London Feels Like Home

In partnership with Delta Airlines.

Arriving extra early to the airport to enjoy the perks of the Delta Sky Club is starting to become a routine of ours. As soon as we arrived at the Delta Sky Club, we dropped our bags and loaded up plates with salads and pasta, grabbed some wine, and sat back and watched a basketball game before heading to our gate.

We were both so tired’ all we wanted to do was kick off our shoes, layout on the flat-bed seats, and pass out. That plan worked for her, but I couldn’t seem to shut my creative brain off, so, I tuned into the Delta Studio to watch a new movie until I fell asleep. I woke up to a cup of tea and a lot of turbulence as London was experiencing heavy winds. Thankfully, we barely felt any bumps. I guess that’s one of the plus to flying in the Delta One.

London Feels Like Home…

My fiancé was born in Brockley – a district in the London Borough of Lewisham in South East London. When my partner was 7 years old, her, her mother, and younger brother, moved to America. While she’s spent the bulk of her life in the states, with every childhood story she shares, I can tell that nothing compares to home – London. It’s one of the reasons why we made a vow to visit each of our hometowns at least once a year.

Walking along the River Thames, heading for Tower Bridge, I looked over at my fiancé and said “London feels like home.” She turned to face me, giving me her infamous surprised look and said “really?!” You see, my partner and I have traveled to London together for the past 3 years. We spend time with her family, who is now becoming my family, we discover the city together, and earlier this year, we hit a huge milestone in our relationship when I proposed to her on Tower Bridge. So, yeah, London feels like home.

As we walked across the bridge, retracing our footsteps to a proposal she didn’t know was coming, we laughed and joked about everything that led up to that moment. But, we were so bummed when we finally hit the middle of the bridge because our lock had been cut off. I guess we should’ve known that it wouldn’t have remained there forever, but despite the lock haven been removed, our love remains strong.

Our Must Visits

As a Californian, I’m a sucker for tacos and I’m happy to have a partner that loves them as much as I do. Last year, her brother introduced us to “El Pastor”, an authentic taco restaurant on the outskirts of Borough Market. There are so many highlights to this gem, like the tortillas made in-house using Mexican corn and the fresh sesame tostado plate, but nothing compares to the short rib sharing platter. I’m not a red meat eater, but this dish is worth every bite.

We aren’t ones for crowded areas, but we never skip a trip to Chinatown to dine at Leong’s Legend. Dumplings galore! Babe loves the ‘Supreme crabmeat Xiao Loag Rao” dumplings, which is their signature dumpling. I go for the dim sum platter, which is an assortment of vegetables and prawn dumplings. Just prepare yourself, the menu is huge! After we get our dumplings fix, we – mainly me – overindulge in cakes from Bake, a Chinese pastry shop across the street from the W at Leicester Square.

Even though there are places that we frequent every time we go to London, we also enjoy discovering new spots. Plus, since her brother and his girlfriend are chefs, we get the inside scoop on all of the local gems and hole in the wall restaurants. Some of our new favorites spots are: Kiln (recently voted the #1 restaurant in London), the Camberwell Arm’s, Bao (located in Borough Market), Som Saa, and Sorella. What can I say, we love food, and, let’s face it, the best way to spend time with family while also gaining new cultural experiences is through food.

We can’t wait for our next trip home. Until next time, London.

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