Even though I’ve been enjoying my time at home as of so far, I can hardly believe that I technically no longer live in England. Four years raced by way faster than I’d imagined and the past week marked one of my last (for a while at least) London ventures. It was a shorter trip than I had originally planned due to some travel complications, but a great break nonetheless.
Some highlights:
Lunch at Pod , courtesy of a friend of a friend who took us there on his lunch break:
One of London’s hip, healthy and eco-friendly eateries (which are seemingly ubiquitous nowadays) – this place was a huge hit with both me and my friend. I opted for the crunch Indian slaw with mango chutney, a hummus and avocado flatbread wrap plus some beet and apple juice and a carrot and ginger dressing on the side. De-freaking-licious. Seriously.
The purchase of my new favourite pair of shoes, which I’d searched long and hard for.
Call me a “hipster”, but I love Toms. They’re unbelievably comfortable and are pretty perfect in terms of summer and Bahrain appropriate footwear (flip flops and sandals are also good, but dusty sandy feet are not). I instantly fell in love with the floral pattern when I spotted them online and was delighted to find out that they were completely vegan made and eco-friendly. It took about 4 different stores till I found my size, but totally worth it.
My best friend (who I was staying with) and I tried our hands at being domestic goddesses for a night.
Cue a scrumptious vegan feast.
Complete with an obscene amount of Koshary , of course.
My entire stay, the weather was typically gloomy and rainy which was slightly irritating given the number of sundresses that went unworn. On my last day, it was at least dry so my friend and I dragged our buts out for a gorgeous run around Regent’s Park.
I must admit, I’m slightly jealous that she’s going to be living a stone’s throw away from this place next year!
Also on the agenda was a visit to London’s first all Vegan bakery in Brixton, Ms Cupcake.
I originally went with the intention of picking up some cupcakes for my friend’s mom as a thank you for hosting me, but I couldn’t resist getting a few for us as well.
Banana cream and a Ferrero Rocher (one of their best sellers). Despite my aversion to copious amounts of frosting, these were both heavenly.
And I just couldn’t leave London without a trip to the new Whole Foods in Picadilly where I stocked up on my favourite herbal teas, snack bars and even picked up a few new vegan protein powders.
And of course, some (extortionately priced but delicious) fresh juice!
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Afterwards, I pretty had just enough time to race to the gate so didn’t get a chance to pick up something to eat on the plane as I usually do.
Babaghanoush, chili and parsley hummus and muhammarra with a seeded wholemeal roll.
And for my “main”, I was all ready to ask for the Thai green coconut curry with baked tofu (that’s right, a seemingly all vegan meal!) but the air steward was kind enough to secure a vegan meal for me so I went with that instead.
Mushroom couscous with grilled baby vegetables – yum.
I forewent dessert while I watched the rest of Big Miracle and proceeded to sleep for the rest of the flight. I woke up feeling a little peckish, so I decided to pay the snack bar a visit – where I was pleasantly surprised by…
Nakd bars! And a very interesting fruit snackpot of apple slices and strawberry guava dip.
All in all – an enjoyable and extremely vegan-friendly trip for sure. Now that I’m back and officially a woman of leisure, I hope to start posting a little more regularly and share a few new summer-centric recipes.
Have a great weekend all!
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