One of my favorite things about being a blogger is developing relationships with extraordinary brands that I passionately believe in and the perfect example of this is Trafalgar. I have had the great fortune to travel with them previously to France, Italy, and California and each guided vacation has only deepened my admiration for who they are and what they do. Trafalgar has over sixty years of experience and has won more awards than any other company in their industry; making them one of the top travel operators in the world. With them you are guaranteed a trip of a lifetime no matter the destination!
On my third guided vacation with them I traveled to England and Scotland, neither of which I had visited in a decade. As I waited for my flight to London, my heart skipped a beat when I saw that Romero Britto was on the same flight as me. Without exaggeration, I am his biggest fan! However, before I even had a chance to say hello he had boarded the plane. Although I missed my oppurtunity to meet the incredibly talented artist, I felt like seeing him was a definite sign that my trip was going to be nothing short of unforgettable.
Once I arrived in London, I checked into my posh hotel The Cumberland and instead of letting jetlag overcome me, I immediately set out to see as much of the city as I could before the guided vacation officially began. I asked the driver to drop me off half a mile before Trafalgar Square (Trafalgar’s namesake), which is where I was meeting my dear friend and fellow journalist, Vivian. Although it was raining off and on, England’s capitol was still aglow with autumn’s golden light and rich colors.
Viviane and I decided to catch up over some lunch at YO! Sushi — a Japanese kaiten sushi bar that delivers delicious food to customers via a conveyor belt. I had never eaten at a place like this before and really enjoyed the unique experience.
Then we wandered towards Piccadilly Circus, where we started off first looking for cheap souvenirs to bring home to our families, however ended up shopping for cashmere sweaters instead.
We later joined the rest of our Trafalgar group, as well as some others from VisitBritain, at the gastro pub The Grazing Goat. I loved the ambiance of the restaurant and the food was even more spectacular. It was truly the perfect welcome meal to the United Kingdom!
I know there are a lot of travelers who are hesitant to go on guided vacations, as they would rather explore the world on their own. With Trafalgar, however, they understand how important at leisure time is and factor that into every trip they offer. Additionally, you have the knowledge and expertise of your Travel Director who is with you every step of the way providing a unique perspective on the people, places, and cultures that you will encounter. They will surprise you with Hidden Treasures only the locals know about, take you to Be My Guest dining experiences that capture the true essence of a destination, and introduce you to Local Experts and Guides that you would never meet otherwise. If you want to travel like a true insider, then you must travel with Trafalgar.
Awww, Andi!!! What a beautiful experience you had! Travelling is such a treat for the soul and mind and you have excelled at it!!! I´m loving the shots you took from elegant London! I can´t wait for the Scotland posts!!!
Thank you so much, what a lovely first comment to receive! London is such an easy city to shoot. So gorgeous! The Scotland posts are coming soon, I promise!
I have been waiting for you to start blogging about this trip ever since I saw the first pictures on Facebook! 😀 I love London and I’m actually heading there again tomorrow, so your post just got me even more excited! My boyfriend currently lives there and that’s great for a travel addict like me because that gives me an excuse to head to the UK often! 😉 I especially can’t wait to here what you have to say about Edinburgh!
Oh how exciting! I hope you have the best time with your bf. I wish I had had more time to see London. Gotta return soon with my hubby! Promise lots of posts on Edinburgh soon darling!
Great pics Andi!
Thank you so much!
Wow, the food looks so much better than I expected! Great pictures Andi!
The food there was AMAZING!!! The have a hotel as well that looks equally amazing!
These photos are so fabulous. When am I going to make it to England and Scotland now?
Hahaha you must go soon!!! I would love to see your shots from there!
I just got LOST in these photos, especially those leaves (Southern California living I don’t see an actual season very much haha). I haven’t hit London yet but I’m dying to go and these photos are making me think I should nudge it a little higher on the list.
Oh wow what an incredible compliment, thank you!!!!! Fall is so gorgeous right? I hope you can make it to London soon, I know you’d love it.
I love London but haven’t been there in ages. My dad used to live there, so I was able to spend a good deal of time there when I was younger. I really enjoyed these photos!
How cool that your dad used to live there and that you were able to spend a lot of time there. What memories!!! Glad you enjoyed the pics.
