Travelex Tourist – Exploring London on a Budget

Do you ever find yourself stuck in a rut?

I am living in one of the greatest cities in the world (modest, obviously) and yet somehow I seem to fall into a routine. You’ll recognise the feeling. You’ve been living in the same place for awhile. Once upon a time you used to visit and explore to your heart’s content. And then you make the big move… and somehow the exploration seems to fall to the wayside. The routine of stopping and picking up dinner from Tesco settles in. The relief of a pair of sweats, a blanket and box set on TV after a long day at work becomes a ritual. And well, before you know it, you’ve been ignoring the beloved city you’ve made your home.

Time to make a change. Enter Travelex.

I was challenged to become a Travelex tourist for the day, using my own home currency (a total of $150 USD) from Travelex USA to make all my London dreams come true.

The thing is, I’ve done the big stuff. The London Eye. The Tower of London. The View From The Shard… so what’s a girl to do?

I wanted to spend the day as the most relaxed tourist around. I wanted to see and appreciate the little things.

Naturally, we started the day at Selfridges where I picked up my shiny new card!

The registration process for the card is fairly straightforward, and a massive shoutout to the Travelex staff who sorted it out. They were so friendly and we chatted away while they sorted my card out. Kudos to them for A+ customer service. My $150 USD exchanged for a very cool £116 GBP. I have to say, I’m sort of loving the value of the dollar right now.

So I got the Travelex currency card and we moved veeeery quickly out of Selfridges. Past the handbags. Past the Louis Vuitton. Sigh.

We hopped on the tube over to London Bridge.

Time to go left, off to visit Borough Market. I’d been working in the area for the month, but hadn’t had a moment to really explore. On a Saturday, Borough Market is in a word, PACKED.

The only way to start your day is with coffee though, so we queued in the cold at the famous Monmouth.

The air was chilly, our hands were freezing but somehow we made it through, ordered our delights and even managed to snag seats. The thing is, it’s not too hard to come by seating at Monmouth because everyone wants to get their coffee and go, go, go exploring in the market.

We munched on croissants and sipped on our caffeinated heaven.

After finishing our coffees, we strolled through the market and back to the tube… it was time to go to King’s Cross!

I’ve always wanted to 1) queue up to have my photo taken at Platform 9 3/4 and 2) Order a glass of champagne at Searcys’ champagne bar upstairs with the sights of the giant clock and the trains coming in. What can I say?

We walked over to the Harry Potter lineup… and the queue was beyond long. Although queuing is a typical touristy thing to partake in, I wasn’t in the mood. We snapped a photo of me like this instead…!

Besides, we had champagne to drink.

But before we did, we visited St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel. I saw the famous Spice Girls stairs (OMG, right?!). I’ve never been in the hotel, so it was very cool to explore. We never get the chance to simply stop and look around Londontown. I was in my element.

So then ventured to the Searcys bar right in the middle of the station and we sat out in the cold for our champagne. I wasn’t even sorry, I was giddy. We also grabbed a few little snacks.

After our drinks, we decided we were actually exceptionally hungry. We headed to foodie favourite, Soho in search of a spot. Carnaby Street is one of the most beautiful spots in London. I don’t mind how touristy it gets, in fact, that’s exactly what I was after that day.

We ducked into Flat Iron for our lunch/dinner. I’m not going to lie. We’ve been here before. Many times. It’s easily one of the best spots to go in London for a meal. The steak is always delicious, cooked exactly how you like it. Naturally, you must order this with fries. So yum.

So we drank, we ate and enjoyed the calm before rush hour diners.

What was next on the planner for the day?

Drinks at the Aqua Shard. We called ahead and check to see that we’d be able to go up. We thought we were very clever by thinking to call ahead, and we got the all clear from their staff.

Maybe not our brightest plan. When we arrived there was a huuuuuuuuge queue to get in. Clearly this is why I stay in on Saturdays.

Instead we got even smarter. When you’re a tourist, you’ve got to think on your feet. Plans don’t always well, go according to plan.

We were freezing and needed to get inside ASAP. Oh hello the Shangri-la. Somehow we smooth talked our way in, as guests of the hotel. We were tourists, and obviously needed a hotel somewhere. We took the elevator up to the reception, which just so happens to be on the 35th floor of the building, as you do.

We decided to grab a drink in their reception/lounge area. It was calm, peaceful and surprisingly well priced considering our views…

We sat there in a kind of stunned silence for a bit, before both turning to each other and simultaneously agreeing…

Yep, this is home.

Our day out with Travelex ended up being slightly cheaper than I’d anticipated. We kind of grazed through and combined lunch and dinner. That’s what touring does to you!

So what can $150 USD get you on a day in London then? Well, when it’s turned into £116 GBP…

Monmouth – £6

Borough Market Croissants – £3

Searcys’ Champagne Bar – £30

Flat Iron – £35

Shangri-La lounge – £20

Total Spend – £94

This left us with £22 to spare, which I’m saving for our next London day adventure!

I’m pretty impressed with how easy it is to travel using the Travelex card. And the lovely staff at their Selfridges location told me all about how easy it is to use when traveling throughout Europe as well. No fees when taking out cash at European ATMs. Oh! Be forewarned, in the UK you will be charged to take out cash at ATMs. It’s a very small fee (maybe £1) and for a one off occasion, go for it. But it’s 2016, you should be fine using chip & pin wherever you roam.

So, if you had $150 USD to spend in London… where would YOU go?

Kelly xoxo