Best of London 2017 – my favourite travel moments

2018 is still young and before the travel plans for the new year get finalized, it’s time to look back to 2017. What an exciting year it was! I visited Cambodia, Verona & Venice and went to London six times. Each location was special, I had wonderful moments, met amazing people, ate yummy food and discovered new things. Therefore, it is hard for me to decide which was THE travel moment of last year. I hope that Christine from „Die bunte Christine“ is fine with me for sharing my Top 10 travel moments with you, instead of the one special moment she asked for in her blogging parade „the favourite travel moment of 2017“.

How to define the best travel moment

What is the definition of a perfect (travel) moment? For me, it is a moment when I want to stop the clocks.  Make time pass by much slower to enjoy the precious minutes a tiny bit longer. Situations which still make my heart beat faster when I think of them today. In my Top 10 there are amazing views, good food, drinks in a perfect atmosphere, nice company, moments when London showed off and made me realize once again how much I love this city!

The 10 best travel moments 2017 by Totally-London

1. Afternoon Tea Bus Tour
2. Amy Street Art Trail and meeting with Street Artist Pegasus
3. Bascule Chamber concert at Tower Bridge
4. Champagne Cocktails at Vertigo 42
5. Christmas at Kew
6. Depeche Mode concert
7. Opening of Hintze Hall at the Natural History Museum
8. Strawberry Hill House
9. Tooting
10. V&A Late Opening with wine and live piano music

Afternoon Tea Bus Tour

I enjoyed an Afternoon Tea Bus Tour in June with a friend who visited London for the first time and who had booked me as her personal tour guide. We were both impressed by the atmosphere inside the bus and by the delicious Afternoon Tea. To be fair, the comments by the guide were not the best. But this wasn’t that bad as I explained the major sights to her while we stuffed ourselves with scones, sandwiches, tartlets and more. The food was really amazing!

Amy Street Art Trail and a catch-up with Street Artist Pegasus

I am such a big fan of London’s street art and one of the artists I admire most, is Pegasus. In March I had the chance to meet him as he did several pieces of art for the Amy Street Art Trail in Camden. This trail and the accompanying exhibition at the Jewish Museum were dedicated to Amy Winehouse. At the press view I was able to see the artworks before the official opening and to catch-up with the leading artist, Pegasus. It was my first interview and I was so nervous that I wasn’t asking all the questions I wanted…Pegasus was a very friendly and in case he wondered about my weird questions, he didn’t show ;). I really hope that I will meet him again.

Bascule Chamber concert at Tower Bridge

In summer I finally managed to get a ticket for a concert inside Tower Bridge. The „Bascule Chambers“ are the areas where parts of the opening bridge get lowered into. This means that you sit underneath the Thames in a dark, but spacious room and listen to live music. Or like last year, a combination of concert, poetry and live performance. I have to admit that I didn’t enjoy the music that much, but the acoustic down here is amazing and being in such a cool place made it an overall amazing event.

Champagne Cocktails at Vertigo 42

In November, the days are shorter and London looks beautiful during night when all the buildings are lit. This can best be admired from one of the viewing points above town. I discovered a good place together with Sandra from A decent cup of tea at Vertigo 42. The champagne bar is posh and therefore not the cheapest place, the views however, are amazing! A special moment of 2017 to me as an illuminated London with a Bellini in my hand and with nice company is hard to beat.

Christmas at Kew

THE highlight of my pre-Christmas time in London last year. Christmas at Kew was so beautiful! Inside the botanical garden there were several light – and musical installations. In between small cabins selling hot drinks and even a fire to roast your marshmallows. The whole event was wonderful but the coolest part was the laser show at the Palm House. For minutes laser, lights, smoke and Christmas songs created amazing scenes. There was no way not to get into Christmas mood…

Depeche Mode concert

I have been a Depeche Mode fan for many years and I always try to visit one concert of each tour. In 2017 I even managed to visit one in London. The last time I visited the former Olympic Stadium was for the Paralympics in 2012. Since then many things have changed inside the „Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park“. The stadium was reduced in size and became home of the football club Westham United. It’s also used for big concerts. Listen to your favourite band in your favourite city – that’s hard to beat!

Natural History Museum – The reopening of Hintze Hall

The Natural History Museum in London is great! I visit it regularly as the collection is huge and there is always something new to discover. In July 2017 the entrance hall, Hintze hall, was reopened after many month of refurbishments. It had been cleaned and renovated and the popular Dinosaur skeleton Dippy had been exchanged with a Blue Whale skeleton. From now on, Blue the female whale, looks down to the visitors from the ceiling. Very impressive! It was amazing to be around on the opening day and wonderful that I could immediately share first impressions and pictures with my readers.

Strawberry Hill House

The small white castle had been on my bucket list for so long and in late summer 2017 I finally managed to visit. In real life it’s even more beautiful than on any photo. When I visited they were celebrating the 300th birthday of Horace Walpole who was an author and builder of the castle. In the garden they were selling drinks, there was live music and just perfect weather. It was one of last days of summer and the Pimm’s in my hand was even tastier as I shared the experience with an old friend. Definitely a moment when I wanted to stop time!

Tooting

Via a Facebook group I met Jes who lives in Tooting. I had never visited the area before. But Lonely Planet had voted Tooting into the ten best neighbourhoods to live in and Jes reassured me that this part of London is worth living in. So we met and she showed me her hood. Tooting is so different compared to e.g. the City of London. Hardly any gentrification (yet), small streets with small independent shops. Many startups can be found in this area and many shops and restaurants have been financed via crowdfunding. Community is a core value in Tooting. I enjoyed my visit a lot! But change is coming to this part as well. Historical Tooting Market is close to be demolished to make room for a new train track. The vegetarian/vegan cafe „Sound Lounge“ has to close as there are plans to build a hotel on the same spot. This day was a highlight of 2017 for several reasons: I found a new friend whom I admire for her work. Jes is an expert for crowdfunding and supports cool projects all over the world. I explored a new area of London and we also had yummy food!

V&A late opening with wine and live piano music

Sometimes the spontaneous things are the best. As on the evening when we ended up at the Courtyard Cafe at the V&A Museum after a long day exploring the City. On Fridays the museum is open for longer hours and the beautiful Courtyard Cafe with its marble columns and the heavily decorated wall is open until 21.30. We enjoyed a nice dinner with wine and live piano music. A nice closing for a great day in London.

So, these were my Top 10 travel moments of 2017. I am looking forward to the new year and the many adventures it might offer.