I told myself I would not go to Oxford Street this Christmas. And yet…
Every year, London becomes a flashing, sparkling feast around Christmas. We all know it gets super crowded. You can barely walk in the streets, you have to push your way through, you can’t make two steps into a shop – so forget your actual Christmas shopping… But yes, we come back anyways because it just looks freaking amazing.
So this late November, my friend Julie and I took a day trip to the capital, to visit a few places we like there. And guess who we bumped into?
Paddington Brown! The second cutest bear after Winnie the Pooh.
From what I have understood, there are a few ‘Paddington Books’ featuring this cutie around London. We saw one in Paddington station (of course) and this one here was in front of St Paul’s Cathedral. If you’ve seen Paddington 2 – which I highly recommend, it is hilarious and will put a big smile on your face – you’ll know that these curious books are actually a reference to the plot of the film. I wish we had time to go around London and find all the books. Gotta catch’em all!
The area around St Paul’s and the City is always lovely to have a wander around – granted it’s not the most Christmassy, but Julie and I often end up there anyways. It’s a shame they haven’t decorated the Christmas tree.
When you’re there, make sure to talk around from the Millenium Bridge to the Globe, the Anchor and all the way to Borough Market – I had the best (and biggest) brownie ever there. I can’t remember the name of the seller, but it’s a little red stand in the middle of the market that sells lots of cheesecakes. I know, that’s not exactly helpful. But do go to Borough Market and find the cheesecake stand. Then try their brownies. Yummy!
In the late afternoon, we made our way back to Central London and Oxford Street, to get our fix of Christmas lights. The streets were as crowded as ever, but we were so excited for the Christmas stuff that it didn’t even bother us that much. Is that what we call the magic of Christmas?
If you’re around there, do check out Selfridges. They’ve turned the whole shop into a golden disco ball and it just looks amazing. Also while you’re in that street, have a look at the John Lewis windows. They feature Moz the Monster, which is the star of their Christmas ad this year, and I have to say they are the cutest windows I’ve seen so far.
After we had a walk around Regent Street and its beautiful angel displays, and went to Liberty’s Christmas shop, it was pitch black outside and that’s the time we chose to head to Carnaby Street. And it was probably the best time to go there and see the street lights in their full glory.
The theme is Christmas Carnival, and it is a real feast for the eyes. Multi-coloured lights, giant parrots and exotic birds, flashing bunting and colour-changing lightbulbs… They really went all out this year. And this has proven quite popular: we could barely make our way through the crowds, but to be honest I was too busy looking up to see where I was going…
If there’s one shop to check out there, it has to be the Irregular Choice shop. Amazing stairway, crazy shoe displays – I mean, the Santa heel shoes… – and the sales assistants look just as mad and colourful. A real curiosity!
After this mad rush around Carnaby, we went back to Paddington station to catch our train. I’ll leave you with these amazing displays and hope that you’re feeling super Christmassy now. And that your eyes are not hurting because of all these lights. (… Sorry about that.)
Have you ever been to London for Christmas?
Lots of love,
Julia x
