European Vacation || London

Some of my favorite memories as a child are the ones where my whole family was on vacation together. We would go skiing every Spring Break and then go on a beach vacation in the summer. We were very fortunate to be able to do this, as I know many families cannot afford it. Both of my parents had full-time jobs, so being able to go on vacation with them meant that we got really precious quality time together away from home and away from work. Traveling (near or far) is something that I've always wanted to keep as a priority in my life because of how it challenges me, changes my perspective, and teaches you to slow down (and look up at the pretty buildings) :). 

Although I had to do some convincing on my husband's part, we agreed together that this European trip was one worth taking and that we were in a special place in our life where we could make it happen. When planning what cities we were going to go to, London was one of the first on my list. I know that it's not the most glamorous or adventurous city, but it's always been a city that I've craved to see. We added this to our list and before you know it, we were walking off of the plane at London Heathrow ready to take on our adventure! 

Unfortunately, most of our time in London was spent under an umbrella or dodging the rain, so I didn't bring my camera to many places we went to. As a photographer, I was starting to get really bummed that I wasn't getting "THE" shots that I had been picturing in my head prior to arriving. (Any other photographers feel me??) But, I have to say, it was so nice to be able to hold my husband's hand while walking down these cobblestone streets instead of my camera gear.

We rented the cutest loft via Airbnb in Notting Hill and I was obsessed with it! I loved being able to stay in a neighborhood and walk home to a quiet street at the end of a busy day. It took everything out of me to not just move in!

And yes, we did ride a double decker bus and made fun of ourselves the ENTIRE time. I could not stop giggling about how touristy we felt. My husband loved every minute of it because he LOVES to embarrass me. ;)

London, you stole our hearts. We will see you again.

^^ Living his best life as a tourist haha.