The last two days have been an absolute dream! I landed in London Wednesday morning and since then I've had the time to do so many fun things. Martine from A Tiny Bit Beautiful spent most of these two days with me and she was the best company I could have asked for. Here are some of the highlights of my trip so far, and you can also follow my Insta Stories for daily updates.
Day 1
The first thing I did was to go to Hyde Park. It is only a few minutes away from my hotel so I went and sat by the Italian gardens. Oh my word, so beautiful! And then because it wasn't too far from Kensington Palace, I decided to pay the Cambridges and the Sussexs a visit. I don't know if I was dreaming or not but I think I might have seen Prince William in his car at the gates (but don't quote me on that). I then walked in the beautiful neighbourhood of South Kensington, stopped by the Victoria & Albert Museum for a quick visit and then had lunch at Le Pain Quotidien.
Clerkenwell Grind
Martine and I met up at Clerkenwell Grind, a beautiful café/restaurant/bar in East London. Every single element of the decor was Instagram worthy. The service was not the best but we had such fun time chatting to each other. I had the 'prawn tagliatelle with tomato and chilli' and she had the 'asparagus, potato, baked egg and pecorino'. It felt like we'd known each other for years but it was the first time after chatting nearly everyday on Instagram for a few months. I love how social media can connect you to likeminded people with the same passion.
Power Suit Social: Money for the Written World
Our next activity was attending the panel "Power Suit Social: Money for the Written World" featuring Emma Gannon, Abigail Bergstrom and Marisa Bate. The talk was so interesting for someone who wants to start a career somewhat related to writing in London. Martine and I also chatted with Emma Gannon and she was the loveliest person! We discussed social media with her, and the competition that comes from it. Seeing how she achieved so much was absolutely inspiring. After the event, Martine and I just wanted to go home and start a creative project. The event was at the Moo office, a stunning office space in Farrington!
Day 2
On my second day, Martine came to meet me at my hotel and we filmed two videos that you will see very soon! I was so anxious about being in front of a camera but the topics we chose to discuss are something I am passionate about which made the whole process a lot easier! When we finished filming, we walked to Notting Hill for what has to be the highlight of my trip so far...
Lunch at the Laslett
The Laslett is this beautiful boutique hotel in Notting Hill with the most incredible decor. Everything about our visit was perfect, from the soundtrack (an acoustic version of Sigrid's Strangers? yes please!) to the food. I had the fishcakes and Martine had the avocado toast. She gave me a short Norwegian lesson and we sat there looking around, wishing we could come here every week. I can't explain how happy and relaxed I felt in this moment, it was perfect!
After lunch, we walked around Notting Hill and then headed to Soho to pay a visit to Foyles, the most gorgeous bookstore. And we also had a burger at Shake Shack, yummy!
Day to Night event at St-Martin's Courtyard
To finish our day we attended the Day to Night event organized by St-Martin's courtyard. The first workshop was with the journalist Pandora Sykes and she gave us styling tips with the new & Other Stories collection. If you know me, you know I must have been happy because & Other Stories is my absolute favourite store, and I'm a big fan of the High Low podcast with Pandora. The next workshop was with Anna from The Anna Edit and it was all about makeup, in collaboration with Smashbox. At the risk of sounding like a fangirl, meeting both of them was definitely a highlight. When you've been following someone's work for years and you finally get a chance to talk to them is fantastic! The location where the event took place was beautiful and they had colourful flower arrangements, which you all know I adore.
