There are countless tours you can take while you’re in London. Harry Potter tours, pub tours, walking tours, royal tours and just about every other kind of tour you can imagine. But the one that just might take the cake, is a London helicopter tour. Being able to see the iconic sights of London from a bird’s-eye-view is difficult to beat.
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After doing extensive research for a London helicopter tour I decided to go with Heli Air, and I was not disappointed! I first took a 35-minute train from London Marylebone out to High Wycombe. Then I would recommend calling an Uber or cab to get from the train station to the airfield. I decided I would walk to save a bit of money and while it’s doable, I don’t recommend it! It would have been really inexpensive to grab an Uber or cab so I will definitely do that next time.
A Bird’s Eye View of London
In contrast to the city, the beginning of the flight gives you a look at the English countryside. And I secretly got to imagine what it would be like to be the Duchess of Cambridge and travel to Kensington Palace via helicopter. As you pass by the Palace you can see Round Pond and Hyde Park with the London skyline off in the distance.
After passing by Kensington Palace we headed towards the city along the River Thames. And if I felt like the Duchess by the Palace, I felt just like Mary Poppins as we traveled above the river. Passing by Battersea Power Station, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, and Tower Bridge from up in the air was a tour like no other!
My travel advice to people when they visit a new city is to take a walking tour and then climb to the highest point. This gives you an overview of the city and helps you really get the lay of the land. After my London helicopter tour I decided there’s an even better way to see the whole city than climbing to the highest point. Jump in a helicopter and fly over the city!
I think the first two things most people think of when they imagine visiting Orange County are the beaches and Disneyland. Orange County has 40 miles of coastline passing through seven cities. Any trip to these beaches should include stops at the piers in Orange County. With a total of five piers a trip to all of them gives you a pretty good look at the Orange County coastline.
As with most of my posts, some links may be affiliate links. This means at no additional cost to you, I may make a small commission on anything you buy through the links.
San Clemente
I’d recommend visiting the piers of Orange County from south to north because you’ll first want to have breakfast at La Galette. Located right across the street from the pier, this is delicious casual dining with a view. After enjoying a crepe walk across the street for a stroll down the San Clemente Pier. After you finishing your trip down the pier, I’d suggest a walk down the coastal path for views of the pier jutting out into the water.
Newport Beach
Newport Beach is home to not one, but two piers! The Balboa Pier was constructed in 1906 and is home to the original Ruby’s Diner. The Newport Pier is 1,032 feet long and is registered as California Historical Landmark number 794. While there is not a restaurant at the end, on a clear day you can see the Balboa Pier to the south and Huntington Beach to the north.
Huntington Beach
In my opinion, this is probably the most iconic pier in Orange County. It is arguably the most photographed spot in Huntington Beach and at 1,850 feet in length, is one of the longest public piers on the West Coast. On a clear day the views from the end of the pier are simply breathtaking as you can see miles of coastline with snow capped mountains in the background. Stroll down the pier and watch the surfers below, browse the shops or grab a milkshake from Ruby’s Diner.
Seal Beach
Admittedly, the Seal Beach pier is not what it once was, but it’s still worth a visit! I remember walking out on the pier to the restaurant at the end as a kid. Unfortunately a fire in 2016 burned down the restaurant and damaged the end of the pier. While you’re no longer able to eat at the Seal Beach pier, the view of the coastline makes it a worthwhile stop.
If you’re looking for more things to do in Orange County, be sure to browse my Orange County Bucket List. The list has more than 150 things to do including a trip to the Redwoods and mining for gold.
Literary Connections
If you want to explore more of the Piers of the California Coast, I’d recommend the book by Ed Grant. If you are interested in the 840 miles of coastal California this is the book for you. The book will look gorgeous on your coffee table and is filled with historical anecdotes.
I believe that any trip to Southern California should extend beyond Venice Beach and Disneyland. As iconic as these places are, Southern California has so much more to offer. I’d recommend setting aside one day of your trip to venture just north of LA to visit Ventura. With so many wonderful things to do in Ventura, you won’t regret your visit.
As with most of my posts, some links may be affiliate links. This means at no additional cost to you, I may make a small commission on anything you buy through the links.
Things to do in Ventura: The Food
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day so kick off your day with a yummy breakfast. Not only does Marie Shannon Confections have a fun vibe, you’ll get a yummy breakfast to fuel you for your day.
I would argue that you can’t go to a beach town in Southern California and not get fish tacos. Specifically, the fish tacos from Spencer Makenzie’s. Voted the best fish taco in Ventura and ranked in the top 50 Tacos in America, you don’t want to miss these!