I’ve never been to London, but this very much makes me want to go!! Just lovely! (Also, is that lemon in cheesecloth? Genius!!)
You should go!!! It’s a must visit city. And yes lemon in a cheesecloth!
Ah, ok – this is the trip, haha…I love London!
This is the trip! 🙂
How funny about Britto! he is pretty cool as is his art. Lovely images of your trip!
He’s so cool right? Ugh, dying to meet him in person!!! Thanks for your kind words.
“before I even had a chance to say hello he had boarded the plane. Although I missed my oppurtunity to meet the incredibly talented artist” Perhaps you could catch him in plane or even waiting area to take couple of pictures. wouldn’t that be great Andi? 🙂
I sure do hope our paths cross again!
looks like a blast!
Sooo much fun!
I’m so excited for your posts on this trip! I can’t wait to see your take on places I’ve been.
And I’m so excited to see you comment!!! XO
Looove your photos! I’m craving sushi now!
Awww thank you and me too haha!
Hi Andi, I’ve just found your blog although I have seen your Gravatar around some of the blogs I read. Great minds think alike!
You have captured London pretty well and your glorious shots should get people coming to eat English food as well as see magnificent sights. As a Brit. I should know!
So happy that you stopped by!!! Thank you so much for your incredible compliments, I really, really appreciate them — especially coming from a Brit!!!
cool, enjoy love London vibrant, history and lovely architecture also amazing international foods
Thanks, I’m actually already back. This trip was weeks ago! 🙂 London is a lovely place!!!
Reminds me of our trip last year!
Yes!!!! 🙂
Incredible photo shoot!! I have never been to London that’s why I am so excited and really enjoying these photos.
XX
Thanks a million!!! More to come soon I promise!
Sounds like the makings of a fabulous trip! It’s been ten years since I was last in London.. far too long! Great photos, and look forward to hearing about the rest of your trip! Also, The Grazing Goat looks fantastic.
It was 10 years as well for me! The trip was incredible, can’t wait to share more. Glad you like the pics!!! The Grazing Goat was AMAZING!
What a cool trip! Honestly I’ve never been too drawn to visiting the British Isles (although I certainly wouldn’t pass up an opportunity!), so I’m interested to see what your experience was like. The photo with Big Ben in the background is so iconic!
That part of the world doesn’t really interest me to be honest as well…until this trip! Now I’m really fascinated!!! Can’t wait to share more from this AMAZING trip! 🙂
I totally agree about guides and guided trips! I used to be a very independent travel–until I realized that great guides are good storytellers, and I loooooove a good story! : )
Yes yes yes!!!!!!!!!
After five years of living in London this post is making me very homesick for the city – it is so beautiful.
Awww so sorry about that! Hopefully, you can return soon?
It seems like you had a ton of free time on a perfectly characteristic gloomy day in London! I just got back from a guided tour and the lack of free time drove me nuts. I hate working on other people’s schedules and waiting around for the group all the time.
Yes, I hate that tours, but Trafalgar is more about guided vacations. They hate tours. They want you to feel like you’re on a real vacation instead! 🙂
I love the pics- the leaves one is my fav!
Thank you!!! Mine too!
London is so beautiful in the fall, and so much less crowded that during peak tourist season! Your pictures are gorgeous – hope you had a great trip!
I completely agree! Thank you sooo much!!!
Andi, love your pictures. Takes me right back! Can’t wait to see more.
Thanks a million darling!!!
Lovely post! London is my favorite city in the entire world so I really enjoyed this. Thanks for sharing!
Happy travels 🙂
Oh wow, yes then I can imagine you did enjoy it haha! 🙂
I love that cheap souvenirs turned into shopping for cashmere. I’m also glad you didn’t disappoint in that it appears you ate very VERY well! x
Hahahaha whoops re: cashmere! 😉 I ate VERY well!!! XO
Hi Andi, would you travel to Bali? Then you can write something about our island in your blog.
If I get invited I would say yes in a heartbeat! Bali is a dream destination.
im still not convinced on the idea of organised tours but looking forward to reading the rest of this series of post and hey, maybe I will be convinced
I never thought I’d be a fan of them either, that was until I started traveling with Trafalgar! 🙂