Hi everyone! Be prepared for a very Christmassy post, which is actually really nice for me because I haven't been feeling festive at all up until this point! Myself and my boyfriend Matty really love going to London which is about a 2 and a half hour train journey away from us, and we're really lucky that because of Matty's job we are able to get the train for free allowing us to go quite a lot, otherwise it would never happen because trains are so expensive! The reason we actually planned this trip which we went on between the 6th and 7th of December was because Dreamgirls had finally come to the West End at The Savoy Theatre and I knew I needed to see it, as Dreamgirls is definitely one of my favourite musicals ever, so we booked the tickets back in April and because of trains times being awkward it meant we had to stay over which I really don't mind because it turns into a much more jam packed trip. We knew we had to take advantage of more time so we decided to go to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, we've only done this once before but it's so amazing and it's the 10th anniversary so we really wanted to go again.
We started our day off after we had arrived and checked in early to our hotel by going to Camden, we've never actually been there together before, I went about 10 years ago when I was on a school trip so we thought we'd have a look round. It was actually really different to how I remember, we didn't actually buy anything but it was fun to look around and the food was so nice from the different stalls! We tried cheese fries with raclette, which is the really cool cheese that has been floating around online recently, it's amazing and then we also had dutch pancakes which are the really cute mini ones and they were so good as well. I could have actually eaten way more however we were planning on going to The Shake Shack later so some restraint was definitely necessary!
After Camden we headed to Oxford Street, don't get me wrong the shops are amazing but I feel like I can NEVER find anything to buy, I think because where I live is so tiny shopping is actually really easy and pretty quiet, so when I go somewhere really hectic it takes away from the fun of shopping, it's still run to look round though and I did find a few Christmas presents from Selfridges. I actually much prefer Carnaby Street so we walked down there and the Christmas decorations were so cool!
Without a doubt, the best part of our trip, and probably the most random moment ever happened after we decided to go back to our hotel after Carnaby Street. I'm actually still in total disbelief that this happened, and I don't think Matty will ever get over it. Basically we were going to take the tube back to Leicester Square where our hotel was which is always how we travel around, but it was only one stop away so we decided to walk. I'm not even sure where this even happened I know it was near Regent Street and kind of next to Carnaby Street where it was a bit quieter, funnily enough we weren't even going to walk this way but it had really pretty decorations we we decided to walk down it. So just walking along and Matty grabs hold of my arm and is like "Oh my god look!!!" and no word of a lie Noel Gallagher walks right past us. Matty is such an Oasis fan and he loves Noel so I instantly told him to go and say something, it was actually so funny what happened he basically turned round and followed him about five steps and walked to the side of him and just said excuse me, and when he turned around I think Matty must have lost all confidence and just stuck his hand out and said "Noel" and shook his hand. He said to him "I won't ask you for a picture because I know you don't like it" and then Noel winked at him and walked off. The whole thing must have lasted about 10 seconds and I think it made Matty's life! He would have absolutely loved a picture but how awkward would it have been if he said no, plus it really did happen so quick I don't think Matty knew how to behave! So yeah that's definitely the most famous person I've ever met and I still can't believe it happened!
After that excitement we chilled at our hotel for a bit and headed over to Covent Garden, which is seriously so pretty at Christmas the decorations were amazing! We had a Shake Shack which I'd been so excited for, it's the cheese fries, you actually cannot beat them.
The rest of the night we went back to the hotel and got ready for Dreamgirls, it was such a shame because Amber Riley was playing the role of Effie, which was part of the reason why I was so excited, and when booking it states that the alternate will play Wednesday instead, so we planned our trip around this so we could see her, it was a Tuesday when we visited, and when we arrived at the theatre, there was a notice on the door saying the alternate would be playing Effie instead. I was actually so disappointed because we had paid all this money and planned the trip around it so we could see Amber Riley and she wasn't even on even though it was stated she would be. I can totally understand if it's because of illness or something that can't be helped, but it turns out she just went to the Royal Variety performance instead, not to perform just to go there. Surely that would have been known about well in advance so they could have warned people that she wouldn't be performing that night, so that was a bit of a downer. The show was still great don't get me wrong, however there was a few iffy moments with the alternate, And I Am Telling You was sadly a massive let down which is probably the biggest moment of the show. However the actress playing Deena and the actor playing Jimmy Early were so amazing! I can't go on enough about how good they were, I'd still definitely recommend it it's just annoying that we weren't told she wouldn't be performing until right before the show started.
The next day was insanely good! I really can't recommend Winter Wonderland enough, it's so expensive but that's probably the only downside. I'd also suggest visiting during the weekday as it's so much quieter, we didn't get the chance to go on the night as we were getting a train home around 6, so it would have been lovely to go when it was dark and all lit up, however we had the benefit of being there during the day which meant it was even more quiet. My favourite part of Winter Wonderland is of course the food, no surprises there however it has the best festive food! A bratwurst is a must when you visit, plus there is amazing hog roast stands dotted about everywhere!
The Bavarian Village is definitely my favourite part of Winter Wonderland, it's got the best food, live music and it just generally looks amazing! We never usually do a lot of rides when we go mostly because of how expensive they are, however I'm a bit of a roller coaster nut and I actually love this YouTube channel called Theme Park Worldwide and they were basically raving about a ride called the Munich Looping Coaster which is Europe's largest travelling roller coaster and it was actually at Winter Wonderland this year. It's £9 a ride which is slightly painful however I knew I probably wouldn't get to go on it again so I decided to just do it, and it was so good! I'd definitely suggest going on if you like roller coasters, we also went on the dodgems which is always a great idea until your turn is just full of adults and it's a free for all. I love dodgems though, however one particularly bash resulted in the right hand side of my back being so sore for about three days after, I'd still say it was worth it though...
We were temped to go on the ice skating rink, however they were still charging peak time prices even at about 12 o'clock so it was £14.50 per person and we weren't that bothered so we gave it a miss. The ice skating rink is so cute though I'd probably have done it if I was there on the night just because of how nice it looks! Another really nice part of Winter Wonderland is the fire pits, they're so cosy to sit round when it's freezing outside plus they smell amazing!
We were absolutely shattered by this point so we had a little walk to see Harrods which is so pretty at Christmas time and then headed off to our train.
Our next trip back to London will actually be on my 22nd birthday in February (kind of dreading it because I want to be 21 forever) but we need to think of things to do in London that we haven't done yet, so if you have any suggests then let me know! If you get the chance I'd really suggest going to Winter Wonderland, it's so amazing and puts you in the most festive mood, just make sure you bring lots of cash as no one wants to use a cash point there as they charge you £2.95 to get your own money out, so glad I knew about this before I went. I'm also feeling very good right now because I've just finished my Christmas shopping so now I just have the horrors of working in retail to deal with before I'm done for Christmas! Let me know in the comments if you've been to Winter Wonderland and what you thought!