Be sure to stop by Beach House Fish located on the Ventura Pier for a happy hour drink and appetizer. Grab a table along the windows and enjoy the coastline views.
Why not wrap up your day with a Fish Waffle Cone from Coastal Cone?!? Located in Ventura Harbor Village this is the perfect spot for strolling by the boats and enjoying your ice cream.
Things to do in Ventura: The Sights
To learn a bit about the history of Ventura I’d recommend beginning your exploration of the city with a stop at the San Buenaventura Mission. The missions are an integral part of the history of California. Continue your journey through the history of the city with a stop at City Hall. The architecture of City Hall makes me feel like I’ve stepped on the set of a movie. In 1971 the building was declared a county, state and federal historical landmark so it’s definitely worth setting aside time in your day to visit.
If you’re looking for an unrivaled view of Ventura I’d recommend a visit to the Ventura Botanical Gardens. Not only will you get to see a carefully curated selection of plant life but with an easy hike up to Grant Park you will be treated to stunning views of the city and beach below.
You’ll also want to make sure you set aside time for a stroll down Main Street. I always enjoy popping into bookshops when I travel and Main Street has several great options. Calico Cat Bookshop and Bank of Books. While usually I don’t recommend a stop at the post office, you won’t want to miss the post office just off Main Street. Inside you’ll find Gordon Grant Murals painted in 1936-1937. The murals are listed on the Federal Register of Fine Arts and you don’t even have to pay to see them…just pop in the post office!
A trip to Ventura is definitely not complete unless you’ve stopped by Surfer’s Point. With a south facing point right hand waves roll in consistently throughout the day. Not only will you be able to watch surfing, but on days where the wind picks up you’ll also be able to enjoy watching kiteboarders and windsurfers.
One of my favorite hobbies is reading, so when I was planning my first trip to London I knew I needed to set off in search of the best bookstores in London. But since it was a bit daunting to research London book shops I decided to bring to life the London Bookstore Tour from Cierra of londonblockbyblock. This gorgeous map doesn’t include specific directions, so I sat down with Google Maps and worked out a plan to visit twelve of the best bookstores in London. If you want to explore the best bookstores in London on your own, download my Google Map for easy exploring.
As with most of my posts, some links may be affiliate links. This means at no additional cost to you, I may make a small commission on anything you buy through the links.
John Sandoe Books
Founded in 1957, John Sandoe Books is in one of my favorite areas of London, Chelsea. Set just off Kings Road you can stop by to browse the books after a bit of shopping.
Hatchards
Founded in 1797, Hatchards is London’s oldest bookshop. The bookshop is located on one of the most famous streets in the world, Piccadilly. Additionally, Hatchards holds not one, not two, but three royal warrants, which you can see displayed above the entrance.
National Theatre Bookshop
Located on London’s South Bank, the National Theatre Bookshop offers an unrivaled selection of playtexts. There are also books and gifts related to the theatre.
Stanfords
Another one of my favorite areas of London is Covent Garden. Add in a bookshop filled with maps and travel inspiration and I’m in literary heaven. The bookshop might look like a typical shop when you enter, but when you descend the stairs into the basement you are greeted by maps upon maps upon maps.
Persephone Books
A quite unique bookshop that actually does more business online than in the store. Founded in the 1990’s, Persephone Books only publishes reprints of books, and each book sold has a gray cover.
Daunt Books
There are several Daunt locations throughout London with the Marylebone location being the original. The store originally opened in 1912 and claims to be the world’s first custom-built bookshop. And the design has paid off because you’ve likely seen images of Daunt Books on Instagram.
Blackwells
Blackwells began in a single room with the trade of rare and secondhand books. Now they have been trading books for more than a century and there are Blackwells located all over the UK. With an even greater selection available online for worldwide delivery, including thousands of rare books.
Word on the Water
Floating in the Regent’s Canal Towpath this is definitely one of the most unique bookshops I’ve ever visited. Step onboard this 1920’s Dutch barge near Granary Square in King’s Cross and explore the books of Word on the Water.
Owl Bookshop
Although Owl Bookshop is now owned by Daunt Books, the store retained its original name. Owl Bookshop has a truly terrific children’s section and regular author talks. Walking into Owl Bookshop gives you all the warm feelings you want when you walk into a bookshop and encourages you to stay a while.
Primrose Hill Books
I highly recommend a visit to Primrose Hill when you’re visiting London for the stunning views of the London skyline. Then stop by the family owned and operated Primrose HillBooks located in a Victorian terrace. After visiting this lovely shop, be sure to also browse their online selection.
