London Trip: Camden, NFL and vegan cakes

I wanted to get the rest of my London photos up days ago, but I've not had time between work, being off work sick, and wanting to spend most of my time reading Harry Potter.

Aside from my Harry Potter adventures in the post below, the main reason we were down in London was to watch Miami Dolphins play at Wembley Stadium, but I also found some time to visit Cookies and Scream in Camden for lots of vegan cakes.

London Times!

On Monday, I headed down to London with Jenn for a few days of musicals, drinks, sun and adventures.

I was looking to try as many new vegan places as possible, so we went to Vitao on Oxford Street to get some dinner. It was really small place with a choice of organic juices, salads and hot dishes. I ended up with a bit of everything includes noodles, broccoli and a tomato and chickpea tagine.

The best of all though was the selection of raw cakes and cookies they had. I opted for a coconut apple tart and Jenn picked some chocolate cake.

After we ate it was time to go see Billy Elliot. It was never a musical that was high up my list of things I wanted to see, but going on a recommendation from someone at the Edinburgh Playhouse, I figured it had to be good. It wasn't just good though, it was one of the best musicals I've ever seen. If you've not seen it yet, then I really recommend it. The dancing was fantastic, and some parts were a lot darker and emotional than I ever really expected it to be. I'm just hoping it goes on tour soon so it come up to Edinburgh. 

We decided to go experience some culture on Tuesday with a trip to the British Museum. Obviously the first stop inside was the gift shop, and then we just spent a couple of hours walking around all the exhibitions. 

We spent Tuesday afternoon watching Jersey Boys. I managed to get us a couple of complimentary tickets through work as the show is coming up to the Edinburgh Playhouse in October. Our seats ended up being just a few rows from the front, so we really couldn't have asked for a better place to watch the show. The story of Frankie Valli isn't one that i really knew, but with songs that are instantly recognisable it was a great show. 

After Jersey Boys it was time to go to the IceBar for the first time. For someone who is cold all the time, i found it freezing even with the giant cape and gloves on. Still, it was one of the best bars I've ever been too, especially since they served you cocktails in giant ice cubes.

We had a few hours on Wednesday before the train ride home. It was just enough time to go to the British Library and have a walk around Camden.

I took Jenn to my favourite Brazilian bar for cocktails, and then we obviously had to make a stop by the best vegan bakery I've come across called Cookies and Scream. I've been there four times this year already, but this was the first time I tried an ice cream sandwich and it was definitely worth the wait.

London: Taylor Swift & Vegan Cakes!

I've been meaning to do a London update since i got back last Wednesday, but between catching up on sleep and drinking vodka, I've not yet found the time to do it.

So yeah, i went to London with my sister to see Taylor Swift. People can say what they want about her, but she really can sing. She also sings songs which i can sadly relate to 95% of the time, and i guess there's something therapeutic in singing the lyrics to 'Mean' at the top of your voice. 

First stop on the trip was Camden to find Cookies and Scream. It's this great vegan bakery tucked away in the market selling everything from brownies to cookies, and donuts to pies. I opted for the most delicious banana, cinnamon and choc chip bread I've ever tasted. They even offered to warm it up for me, which is made it even tastier. I just wish i could find a bakery this good in Scotland, although maybe that wouldn't do my healthy eating all that good.

So after a walk around the market, it was time to head to the O2 arena for the show. And obviously, i joined a queue of people waiting to have their photo taken next to the giant Taylor billboard.

We ended up having much better seats that we thought we would have. We were on the raked seating, but just above an exit so there was no one sitting in front of us. I loved pretty much all of the set, although i would have happily done without the new version of 'You Belong With Me' because it was nowhere near as good as the original. For our special guest, we got Danny O'Donoghue from The Script. I never ever thought that would have excited me, but turns out he was actually pretty good.

We spent the next day wandering around the giant Topshop on Oxford Street, and shopping down Carnaby Street before our trip was over, and we faced the long train ride home.