London, My Colorful London

I just returned from a flying trip to London – flying, in that it was a quick trip, but flying in the more traditional sense as well. I have yet to get my husband on a cruise!

I’m working on my Instagram feed this summer, so please follow me @jennatwitsend to see all of my colorful pics from the trip! I’ve added an Instagram widget on the sidebar to keep you all up-to-date.

Each trip I do to London has its own flavor and this trip was no exception. Springtime in London can be a riot of color and so it proved to be on this trip and I set out to find color at every turn.

I has tea at the most colorful, and “instagrammable” cafe – Saint Aymes. Yumm! Who knew pink could taste so good!

Tea at Saint Aymes, one of the pinkest places in London.

I navigated a neighborhood walk in Notting Hill in search of the most colorful houses.

Colorful neighborhood in Notting Hill. Can you imagine coordinating paint colors with your neighbors?

I hung out in quirky Camden Town and let the color come to me.

I loved this guy in the Camden Town market. He was so colorful and energetic; interacting with the crowd – and with me from across the street. Here’s looking at you!

I was thrilled to arrive home to see an episode of The Amazing Race (not surprisingly, one of my favorite shows!) had aired during my trip featuring Camden Town, one of my favorite places in London.

Shop in Camden Town. They rushed right by this shop in The Amazing Race, but I went in to shop for Indian goods. The inside is as colorful as the outside!

I searched for and found the mysterious Vaults, full of a grittier color and a very different side of London.

The Vaults is a graffiti-friendly tunnel, but is also a place for alternative theatre and food experiences. We had coffee at Draughts, a pub where you can play obscure board games.

I always make it a point of doing one touristy thing on my visits to London and for this trip, it was going up in the Shard. This is currently the tallest building in England, but a building across the Thames River has eyes on that prize. The views over the city were nothing short of magical!

It was a bit tricky photographing from the Shard, so I’ll probably devote an entire post to this experience.

I had to use every trick in the photographic book to capture good images from the 72nd floor of the Shard – but it was worth it!

Head on over to my Instagram page to see more architecture – and yes, spiral staircases – and follow me on my trip to London @jennatwitsend