a Southern lady in London: st pauls // bodean's // kirsten's hen do

This past week was a bit of a downer. I had such a nice week off that it was hard going back to work and getting back into the swing of things. The only comfort is that I have another break in 4 weeks -- nearly 3 weeks off to enjoy my parents being here and a potential trip to NYC!

Sunday and Monday were spent recovering from Amsterdam and the overall craziness from last week…I got back into my work out routine and healthy eating after having a complete carb overload. On Tuesday, I went to Ali's for our weekly Bachelor night (I hadn't been in 3 weeks!!) and we had a great time catching up, eating Firezze pizza, and drinking wine. It was a much needed girly night.

On Wednesday, I went to dinner in St Paul's at Ping Pong. This is some of the best Dim Sum in London. It's a classy little chain with lots of options. After dinner, I went for a stroll around St Paul's and made my way to the rooftop of One New Change to take a few pictures of the city. It was a clear, beautiful night.

On Thursday, I did my after work exercise video with Courtney and afterwards we went to the Good Life Eatery. I've posted about this place before (and Courtney's obsession with it). I had an amazing salmon 'sandwich' and a protein shake. I felt nice and clean after that!

So the tummy bug has been going around work and I have been really worried all week that I was going to get it. When Friday rolled around we were all feeling a bit 'funny' and I was certain it was my turn to suffer. I made it through the day and after work, Kirsten and I went to the Trafalgar Pub on King's Road. We had a couple drinks and then I went to meet Ads at Bodean's near Tower Bridge. Bodean's is an American restaurant which serves BBQ from every region - NC pulled pork, Texas brisket - as well as American cocktails and plays sports on their TVs from the States. Clearly, I was in heaven.

On Saturday I woke up and went to the Duke of York Market in Chelsea with Courtney. It's a smaller market but is dedicated to just food. There's loads of options for lunch and goodies to take home. I got a nice little salad with falafels and a sweet baklava to take home.

On Saturday evening, I went to Temple to meet up with a big group of girls for Kirsten's hen-do (AKA bachelorette party)! We started our evening at the Radio Rooftop Bar at the ME London hotel. The view is incredible and it's a really fun atmosphere. It was the perfect place to start off a big girls night.

After the ME Hotel, we got into some super cute pedicabs and went to The Loop Bar off of Oxford Street! We had a blast dancing on the Groovy Wonderland dance floor. Such a fun night!