Londoner’s “Holiday” Weekend in London

This weekend Kenz and I enjoyed a two-night stay at The Cavendish Hotel on Jermyn Street in Mayfair compliments of T.M. Lewin!

When I first received my job offer back in August, I decided to celebrate with a bit of retail therapy on Regents Street as I was in need of new work clothes having spent two-years living in my Seven jeans and Teva flip flops as a poor grad student (oh so Berkeley!). Whilst shopping at T.M. Lewin, one of Kenz’s favorite retailers for ‘smart’ work clothes, I entered into a sweepstake ‘just for fun’ knowing that the odds were against me.

A month later, we received a phone call from the T.M. Lewin corporate relations manager congratulating us on winning second prize…a weekend stay at the Cavendish Hotel! What a surprise! I wonder what the first prize was; probably somewhere fabulous like the South of France or Bordeaux? Due to the Royal Mail strike, we just received our gift certificate three weeks ago (thanks Royal Mail) and needed to use it before the end of the year. With Kenz’s birthday around the corner, I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate his birthday than some R&R (read: lazy) at a posh Mayfair hotel.

The weekend was a mixture of shopping, relaxing, and eating. My weekend started on an excellent note — no work on Friday due to the office move to EC1! I was told to report to work at the Royal Oak Pub at 12:30PM for a team lunch, followed by a pub crawl from the Southbank to Old Street. After a few pints with my work colleagues, I made my way to The Cavendish to meet up with Kenz who had already checked into our junior suite on the 15th floor overlooking central London. I actually found him at the hotel lobby bar enjoying cocktail hour. Kenz’s work colleagues remembered that it was his birthday this Tuesday and got him a bottle of champagne and chocolates as a birthday gift. This would be the beginning of many “birthday” drinks for the birthday boy over the weekend. Friday evening we went to dinner at a Malaysian restaurant recommended by another colleague who hails from Kuala Lumpur. Yum, curry laksa…

Back at the hotel, we enjoyed the evening in…watching T.V.! That’s a treat for us as we don’t have a T.V. and still don’t plan on getting one. Yes, our English colleagues makes fun of us for not having a T.V., but to be honest, we don’t miss it either.

Saturday we spent the day shopping around Covent Garden for some good winter clothes. It’s been freezing cold here in London! Brrgghhhhhh….I am looking forward to warmth on my skin.

Sad that our little “holiday” was coming to an end, we had a leisurely Sunday brunch (Full English Breakfast) at the hotel compliments of The Cavendish Hotel, packed up our bags, and took a brisk winter walk to Hyde Park for the Winter Wonderland German Christmas Markets. More beer, more bratwurst, and more holiday festivities…

Cheers! Happy Holidays! And Happy Birthday Kenz!