The day came (night, really) we took British Airlines to South Africa with a stopover in London (full day). Our flight was on Friday night, the seats we got were okay and the staff was friendly. The best part, is falling asleep and waking up in a new city, a different world.

Our pickup from the airport was fine, I took a nap in the car ride. We asked to be dropped off at the Tower of London. This was my fourth time in London and the first to visit the Tower (I always got close to take photos of and with Tower Bridge, but never visited the Tower). We started off with a Beefeater tour around the castle, which was very fun, our guide was jolly and brought history to life. Next we wanted to see the crown jewels, but the line would have taken us all day, so we skipped that part. Our next adventure was an interactive “who breeched the Tower ofLondon” (the forces were the commoners that were overtaxed, French foreigners, and a rebellion of the Nobles). We ran around and listened to each part and it was a fun hour or so.

 After, we took a walk over Tower Bridge to eat at Borough Market. Which is an adventure of its own with all of the sounds, scents, and food stalls.

 

The Tube is a short distance from Borough Market and we took it to go see Kensington Palace. The Palace is not as grand as the other, and I would not really call it a “palace,” more like an opulent mansion. We were in luck, they had on display Princess Diana’s famous dresses. She made it a point to wear British designers when she was a princess, but wore international after her divorce, with favoritism to Italian designers.

 

We took the tube to Selfridges, to pick up my last Chanel. I had the immense pleasure to work with the most wonderful assistant manager for Chanel Mercedes. I met her last year when we visited London, and her enthusiasm and pleasantness won me over (unfortunately they did not have what I wanted at that point, but I got her contact information and emailed her in advance). I asked her to keep a medium/large Boy with black caviar and black hardware on the side for me. She offered drinks before even bringing the bag and made us feel as comfortable as possible in a store setting. When I saw the bag it was true love. We were already on a time crunch so she made checkout as easy as possible, while my husband napped on the couch we went on a higher floor to pay for the bag and also to get the tax free forms completed. Mercedes fast-tracked me through tax free, because on that day it was full of people waiting, and without her I would have missed my flight! Overall I can’t thank her enough or recommend her enough for her personality, her understanding, and for being the BEST representative of Chanel I have ever had the pleasure of working with.

Unfortunately, during the very end of the time in Selfridges, I had a very unpleasant surprise, the car that was supposed to pick me up at 7pm from Secret Siam (amazing Thai food in London) was waiting for me and was about to leave. I talked to the representative, then the manager, and they said I was supposed to know that pick up would be 4 hours in advance of our flight, in all of our emails this was never communicated. Pickup was, my flight arrival and flight departure times and from which locations, but they never, ever told me the exact time of pickup, understandably I was peeved. The worst part is they did not want to right their mistake or take any responsibility. This last affair put a damper on my time in London. Instead of going to eat and celebrate our great day in London we went straight to the airport.

 

The VAT in London can be done before the security and after. Before security the line can be astronomical, but after security there is usually no one there. The catch is before security it has to be less than £5,000 and/or if you would like to get the return in pounds right away. The only way you can do the return after security with no line, is if you have a return on your credit card (I chose this option) and/or if you have spent over £5,000. We did not have to wait in a line, and had it done right away and took photos of all the forms (highly recommended, things get lost).

Dinner was at Pret A Manger and it was okay.

We boarded our plane to Johannesburg, South Africa. Next stop Cape Town!

More Photos from London