Recently I wrote a blog post about how sometimes I feel like with growing up I’m getting boring and I don’t go out anymore. Whilst I definitely have a lot more nights in than I used to I still have this constant craving to be doing something. And it’s especially heightened by living in London. There is so much to do and see! A million interesting things happening every week and I miss most of it. It’s kind of exhausting just thinking about the things you’re always missing out on.
I’ve lived in London for 3 years now and I’ve never gone to a Museum Late, something I’ve always wanted to do but every time I remember I seem to have just missed one. When family and friends visit and ask where I would recommend for them to eat I am completely stumped. There are so many different and exciting restaurants in London yet I always find myself in Nando’s. Why?!
Then there’s my unfulfilled love for live theatre and comedy. Let me repeat myself. I. Live. In. LONDON. And I’m complaining about not seeing enough live theatre? That’s my fault and my fault alone.
But when I do go for a dinner date with a friend and we go to a restaurant they’ve recommended or I spontaneously buy tickets to a show it is such a great feeling. It’s my new kind of fun that has replaced the clubbing days of university. You can drink, you can chat, experience something new and (this is the best part) still get home before 11pm.
Last week my boyfriend, Dan, and I had a fantastic evening out in Leicester Square. London West End asked if I’d like to experience some of their recommended date night activities and of course I said yes. Christmas in London is busy. There is so much on and it’s even more exhausting and feels like you’re missing out on even more things. But between our busy schedules we found an evening to enjoy a proper date night.
First we had a pre-show steak dinner at Heliot which is the steak house inside the Hippodrome Casino. Now I’ve had drinks inside the Hippodrome many times before and lost £10 on Black Jack once but I didn’t even realise they had a steak house! It felt very fancy being in there. Not sure if I’ve ever been to a proper steak restaurant before. Dan and I have recently been watching a lot of Gordon Ramsey’s Hell’s Kitchen so obviously we now think of ourselves as food experts and I have to say the steak was cooked perfectly (if you like it rare!).
Then it was time for the show! Leicester Square has a Christmas market this time of year and also a huge theatre tent. It was so big inside I still can’t quite figure out how they fit it into Leicester Square. We went to see Black Cat Cabaret. Now I love cabaret. It’s the perfect mix of everything I love: music, comedy, dance, circus, burlesque and witnessing pure talent. I think my favourite act was this woman who played the cello but in the most unusual way using it as percussion as well as string. She made very strange noises with her mouth and sang these really funny songs. It’s difficult to explain but it was so entertaining!
There were definite moments during the show when we had our mouths wide open in awe and others when we were crying with laughter. Thanks so much to London West End for inviting us along and sorting us out with an amazing date night. It’s very easy almost a year into a relationship to spend most of your time at home together. And don’t get me wrong, there is definitely a lot of pyjamas and Netflix evenings. But I’ve learned that I am someone who needs to have plans, activities, adventures. But I still like to get my 8 hours of sleep.
I would love to hear in the comments in you have any recommendations for things to do in London – food and live show related. And if you’re interested let me know if you would like for me to write another blog post of a list of some of my favourite things to do in London. It’ll give me an excuse to do some research and go out more!
Merry Christmas!
I totally agree with you about seeking adventure despite not feeling like you’ll find it in a club. I also totally get the desire to discover new places rather than going to Nando’s every time you go out for dinner.
I make it my mission to learn more about all the places I’ve never discovered in Edinburgh so that I can be people’s go to for recommendations when they come to visit. My method is to keep a list of all the places I’ve heard of, spotted in blogs etc. then each time I agree to make plans with a friend I pick whatever would suit them best, through that I’ve got to try so many awesome new places.
You can read about some of these places on my blog😁
It doesn’t take long to see all the sites in London. The night club is even worser than the tube. I would rather play vedeo games.
If you like comedy, I would totally recommend checking out Old Rope (at the Phoenix pub on Monday nights; https://www.facebook.com/oldropecomedy/). They have loads of amazing comedians trying out new material, and it costs next to nothing, and there is an insane amount of audience’s involvement in the process sometimes… Great fun. I’ve only learnt about the place recently, and now every time I come to London, it’s an absolute must.
gal, i TOTALLY get you. i live 15 mins outside london and very very very rarely venture in considering it’s pretty much one train straight into the centre! totally dont make the most of it…but using this as inspiration to get off my ass and visit again before christmas!
katie. xx lacoconoire.com ♥
I would love to read more about doing things in London definitely!
I went for the first time with my family last week, and even if it was a fast tourist trip, I want to go again already, I feel the need to explore more and find hidden places. The food experience was horrible to be honest, but it is what it is when we had no time to think about it, we were there for only 3 days. BUT I found these awesome pizza place called Pizza Union, near Kings Cross, and it’s one of the best pizzas I’ve ever eaten.
Exploring the place where you live is awesome so then you can share with others and you will feel so good. I do it in Barcelona with my friends and it’s a win-win.
Do it!
Cute!