3rd Schengen Visit in 3 Months

The last time I was in London was 2014 for work and I’m back again, for work. However, I came early for the weekend and so I could get settled. Indeed, with my travels and work, I have not been in my bed consistently and thankfully, Amanda has been holding down my apartment.

On Friday, I went off to the airport with no issues considering my original flight had been cancelled. My overnight flight was uneventful and we got into Heathrow about 20 minutes early.

I had messaged a local Equinox general manager who had worked at the Park Ave location where my office was located. He happily put me on the guest list and this was my plan to kill time before my hotel room was ready. I had also previously really enjoyed a steam after a flight, so I thought this was a good option.

So I bought myself an Oyster metro card and took the tube to the Kensington neighborhood. I did wander here for a bit due to some scaffolding, I struggled to find the club. But I did in the meantime find an HSBC to take out some cash and found the club right before yoga was starting.

This was an awesome decision and I’m pretty sure I could have fallen asleep at any moment. But the stretching and positive reinforcements from the yoga instructor were all good for the soul. I can now say I’ve visited the club that I had to manage through several property leaks and saw the signs of the famous tenants who are located underneath. Here’s a picture of the famous ceiling in the club that I had seen in so many photos!



After a long steam and shower, I hopped back on the tube and headed to the Bloomsbury neighborhood which my hotel, the Doubletree was located and across from the British Museum, my plan for tomorrow. I picked up a quick ciabatta pizza from a bakery next door, checked in and was welcomed with a famous Doubletree chocolate chip cookie. After snacking, I settled in for a 3 hour nap.

I set my alarm so I had time to make my 13 minute walk to the West End to see Come From Away, a popular musical which is actually about planes that were stranded in New Foundland, Canada on the day of the 9/11 attacks. I had weighed this musical or a play that was on limited run with some famous celebrities, and decided I had a less chance of falling victim to jet lag during a musical.

Here’s a photo after enjoying a latte on my walk to the theater:

The musical was phenomenal and I teared several times - really cathartic as we never forget 9/11 and honored the anniversary just a few days ago...

As I left the theater, there were bicycle dance parties cycling through the streets to ABBA and the like and I found my way to a burger restaurant where I paired it with cheese fries and a cider. I tried to go into a pub, but the kitchens were closed.

I headed back to my hotel to get some rest. This past week was exhausting and very busy - I was offsite at a management / leadership conference which was wonderful. I got to meet folks from around the world and spent time with some of my faves (Ellen!), but definitely feeling a little drained with all the work and travel. Yet I trudge on to maximize my travel adventures... because as you know, I wouldn’t have it any other way!