We dropped our daughter off at school recently which officially makes us empty nesters. I’m not going to lie, I’ve been dreading this. There is no one on earth I enjoy spending time with more than my kids. Now that they are both gone, what am I to do with my free time, other than work? 

My husband had been asking me this exact question for months and I had no answer. That was until Karen, our assistant manager at Penny Post described how she likes to vacation – shop, eat, drink. An aha moment for sure! I added – museums, nature, hiking – to my future itinerary and wholeheartedly began mapping out our next trip.

Usually when I travel, ‘where to eat’ is the hardest thing to plan. If we are someplace we’ve never been before it’s especially difficult. Somehow I never get it right. Leaving it up to chance is my modus operandi and – surprise, surprise – it rarely works out. Especially with hangry people in tow. This time however, we had much better luck. I attribute this to several things – recommendations from trusted sources, giving up control and making my family pick instead of me controlling everything (raise your hand if you can relate!).

 As for shopping, I didn’t leave that to chance. I had five stores that I wanted to visit if they were remotely close to anything we were doing. I was able to visit the three below and will have to wait until next time to visit Straw London and Papersmiths. If you get there before me, I’ll need a full report, please!

Eating

Dishoom: Make your reservations now. Seriously, it’s that good. No less than seven people told me I should eat here, and they were spot on. Dishoom brings Bombay to London and it’s delicious. There are several locations, but they only take reservations up to 5:45 p.m. After that there’s a line, which apparently gets very long if you aren’t there early. We ate at the Kensington location which looked straight out of the Art Deco 20s and a BBC Poirot set. I love Agatha Christie mysteries, so it was perfect!

 Gordon Ramsay’s Street Burger: Needing to appease a very picky eater and get a taste of home, we stopped into Street Burger in Covent Garden. A yummy, if overpriced, burger that more than fit the bill. Shake Shack and Five Guys were located nearby, but we figured we’d stick with the British chef.

 Old Queen Street Café: We stumbled upon this delightful British brasserie within walking distance to Westminster Abbey. The hunter green, wide wale corduroy booths, terracotta walls and trim, and utterly charming bathroom coupled with a menu that satisfied after a morning of touring, made this place somewhere we would definitely return.

 Shopping

Choosing Keeping: This remarkably charming stationery store is absolutely worth the visit.  Located just around the corner from The Mousetrap on the West End, Choosing Keeping houses a mix of fountain pens, stunning handmade notebooks, inks and Japanese watercolors, Italian papers of all sizes, and bespoke pottery. If John Derian had a paper store it would look like this.  Just amazing.

 Present & Correct: Located a block from the British Museum, Present & Correct is the coolest stationery store in London. A spare minimalist design highlights the expertly curated selection of notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers, clocks, and office supplies. Kicking off our trip in style, this was literally our second stop in London. A must see if you're near the British Museum. Or even if you’re not.

Labour & Wait: You can keep Harrods and Fortnum & Mason, give me Labour & Wait. This was the only out of the way place I dragged my family to see. Everything else we did was by neighborhood. On our last day in London we started here and I’m so glad we did. Every detail is a masterclass in branding and independent shopkeeping. Trust me, it’s worth the effort to get to one of their three locations. We went to the Marylebone location, but I have a feeling their other two locations are just as good.

Read Amy’s previous post on what to do the next time you’re in London here.