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36 Hour Stopover in London

London is one of those cities of which I never tire. Although I've been there numerous times (I used to go every year for work), every time I went back I would revisit my favorite streets, squares, and shops. During our whirlwind US/Europe trip in the fall of 2021, London was our stop-over city. We flew in and out of Heathrow, stopping through and saying hello to London TWICE while passing through on the way to cities in Europe, such as Brussels or Paris.

What does one do on a 36-hour stopover in London?

We stayed at the St. Pancras Renaissance, a lovely, lovely hotel (highly recommended!). It is located right at St. Pancras train station, so it's amazingly convenient if you are taking the Eurostar here (from, e.g., Brussels or Paris). The lobby incorporates parts of the beautiful train station exterior, and you can take an elevator directly into the train station without even stepping outside. I enjoyed a lovely brunch in this airy and spacious lobby. When I tried to come back in the evening to meet a colleague for drinks, they told me it was fully booked. I didn't even know you had to book this place. Mental note: make a reservation next time!

Covent Garden

During our first visit, we arrived in London in the morning and had a few hours to kill before our train to Brussels in the evening. We decided to walk around Covent Garden and perhaps find some lunch.

Din Tai Fung Covent Garden London

This is where we broke down and had our first Chinese restaurant meal in over 6 weeks (at Din Tai Fung, no less!). The decor was beautiful, and this DTF was a bit more upscale, offering cocktails and some dishes we hadn't seen on other menus. We stuck with the basics, ordering various types of dumplings. Though it hit the spot and was very enjoyable, the overall quality was supbar to the ones in Hong Kong (and it was more expensive!).

The River Cafe

We had one nice meal in London, an Italian outdoor dinner at The River Cafe. Situated right on the Thames River, this Italian restaurant from Ruth Rogers has been around for 35 years and is famous for training up several well-known British chefs, such as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (River Cottage), April Bloomfield (Spotted Pig, Breslin Bar & Dining), Theo Randall and Jamie Oliver.

London’s the type of place where it’s easy to stop by for just a short amount of time. If you need to take the train somewhere, I highly recommend staying near St. Pancras station. It’s super convenient, and there’s a lot of fun stuff to do right around that area, such as jog along Regent Canal or shop/eat at Coal Drop Yard.

The next day we hopped onto the Eurostar and took the 2-hour journey to Brussels, our next stop. Good-by London, until we meet again!

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