When traveling to London, I don’t feel like many people say, “Hey! Let’s go to Notting Hill today!” There are so many other “typical London” things to do that I feel like someplace as adorable and Instaworthy as Notting Hill gets shoved to the back-burner. But, the blogger in me couldn’t miss out on that opportunity! Especially since about 4 months prior I started following some amazing London bloggers/Instagrammers (which I’ll tag below) and most of my favorite posts were in Notting Hill. So, Jackson and I meandered over to Notting Hill for some pretty strolls and antiquing on Portobello Road!
The first stop was food. Portobello Road holds the UK’s largest antiques market, some yummy restaurants, and some adorable shops. We stopped for lunch at Arancina, an adorable Sicilian pizza restaurant. How could you not stop with a window as adorable as this??
We chowed down on some yummy pizza and a coke! I highly recommend Arancina!
Next, we walked around Notting Hill to look at all the gorgeous row houses! The good part of Notting Hill is that it is all pretty centrally located. You don’t really have to walk a million miles to see some pretty things!
Now to the biggest bummer of the day. Make sure to pay attention to the day you go walk around because some of the shops might be closed! I was really excited to go to Alice’s Antique Shop, but alas, it was closed. Most of Portobello Market was closed also. There were still some small antique shops open, so the antiquing part wasn’t a total bust.
All in all, Notting Hill was definitely beautiful and good for a nice stroll! I would say if you have some time to spend in London, you should definitely check it out!
If you’re not in London, but you want to add a little bit of beauty to your Instagram feed, you should check out the following Instagrammers:
@siobhaise // @prettycitylondon // @clairemenary
You won’t be disappointed! Have a great day dreaming of London!
An actual Europe post?!?! WHAT?!?! Look who is being productive!! I thought this would be a great first post on our incredible Europe trip! Hiking Arthur’s Seat was one of my favorite (and most sweaty) parts of our Edinburgh stay! I would say that this should be top priority on everyone’s Edinburgh bucket list!! Also, one of my best friends, Adele, is heading to Edinburgh next week so I thought I would give her yet another thing to look forward to!! So Adele, this one’s for you! Today we will be making the trek up Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh, Scotland!
Now from the bottom this thing looks like a mountain (while hiking it also feels like a mountain) but it is technically considered a hill. It is located next to Holyrood Palace, which is where the Queen stays when she comes to visit Scotland. It’s a beautiful house and you can tour it when she isn’t visiting!
You can start the trek by going left or right to get up to Arthur’s seat. Left is quicker and less of a trek. Right takes you on a bit of a wander around the base and middle of the hill (which is also scenic). Really either way you go you are in for a treat! I suggest left, because we went right first and were a bit confused on how to actually get to the top! (Side Note: If you want to click on any of the photos in the galleries below it should blow them up to normal size for you. It’s just impossible to have all of the full size pictures in one blog post. It would be insanely long! So please click away!)
I probably should have said this sooner, but I definitely suggest wearing hiking boots. The way up and the top tends to be a bit slippery, so you will definitely want some traction. I also suggest not wearing a ton of layers, even if it is 40°F. That hike up there can get a bit sweaty, trust me! I had 4 layers on and was dying.
The views while going up the hill are incredible.
You can see all of Edinburgh laid out beneath you! You can see the hill that Edinburgh castle sits on. You can hear church bells ringing off in the distance. It really is a dream and pictures just do not do it justice.
❤ My adventure partner
There are several places to sit once you are near the top. If you are really feeling fancy, try to bring a picnic basket with you and have a picnic! You’ll have the best view in the whole city!
Once at the top I suggest you just take it in. To this day sitting at the top of Arthur’s Seat is one of my fondest memories of our whole trip. Enjoy every moment.
❤ Abbie
P.S. Another huge “thank you” is in order to my husband Jackson for taking some killer shots of me. He really is the best.
AirBnb seems to be one of the newest trends in travel. If you are unfamiliar with it, let me fill you in! AirBnB is a service where you can rent nights in people’s homes, instead of staying in a hotel. The idea is genius, but is the execution as good as the thought? Today, I’m going to share our AirBnB experiences and hopefully this will help you make your decision about using this service!
Courtyard of our AirBnB in Edinburgh, Scotland.
So how does it work?
First, sign up with the site and make a personal profile. You can’t rent anything until you complete your profile. Once you’ve done that, you can choose your location, dates, and room sizes. The really cool option is that you can rent anything from a couch to an entire home. The price of the location is on the main page to make sure it’s within your budget. Once you choose your place to stay and dates, you can request to book your stay. The owner of the location will email you giving you all the information you need to know about the home and the approval to stay. You can also email back and tell them a little about you! Then you are all set!
What makes this different than staying in a hotel?
Staying with AirBnB is always a unique experience. You are literally staying with normal people (who know the location well, because they live there) and in regular houses. The stay feels more like home, in our experiences. You also will pay (9 times out of 10) less than you would for a hotel. We would find homes for rent right in the middle of big cities for almost half than a price of a hotel in the same location.
Inside our AirBnB in London, England.
What are some perks that are unique to AirBnB?
The hosts are a huge help. All of our hosts were very friendly and informative. In almost every occasion, our hosts gave us maps, pamphlets, and advice on what to see in their city! Locals know better than anyone what to see, where to eat, and how to get around! That alone, was enough to make each trip a success! You also get the perks of staying in a home. Whether you rent an entire place or just a room, you get privacy. Most places allow you to use their appliances as well. When we were staying in Cork, Ireland we needed to use a washer and dryer, and our AirBnB hosts let us use theirs! We used the kitchen when staying in Edinburgh, Scotland. You can save a lot of money by using the kitchen provided, rather than eating out! Those are just some of our favorite perks!
Free breakfast in our London stay.
Is it safe staying with people you don’t know?
We never felt unsafe at any of our AirBnB homes. While AirBnB doesn’t preform background checks on all hosts or guests, they do allow you to see past guests’ comments which can allow you to weed through the homes. Reading comments and ratings is actually one of my biggest suggestions! Guests are required to leave comments after every stay, so you really get to see what it was like! Trust me, in my searching I’ve seen stellar comments to scathing comments; at least people are honest! You can also check out the neighborhood guides on the hosts page to see what it would be like to stay where they live! Also, it’s way safer than staying in a hostel. I never felt nervous or anything about leaving our stuff (including expensive camera equipment) in our room while we weren’t there. It’s more expensive than a hostel, but you’ll feel much safer in the long run.
View from our AirBnB in Cork, Ireland.
Are there any downsides to choosing AirBnB?
The only downside we experienced was in Paris, when we rented an entire loft. Our host kept changing plans on how to get the apartment key and give the key to back after our stay. It wasn’t awful, but it was a tad inconvenient. So, I guess the only inconvenience is in the arranging of arrival and departure. However, we only had an issue at one out of the four locations we stayed.
View from our AirBnB in Paris, France.
Would I recommend AirBnB?
Absolutely. To be honest, in all of our experiences we had a fantastic stay! It was great to be able to meet new people and stay in cool places! We also saved a ton of money by choosing AirBnB. Our stays ranged from $50-$70/night, where a hotel would have cost us at least $100+/night. Overall, I would 100% recommend AirBnB!
Behind our AirBnB in Dean Villiage in Edinburgh, Scotland.
I hope this has been a helpful guide! Have a fantastic day!
wanderingsandbeautifulthings.wordpress.com 