Shows, sweet treats, and spiders - a London tale!

So if you know me or you've read my bio, you'll know that I am obsessed with the musical Hamilton. It arrived in my life at a time when I needed light and life, and not a day has gone past since when I haven't at least hummed one of the songs. I first saw it on Broadway (and I'm not proud of how much I paid for one of those tickets) and have now also seen it in London more than once. So, it was no surprise in January when my daughter bought me tickets for a May show for my birthday present.

We decided to make a mini theatre trip out out of it, and decided to take in another performance of Six the musical too. We first saw this on tour in Glasgow, and loved it, so were very excited about the prospect of seeing it in its homeground of the Arts Theatre in London.

And of course, that still left plenty of time for touristy trips round London town! We were very lucky with the weather - it was sunny and bright but not ridiculously warm, which meant even just wandering round was fun!

So, here are the highlights, in no particular order....

1. The shows - Hamilton and Six

Both shows absolutely lived up to expectations. In Hamilton, we sat in our favourite location, the Royal Box B, which gives a great view, so you can really see the emotion on the performers' faces, and also offers lots of room with its free standing chairs which you can move. Yet again, I discovered new things in the show, and there was so much energy and commitment in each of the performances. I tried so hard not to cry, but didn't quite make it! We also stage doored and I met some of the cast and chatted to them. I floated home to the hotel that night!

Six was just as much fun as the first time we saw it. The premise, lyrics and tunes in this show are brilliant, and the leads, ladies in waiting musicians, and alternates all truly live their parts. There is a true joy about the Queendom that you can't help but get caught up in! The Arts Theatre is a small intimate little theatre, and there is a cafe/bar attached where you can enjoy drinks before the performance. We opted for Queen themed cocktails, which were absolutely delicious - not to mention quite strong!

2. The hotel
We opted for our usual London chain of choice - Hub by Premier Inn. These offer compact rooms, which are small in size, but big on technology features, with a panel which allows you to change the temperature, the lighting, the Do Not Disturb sign on the door, etc! The TV offers a great selection of TV and free movies, and also allows you to link to your mobile device to watch on the big screen. There is also a lot of underbed storage and a small hanging space, as well as hooks, so there is plenty of space to stow your belongings if you're there for a short stay. Again, the bathroom is small, but well equipped.

On this particular occasion, we stayed at the Goodge Street location. This is ideally placed just off Tottenham Court Road, so easy to walk to from Euston where we'd arrived, plenty of places to eat or drink with a good selection of shops close by, and a short wander to get to many places such as Covent Garden, Leceister Square, Soho, Holborn, and Regent's Park. The tube is also handy with both Goodge Street and Warren Street stations very close, and Tottenham Court Road just a ten minute walk. We found it perfectly located for our needs, so we'd definitely stay there again.

3. The food
Last time we visited London, we checked out the cafes - Peggy Porschen, Dominique Ansel , Elan and my NYC fave By Chloe, so this time we switched that out for ice cream! We visited some Insta hot spots we'd heard about. Both Milk Train and Yaki Yaki offer sweet treats (some vegan friendly) in the Convent Garden area. Not only is the ice cream delicious, but you can see why people queue to get photos for the gram - they're so aesthetically pleasing!

But girls cannot live on ice cream alone. So we visited an old favourite on Tottenham Court Road - D/F Tacos. This offers a great selection of Mexican food suitable for even the fussiest of eaters (ie me) and my daughter loves it too!

When researching somewhere to eat close to the Arts Theatre, we were surprised to discover that there was a PF Changs just two doors down from the theatre - we hadn't realised there was any in the UK. Lovely little place, with a cute floral 'tree' decor, I enjoyed Chilli Aubergine and rice after a starter of steamed edamame. Portions were generous, and the prices were reasonable. My only complaint would be the background music was too loud, and at times I struggled to hear what the waiting staff were saying. Other than this, I would definitely recommend a visit.

4. Regent's Park and the Zoo
I've skirted the edge of Regent's Park on previous visits to London, but never really gone in. And as our hotel was only 15 minutes' walk away, it seemed like a great way to get away from the touristy crowds on a sunny day.

It turned out to be a great idea - the park was quiet with beautiful scenery, even though we only covered a very small corner of it, stopping off at one of the cafes for a cool drink and a snack, before we got distracted by the zoo. I'd definitely like to go back and see other areas of the park.

The zoo is in the Park, and is much bigger than I expected. There is so much to see, and we both really enjoyed it. My favourite was the open monkey enclosure where baby monkeys had been born just a few weeks before - we saw one nestled on its mum's back as they jumped around the trees. So cute. I also enjoyed the spider section, and of course I can't forget the penguin enclosure with all the cute penguins who splashed around in the pool and seemed almost happy to pose for photos!

5. Regent's Canal into Camden
After the zoo, we decided to walk along Regent's Canal into Camden. Again some beautiful scenery, easy to forget you're in the middle of the city. We came out of the short walk into the heart of Camden Lock with its food market. It was too hot and too busy for little miss, so we then walked the short distance to the tube station and grabbed a train back to the hotel.

However, next time, I'd like to wander round all the food stalls, and sit down near the canal with some food and a drink or two to while away some time!

6. London in Bloom
We were in town just before the Chelsea Flower Show, but the whole of London seemed covered in beautiful floral displays. Covent Garden in particular had some gorgeous displays, but we also managed to find blooms in other corners!