West End Lane Books
An independent bookshop which prides itself on making excellent literary recommendations. In their own words, “We’ve been selling books, recommending books and drooling over books since 1994,” and that is exactly the kind of literary haven I enjoy exploring. Add in the delightful children’s section and this has everything you want in an indie bookshop.
Books for Cooks
Notting Hill’s famous cookbook shop not only sells cookbooks but tests out the recipes in the in-store cafe. There are countless titles stored in every available space in the store plus mouthwatering aromas tempting you to taste the food and then buy the cookbook.
Literary Connections
Here are a few of my favorite books about bookshops, one of my favorite settings for a book.
Nina is a literary matchmaker in Jenny Colgan’s Bookshop on the Corner and she sets out from London to build a new life.
Another Jenny Colgan suggestion, because you really can’t go wrong with one of her books, is Bookshop on the Shore.
I’m sure if you polled most California tourists, they’ve never heard of the California Blossom Trail. When most people think of California they think of Disneyland or the Golden Gate Bridge. As popular tourist destinations, many California trips are to Los Angeles and San Francisco. However, there are also some great options between these two cities. When I stumbled across an Instagram post with these blossoms, I knew I had to check it out for myself!
The Fresno County Blossom Trail is a 62-mile loop just southeast of Fresno. You can download a trail map and get information about the timing of the blooms from their website. Usually, the blossoms are out from mid-February to early-March but depending on the year they can arrive earlier or later. If you’re not able to visit the California Blossom Trail in February or March, don’t worry! You can visit from May to September when it becomes a Fruit Stand Trail.
Did you know that two-thirds of the fruits and nuts in the United States are grown in California? The farms of the Central Valley produce peaches, nectarines, apricots, almonds, plums, and apples who get their yearly start with these gorgeous blossoms. Over the course of the 62-mile trail you’ll be treated to blossoms in a dazzling array of whites and pinks.
If you want to see more between the Central Valley and Los Angeles, I’d also recommend a visit to Solvang where you can take a step into Danish culture.
A couple of years ago I decided that while I wanted to continue to explore the US and countries around the world, I needed to spend a bit more time exploring right at home. So the California Challenge was born. In 2018 I set out to visit all 21 of the California Missions. For 2018 I decided to attend a home game of all 18 California pro sports teams. Let’s take a virtual tour of the 18 California pro sports teams from the San Diego Padres to the Golden State Warriors.
As with most of my posts, some links may be affiliate links. This means at no additional cost to you, I may make a small commission on anything you buy through the links.
Here are a few fun facts from attending a home game of all 18 California pro sports teams…
•The home team won nine out of 18 times, lost eight times, and tied once.
•The Los Angeles Rams played in the oldest stadium – the LA Memorial Coliseum, built in 1923. However, they’ll be moving to their new permanent home in Summer 2020 so then the Dodgers will lay claim to the oldest stadium in California, built in 1962.
•The San Jose Sharks play in the SAP Center at San Jose, the smallest capacity in California with 17,496 seats. The Los Angeles Rams played in the largest stadium, with a capacity of 78,467 in the Coliseum. Their new permanent home, SoFi Stadium, will also be the largest pro sport stadium in California when it opens, with a capacity of 70,240.
•Attending a home game for all 18 teams meant visiting 15 stadiums. The Los Angeles Kings, LA Lakers and LA Clippers all play at the Staples Center. The LA Galaxy and LA Chargers both play at Dignity Health Sports Park.
California Pro Sports Teams Awards
•Biggest Fan Award goes to my dad. Eighteen different people attended games with me during the challenge, but my dad went to the most games at five.
•Frequently Seen Player Award goes to Erik Gudbranson. He played for the Vancouver Canucks when they played against the LA Kings and then was traded to the Anaheim Ducks.
•Favorite PlayerAward goes to Alex Caruso of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Major League Baseball (MLB)
San Diego Padres
A gorgeous baseball stadium in downtown San Diego. And since the team is in San Diego you’re almost guaranteed gorgeous baseball weather! (Transportation Notes: Public transportation is easy to use for this stadium)
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
This game was an adventure! We don’t get a lot of rain in the spring, summer or autumn in Southern California so this was just the 12th rain-delayed game in Angel Stadium history. Fortunately I was able to attend the make-up game the next day to check the Angels off the list.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Not my favorite team or stadium, but I will admit it’s gotten a lot safer in the last few years. Dodger Stadium is the largest MLB stadium at a capacity of 56,000 so it should be included on any MLB Stadium Bucket List.
