For winter break, my family and I were in Manchester and London. For my sons and husband (my 3 “boys”) the focus was football. As for me, I’m always looking ways to up the healthy ante while away. I haven’t been to London in a few years and the wellness scene really impressed me.
Before I forget, and in case you have London plans in your future, here are my picks, I will add pics and links in later but seriously my mental database only holds so much.
Farm girl – Farm girl has a few locations in London. The Notting Hill location is insta-known for their French bulldog lattes. I stayed closed to their Soho location which is a Sweaty Betty shop.
Also inside the shop, is a Duck and Dry blow dry bar. Yep, all (ok mostly all) my needs met under one roof. I loved the lavender bowl, they make excellent matcha latte & I snagged a few Kat Kombuchas to take to my hotel rooms.
Speaking of our hotel, I will never stay anywhere in London except for the London Edition. It’s gorgeous, the staff is unbelievably friendly (our amazing in room dining person brought the boys scarves for their favorite teams). Plus, green juice and serious gluten-freeness on the room service menu and the spectacular Berner’s tavern restaurant adjacent to the lobby.
Deliciously Ella– Deliciously Ella has a tremendous social media following. So, I had to hit one of her café’s. Our phone’s navigation had a seriously hard time finding their location just off Oxford street, Marc and I walked for an hour earning our food. Try their turmeric latte and also the coconut yogurt with some sort of heavenly compote on top.
For my fellow gluten free-ers, try Beyond Bread or we did B Bakery’s teatime on a double decker bus. They had a gluten free option for this as well. I will not say it was healthy but it was so enjoyable to taste a scone again.
In terms of dinners, perhaps my best meal of 2017 took place at Nopi, one of Ottolenghi’s restaurants. My review may be inflated because our boys sat this one out and hung at the hotel. And since we all love Indian food, we were practically tandoori Slaytons by the time our trip ended (my family even had tikka masala in the Virgin Lounge, I was overjoyed with a kale salad and tea). The wait was too long (90 minutes) at Dishroom, that’ll have to wait for our next trip.
There is a place (will get name) I love to buy tea to take home at Borough Market. They make a real chai tea with freshly grated ginger. My family had paella.
If you’re detecting a theme, yes, I peel away a little bit from the “three boys” when away. I may have “peeled” into the best spa in London, Akasha wellness, for some sauna and massage time.
Akashaha was recommended to me by my friend Clarissa. She is the owner of Clarissa Lerherr nutrition.
OK, now it’s time to talk to CBS about failed resolutions, 10 days into the new year.