tickets before we went vs trying to get them on the day but we ended up just waiting to get them on the day. Was it any cheaper? Yes! I mean it makes sense that they were cheaper when you get them last minute but you always have the risk the show will be sold out. We went on a Saturday evening and I was surprised that there was a fair few seats still available. I thought with the movie adaptations that more people would be flocking to see it but maybe we just got lucky.
We got our tickets from this place in Leicester Square, it seemed a bit dodgy but actually the guy was nice and our tickets were legit. I do wish they would show you where the seats are when you are booking, the guy was giving us options and I was Googling on the side to see what the view would be like lol. We were sat towards the back of the stalls but the view was still really good.
The actual show I thought was good but because I had seen the first movie before going to see the show, I thought the musical was very fast. Like the story progressed so much faster than I was expecting, which makes sense as a stage show they have limited time to cover what a movie can in the same time. So I think if anything I am glad I had seen the movie because it gave more explanation to things that happened in passing on stage.
Sabrina Carpenter’s Shoreditch Pop-Up
This is not a thing you can do all the time but I thought I’d share what I thought of it since I didn’t talk about it a lot in the vlog. It was a cute pop-up but probably not worth the time I queued for it lol. We queued for like two hours and we showed up about ten minutes before the shop opened.
The actual merchandise on sale was great, I know lots of people were going for the coveted ‘Espresso’ vinyl but Sabrina had a lot more merch for sale, specific to the UK and her Hyde Park shows. So that was nice.
Aside from that, the shop was quite small and so I was in and out in about five minutes. They had a ‘Manchild’ themed pinball machine but I don’t think anyone actually played it or if you were allowed to. They also had a photobooth but because the shop was so small there was a separate line for it. You had to get a wristband and queue on the opposite side of the building from the general queue to get in. Which was annoying so I didn’t do that, I had queued enough for the day.
Overall, a cute idea and I think it would’ve been better in a bigger space to accommodate more people with less queuing but it is what it is.
Hyde Park BST Festival
Sabrina isn’t always going to be there, but they put this Hyde Park festival on every year. I remember the year BlackPink was announced and I thought about going but ultimately decided not to because I didn’t think their set would be the same as a full concert set. It’s funny because if I had went then I would’ve also seen Sabrina as she was opening for BlackPink back in 2019 lol. Plus I think the sets headliners do are pretty much full concert setlist. I mean Sabrina’s set was basically the Short ‘n’ Sweet tour minus some costume changes and the setlist was slightly different.
This was my first Hyde Park concert and I really enjoyed it. Even though it is an all day festival, my fiance and I went at around 7pm for the show. The festival is a fun idea but it’s a standing festival and you can’t leave once you are there so if you go in early, you are committed to a whole day. Which is doable they do have food and drink in the park and everyone was sitting on the ground. But I am glad I was not outside when it decided to pour with rain a few hours before the show.
Obviously the later you arrive the further away you are from the stage, but I was fine with being further back. I have only ever queued once in my life to try to get barrier at a concert and I think once was enough lol. But the concert was still really fun, Sabrina puts on a good show and she brought out Duran Duran as a surprise guest which was really fun. So I had a good time and would say it’s worth the money. They do offer VIP packages, which means you get to be in raised areas and have space etc but to me they are expensive for what they are, you might as well save money and just slum it with everyone else.
L’ETO
I have to shoutout this cute dessert place we went to on our last day. We were just walking around and everyone was taking photos of the desserts in the window and naturally so did we. But we also decided we should get some cake so went inside. I can confirm the desserts are as good as they look it was such a cute place. So if you are looking for a dessert I would check it out.
Rooftop Bar Leicester Square
We stopped here for a drink on our last day mainly because we needed rest lol. But I really enjoyed it! The bar is part of a hotel in Leicester Square but it was nice to be away from all the hustle and bustle below. Plus, it was a Monday afternoon so pretty quiet, it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. So would go for the views, but I did also enjoy my cocktail.
NQ 64 Arcade
My fiance wanted to go to an arcade while we were away so we decided to go to this one. It had a funky vibe to it and was underground which was welcomed after walking around in the sun all day. We did not spend a lot of time here because the games weren’t really to our taste but I think if you like old school arcade games you could spend some time here. Not sure what it’s like when it is busy since we went quite early as we had a flight to catch, but it was nice to go when you had the whole place to yourself and could choose whatever games you wanted.
Luton Airport Lounge
This is a bit of a random one to end on but after a busy weekend and lots of walking we were TIRED. So we decided to treat ourselves to an airport lounge while we waited for our flight and honestly? No regrets. I’d never been in an airport lounge before but now that I have I feel like it’s something I’d do all the time.
There are two lounges at Luton Airport and we chose My Lounge. It is upstairs and gives you a view of the rest of the airport which was nice if you like people watching. I was a bit worried when we first arrived though as there weren’t any available seating which is bad when you spend £40 to be somewhere and there are no seats. A few minutes into waiting some opened up though and I jumped at the opportunity.
We literally were at the airport four hours before our flight so we needed to have somewhere to sit. The food was fine, I mean it was never going to be world class but to get the money’s worth you should definitely be eating some of it. I don’t know how often they change the menu but ours was a Mexican theme, not going to lie I mostly ate the tortilla chips but it was included so might as well. Drinks were also included in the price so we had a few, though only one alcoholic.
Aside from that we just chilled out and did some reading and the lounge was pretty quiet despite it being full. So I enjoyed that the most. I don’t mind sitting in airports for the most part but there is something nice about having a comfortable chair with no one sitting immediately next to you, and also having the quiet to think and read without earphones. So yes I would recommend the lounge at Luton airport. I haven’t been to other ones, but if I ever do I’ll let you know lol.
And with that brings the end of all the things we did in London! Well the things worth noting, we did a lot of walking around and window shopping at Selfridges. And where we ate wasn’t much to write home about, as we spent so much money on everything else; food was mostly from fast food places lol.
Anyway now it’s time to start saving some money as I am going to Australia in a couple of months! And of course, prepare yourself for more travel content because I plan to assume the role of a full travel blogger while I am away. Internet and energy levels dependent but believe there will be at least one post about my travels coming even if it’s two months after I come home haha.
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