Oakland Athletics
Constructed deep in the ground so fans enter at the upper decks, this stadium has a lot of concrete. Visiting RingCentral Coliseum feels like a throw back to stadiums of the past and I don’t recommend attending solo at night. (Transportation Notes: Public transportation is easy to use for this stadium)
San Francisco Giants
Located in the South Beach area of San Francisco you can be treated to a waterfront view from some seats. (Transportation Notes: Public transportation is easy to use for this stadium)
National Football League (NFL)
Los Angeles Rams
What an experience to see the Rams play at LA Memorial Coliseum. For the 2020 season they’ll move into their new permanent home at SoFi Stadium, but for now this was a memorable experience. The Rams and Chargers recently moved to LA and I am amazed at how quickly they’ve developed very different fan bases. In my experiences this year, the Rams seemed to attract more of an LA crowd.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers on the other hand seem to have attracted more of an Orange County crowd, which makes sense since Orange County is so close to San Diego. It’s not easy to judge this stadium because the Rams are only playing in a temporary home after their move from St. Louis. For the 2020 season they’ll move into their new permanent home at SoFi Stadium.
San Francisco 49ers
This was my very first NFL game so it will always be a bit special but the stadium itself felt fairly impersonal. Essentially, it is just a really large stadium designed to fit in as many people as possible. Definitely doesn’t have the character or personality of older, or smaller, stadiums. (Transportation Notes: This is in the suburbs so public transportation is a bit limited but there are some great places to park and ride to the stadium)
Major League Soccer (MLS)
Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC)
Wow! This is the hands-down the best soccer game I’ve attended in the US (I imagine going to a game in Europe would be even better!). The energy was absolutely electric and the new stadium is worth a visit. (Transportation Notes: Parking is not cheap at this stadium so if you’re able to use public transportation I’d highly recommend going that route.)
Los Angeles Galaxy
A fun soccer game with really passionate fans. The game was filled with chanting, scarf waving and excitement. I thought this was a really good experience until I went to an LAFC game, so I’d rank this second in terms of MLB experiences in California.
San Jose Earthquakes
This was probably my least favorite team/stadium of the challenge. The energy wasn’t very good and my favorite part of the game was getting to watch the planes take off and land from the San Jose Airport next door. (Transportation Notes: They have an easy park and ride option from downtown San Jose to help you save money on parking)
National Basketball Association (NBA)
I feel like I need a disclaimer for this whole section of my whole challenge…I don’t particularly care for the NBA. Basketball is enjoyable, but I prefer college basketball. So shelling out money to attend four NBA games was a bit painful!
Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers and the Lakers both play in the Staples Center and it was amazing to see how different the atmosphere was for each of the games. (Transportation Notes: Depending on where you’re coming from in LA, public transportation can be easy to use.)
Los Angeles Lakers
Admittedly this is one of my least favorite professional sports teams so I took a friend who is a big Lakers fan to help make the game more exciting. And then Lizzo made the game really exciting. And I discovered one of the Lakers newer players, Alex Caruso, and he became my favorite player of the challenge. (Transportation Notes: Depending on where you’re coming from in LA, public transportation can be easy to use.)
Sacramento Kings
The Kings play at one of the newer stadiums I visited and it was quite impressive. The court is underground so you enter the stadium at the 200 level and then go down if you have seats closer to the court…I did not! It is also located in downtown Sacramento so there is a lot to do around the stadium.
Golden State Warriors
Chase Center is the newest of all the stadiums I visited, having just opened in 2019. It is located in downtown San Francisco not too far from where the San Francisco Giants play. (Transportation Notes: Depending on where you’re coming from in San Francisco, public transportation can be easy to use.)
National Hockey League (NHL)
Next up is the NHL and I will admit that before this challenge I had never been to an ice hockey game, at any level. My biggest surprise of the challenge was how much I loved hockey! I hope to more regularly attend games moving forward.
Anaheim Ducks
A fun, family friendly atmosphere. If you live in Southern California, this is just a great family outing!
Los Angeles Kings
Another team who plays at the Staples Center, along with the Clippers and Lakers. I can’t imagine being the keeper of the calendar at the Staples Center…so many moving parts! Just like with the Clippers and Lakers, this was a completely different atmosphere at the stadium which makes me glad I committed to going to a home game of each team instead of just visiting each stadium. (Transportation Notes: Depending on where you’re coming from in LA, public transportation can be easy to use.)
San Jose Sharks
Another really fun, family friendly atmosphere. If you live in Northern California, this is just a great family outing.
You can find more suggestions of things to do in California HERE. Or head here to see more of my California Challenges.
