Now I love London in the worst of weather, but when the sun comes out. Well.
I LOVE LONDON. (But not so much the hot packed tubes).
Which is exactly why the Boris Bikes are such a wonderful alternative.
You will find Boris Bike docking stations dotted ALL over London. They can be a tad confusing at first (all done via technology) but once you've cracked it they are a very handy, super cool addition to London.
All you need is yourself, and a payment card to hire one. (No cash, the card then acts as a deposit too, incase you get carried away and cycle to Paris).
Once you've paid for the hire and got a receipt you then have to put the card BACK in the machine to get a 'cycle release code'. I stared at my receipt for about 10 minutes looking for the release code until someone guided me on this!
We are currently having a wonderfully long spell of glorious weather here in London and I have always wanted to, but never gotten around to, cycling through Hyde Park.
So - today was the day.
We cycled through the park to the Serpentine river (slap bang in the middle of Hyde Park itself), docked our bikes (told you they were everywhere!) and watched the world (ducks) go by in this little cafe with a Pimm's. :)
(Way too much bracketing in there haha!)
We had already previously decided to head up to Camden afterwards for food, but we watched many lunches arrive at nearby tables and the food honestly looked AWESOME. (Burgers particularly).
There are places to get ice cream, rollerblade, skateboard, rent pedalos, lay on deckchairs and part of the river is even sectioned off for everyone to jump in and swim!
I literally had NO idea all of this was going on in Hyde Park! Did you?!
As we headed out of the Park we passed the Serpentine Bar & Kitchen which is another hotspot my friend actually recommended for us...
... but will have to save this one for next time :)
Next up, as we had planned, we headed to Camden!
Camden is 100% up there with my favourite London hangouts, there are just SO many quirky places and things to do. You may remember the post when I went to Camden before christmas with all the christmas markets and mulled wine stalls?)
As we walked into 'The Stables' my face lit up. Not only because of the colourful decor, the happy people, the funky outfits, or the glorious sunshine and blue sky, but because of what stood before us...
THE BODEAN'S TRUCK.
Combine a beautiful day, Camden and one of my favourite London restaurants (Bodeans) and I'm sold.
It goes without saying we had a Bodean's pulled pork sandwich...
They have sooo many food stalls and vans, from sushi and mojitos, to Polish Italian and Carribean cuisine!
An array of colour and aroma!
Not going to lie, we were piggys and couldn't walk away without feasting on some other bits and bobs. Too many amazing smells wafting our way...
I HAVE TO NOTE the salted caramel tablet from one of the cookie / dessert stalls. Honestly, I've been dreaming about the stuff. Worth a trip to Camden just to try that!
I LOVE the vibe in Camden in general, everyone's upbeat and for some reason it reminds me of travelling. Noone seems to care too much about superficial things and to me it's more about human interaction (that old thing), good food, good drink and good company.
The best things in life.
If you're heading up to London this summer and are stuck with what to do, then maybe add these to your list and have your own little adventure!
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Nearest Tubes:
HYDE PARK SERPENTINE RIVER - Hyde Park Corner, Knightsbridge
CAMDEN FOOD MARKET, THE STABLES - CAMDEN TOWN
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I'm back and in full swing of blog posts again (YAY!) ready for a summer of adventure!
Just over 100 days til i explore Aus + NZ!
What are you up to this summer?
♡
Mollie xoxo