You know how you sometimes have those days where you don’t really have anything specific planned and you don’t end up doing anything special, but you have a nice day anyway? That was our Sunday in London! After yesterday’s early(ish) wake-up call, it was so nice to not have to wake up for anything this morning. We spent some time lounging around, debating what we should do with our day, but never really landed on a solid plan, other than where to go for lunch. So we just kind of winged it!

Scott is a big fan of Thai food and we had been talking about finding a good Thai restaurant to go to and today seemed like a good day to make that happen, since we didn’t have any other specific plans. It turned out the fates were stacked against us though as we reached the restaurant only to find it was closed. Not because of the weekend or tomorrow’s bank holiday – even Google thought it was still open! No worries though – we searched Google Maps for another nearby Thai restaurant and walked to it to find that it was closed, TOO! If you’re annoyed yet, you can imagine how we felt going through it! At that point, we thought there was no way we could strike out a third time, so we walked over to Rosa’s in Soho with our fingers ever so slightly crossed. Thankfully, they were open, so we were able to finally sit down and have our late lunch. Based on their website, there are several locations in London, but I’d never heard of them before, so it was a new-to-us experience. The food was really tasty though – we got pork skewers to start (with a yummy tamarind dipping sauce) and then a red curry for Scott and a chili/basil stir fry for me. Because Scott is the bigger fan of Thai food and has tried more variety than I have, his taste is more discerning than mine and he found the meal to be decent, not amazing, whereas I really enjoyed mine. The broth in the stir fry was really savory and the mix of long green beans, peppers, and onions was well-made. And it looked pretty, too!

Chili and basil stir fry at Rosa’s in Soho.

After lunch, we decided to make our way to Next for a quick look around, with a stop along the way for the ever-allusive soft-serve ice cream cone for me (I’d been craving one since we got here, so I was happy to finally scratch that itch!). Neither of us are big shoppers, but Next had some nice colognes, so I picked up a few new scents and Scott found a few things, too. Shopping success! After that success, and since we were so close to it, we decided to pop over to Retro Bar for a drink. Eagle-eyed readers will recognize Retro Bar as a place I’ve visited on my last few UK trips and always appreciate revisiting – it’s become kind of a tradition! It’s a nice, low-key bar (except for maybe when they’re hosting their drag queen pub quiz) and I’ve had good times there, so it’s a little thing I look forward to now.

Post-beverages, I made a stop at Fopp to see if they had any DVDs or Blu-rays I couldn’t live without. Sadly, I didn’t find any great sales, but I did find a few worthwhile titles, so I didn’t leave empty-handed. And we (sort of) continued the shopping trend by taking a quick walk through nearby Covent Garden. Being a Sunday, and a bank holiday weekend, and with such nice weather, it was FULL of people, but we managed to navigate the crowd and come through unscathed. We even stopped in a Starbucks there so Scott could pick up a London mug for a co-worker back home (we tried to get one at a different Starbucks earlier in the day, but that one didn’t sell them).

With goodies in hand, we made our way back to Fitzrovia for what turned out to be just a quick pit stop as my friend Matt (yes, the same Matt from Brighton) messaged me saying that we should meet him and his friend for a drink. They were in London to see a show and we had previously talked about meeting up when they finished, so I’m glad we were able to make it happen. We made our way to Arabica in Borough Market (a place we wanted to visit anyway) and had a nice time chatting. We didn’t get to experience anything in the actual market though as it’s closed today and tomorrow because of the bank holiday, so we’re planning to go there again on Tuesday (and now we know how to get there!). We didn’t stay out too late (Matt had to catch a train back to Brighton), so we got back to our flat for the night and have been relaxing since then.

Only a few photos today, but enjoy them nonetheless!

Gate at the entrance to Chinatown.

A street on the edge of Chinatown, complete with rainbow flags (presumably for Pride) at the top.

We had time for a quick drive-by of one of my favorite spots, Leicester Square.

A glimpse at the crowds of people in Covent Garden.

Fitzroy Square is just down the street from our flat.

And here’s our local Underground station – Warren Street.

Plans for tomorrow are still in flux, with the exception of the evening as we’re going to see a showing of The Book of Mormon. I saw it last year, but missed a bit of the action because of where my seats were. Excited to see it again and for Scott to see it for the first time!