Old Contiki Meets New Contiki

Having a double bed and whole room to myself, complimented by a relatively early night, meant I had the best sleep I'd had this whole trip! I had agreed to meet with Charli and explore London, and I said I'd meet her at her hotel at 9. I was running late, but got there around 9.15... Charli wasn't in the lobby and had lost her phone in Paris so I was at a bit of a loss as what to do. I eventually went up to reception, and they gave me a phone to call her, and I was able to wake her up! No phone = no alarm, but she was ready in a flash and we went off in search of food and a cheap replacement phone.
I got a warm ham, cheese and tomato croissant from Pret (sooooo tasty - I miss them so much now I'm home!), and Charli got some food and coffee from Starbucks.
We headed for Carphone Warehouse, who apparently had cheap prepaid phones. Charli got one, set it up and we were on our way!
We wanted to check out Notting Hill, so we jumped on the tube to Notting Hill Gate station and came out right on Portobello Road. We walked up through the Portobello Markets, checking out lots of nic-nac shops, and found a crepe stand in the middle. Delicious!
We kept exploring, eventually finding the blue door from Notting Hill (the movie) and took a couple of photos.
We grabbed some more coffee/hot chocolate at a cafe on the corner and decided what to do next.
We decided to head back up Portobello Rd towards the tube station, and found a pub on the way for lunch.
The pub was called Sun in Splendor and had the most beautiful 'pub dog' named Bruno. He looked like he was only a puppy, and was the manager's dog. He just kept walking around getting the patrons to play with him - adorable!
We had some food and a drink and decided to head to Camden to check out the markets there.
Back on the tube and we arrived at this vibrant little suburb. We found an Urban Outfitters (one of my favourite stores in the US) and spent some time in there before making our way through the makets.
It's like a maze, you could really get lost in amongst the stalls. Most stalls also have similar clothes and products, so you feel like you're walking in circles. I can only imagine what it would be like on a weekend!
We made our way out, checking out a few more stores along the main road before finding another pub, time for another drink!
The Buck's Head had some great cocktails on the menu, so we ordered one each. We got to watch a little bit of Wimbledon, before heading back to our hotels to get ready for our night ahead.
We'd made plans to meet up with a friend from my 2009 USA contiki, Michelle! She suggested we meet at a pub in Convent Garden, the Punch and Judy. Charli and I arrived first, then Michelle, then Charli's friend Doug met us also.
The 4 of us had a couple of drinks on the balcony overlooking some buskers, one of whom was an Aussie (but kinda terrible...). We then went in search of food, stopping at Bella Italia for some pizza and pasta, and of course some more Aperol Spritz!
After a few more drinks we headed for our final destination of the night, Roadhouse.
This was a really cool bar, an American style venue with neon signs everywhere. There was a live band, and they announced they were going to have a bandaoke contest!
The first girl that got up was ok, but Michelle, Charli and Doug thought she was amazing... So me being the complete diva I am, decided to show off...
I got up and sang Katy Perry's I Kissed A Girl, and apart from a small bit in the middle where I momentarily forgot the tune, I think I could say it was pretty good. Always fun to sing with a band!
Fairly confident the others weren't expecting much when I went up there, so I hope I entertained!
More performers gave it a shot, and after some deliberations, a winner and runner up were announced... And that runner up was me!! By this point Michelle had gone home as it was a Monday night and she had to work the following day, but Charli and Doug got to share my MONSTER of a cocktail with me. It was HUGE and the 3 of us couldn't finish it, enlisting the help of some other girls near by.
We continued to dance the night away before deciding to call it a night. We attempted to catch the tube home, before realising it was closed, and decided to walk home instead... It probably only took half an hour or so... Maybe an hour!Read more