What We Love Wednesday - Date Days in London!!

It's Wednesday, we are feeling happy and in love (as always) so what better time to do a What We Love Wednesday post?! This week we decided to share our 'Ultimate Date Day in London', it's our guide to what you should do to woo the person of your choice when in the city we LOVE, London!

Having introduced the post in this way we should also say that this is generally a great way to spend any day in London, date or not. In fact the day this post is about we were actually wooing (if that's the right word) Alison as we wanted her to fall in love with London. 

Alison is a school friend of Laura's from Idaho and is here studying at the School of Tropical Diseases. We were lucky enough to have her stay with us when she got to London but due to the pesky thing called work we hadn't had an opportunity to do the 'tourist' day out.

We allowed ourselves a lay-in so that we were ready and raring for a day of activity. Our first stop was    Borough Market. It was just after lunch and the crowds were thinning so we could wander around and taste-test what the stalls had to offer. Laura and Ali decided that pate'd Wood Pigeon and Pheasant would be the best idea!!! Erm with the description of 'crunchy' and 'not that bad' it might not be for everyone.

To really get the taste-buds going we couldn't resist the Creme Brulee pots - so good and at only £1 we could have bought so many more, but resisted.

The thing with Borough Market is knowing what food to commit yourself to, the nibbling and taste-tests are all good but with the delicious smells and so many option it would be a waste not to eat something more substantial. Our choice was 'the sandwich', not just any sandwich, in our world 'the sandwich' is turkey breast with stuffing and cranberry sauce in a warmed baguette. AMAZING!

Now that's commitment!!

Now you have your date/mate/other half well fed, you can continue to explore the City. Depending on the time you have and your inclination to walk you have a number of choices. From Borough Market you can stroll for 40 or so minutes back to the Southbank (a stunning walk if you have the time) or use the tube.

We opted for the tube, as it was cold, we were on a schedule, and we're kinda lazy :)

On arrival at the Southbank you can admire the view of Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and the river and enjoy the street entertainment that is often going on. 

If you have planned your day in advance you can get discount tickets for the London Eye. We had booked the 6pm flight on the London Eye, and when we arrived to pick up our tickets we could see the sun just beginning to set - our timing was perfect!

The new attraction that comes free when you are doing the London Eye is a 4D experience. Not a great fan of heights, this was not Sarah's cup of tea, but gripping the hand rail we enjoyed a birds-eye view of London. Higher than you could go on the Eye, this short film had you soaring over buildings with wind in your hair, has you attending a party with bubbles appearing in the air and really provides a unique look at the city. (As Laura's Dad would say '4D - its like 3D... WITH ONE MORE D!!!')
Plus you get to look like this for 15 minutes:

Well maybe you won't look like this!

 The queue for the Eye moves quickly and before you know it you're ushered into a capsule with 20 other people. This was actually the first time we'd been on the flight together and the first time we had down it at sunset, it adds an air of romance, it has to be said. As the sun is setting you and your date/mate/other half are rising into the air.

It is still our favourite London attraction and really does provide the best view of London, as long as you're not too scared of heights. Sarah isn't a fan of heights but still managed to smile in every photo proving that sometimes you just have to go with it and the result is always worth it on the Eye!

As the sun set around us we could see the moon appearing by the Shard (the triangle building in the distance of the bottom left hand corner) and who doesn't love the colours that appear as the sun sets?!

After enjoying the view it was time to refuel - you know there is only one logical place for us to take someone if we want to impress them - Nando's! In this instance we opted for Nando's at London Bridge and we were lucky to get a window seat so we could see St Paul's Cathedral. Ah London, there is so much to love.

The great thing about the Southbank is that it's hard to get lost and if you keep walking one way you get to Houses of Parliament, and if you head the other you get to Tower Bridge. We can't remember if we've mentioned this before but Tower Bridge has actually played a part in both our dating history.

Way before we knew one another, The Horniman (no pun intended) was our date pub. Just over the road from London Bridge Station and through the beautiful fairy-lit Hay's Galleria (where ships used to dock) the pub gives you the perfect view of Tower Bridge. Its oh so romantic! And where we both used to end the night with dates we liked. Guaranteed first kiss territory!

We digress. The pub actually has a really nice riverside beer garden type area to sit and talk in so it's perfect for any occasion, and in this instance we wanted to round off our tourist day with Alison in a very London location.

With easy access to get home, what better way to spend a day/evening. And that is why this Wednesday we wanted to share why we love date days in London. We hope you enjoyed it - and please let us know if our date day helps you get your 'woo' on!