I've always wanted to go to England. Part of my being owes a debt to a place I've never been. So many of my favorite bands originated here (
Pet Shop Boys,
Iron Maiden,
Carcass,
Talk Talk,
Pulp....I could go on forever) and my favorite TV show
The Prisoner starts and ends in London. Also, the original
Star Wars Trilogy was filmed at
Elstree Studios. And most obvious,
Veganism has its roots in England; the word was coined there in 1944. So in short, I've been waiting a long time to visit. Isa and I didn't get to do half of what we wanted to, but we'll have to come back soon. Here's a tiny recap of what we
did get around to. If you've never been to England, hopefully this blog post encourages you to go. We were in London mostly, but I hear there are other Vegan-friendly cities in traveling distance.
More than likely, you're gonna have to fly to England. Well, if you called ahead (and call again right before the flight) you should be able to get Vegan food on the plane. We took
British Airways and got first class treatment. The food was better than expected and the attendants were super helpful. We received 2 square Vegan meals on the 8 hour flight. Off to a good start!
We ended up staying in Camden, but we were all over London. I think I hit up every major
Whole Foods and obviously I saw tons of new stuff. You gotta love it!
One thing that I have seen before is Isa's beloved
Vegusto cheese from Paris.
Who can forget? It's not my cup of tea, but I seem to be in the minority.
Another reason I was stoked about the trip is that
Quarrygirl moved to London and was going to hang with us. To finally put a face to the infamous Vegan Beer & Pizza blogging Queen was exciting. Well, I'm happy to report that she is one of the nicest people I've ever met. The trip wouldn't have been the same without her tips and company. Nevermind that she gave me this bundle of Vegan goodies....that's besides the point! She's rad and I can't wait to hang again.
You know, if you're going to England, you have to eat Fish n' Chips. Well in this case, Vegan Fish n' Chips! There were a couple places that had it, but we ended up at a
Loving Hut. Basically, it was breaded fried tofu and fries. It was pretty good! So I got that out of the way. I also had a lot of
inSpiral Cafe because our hotel was close.
Manna was delicious too. Oh, and I finally got to meet Jojo aka
Vegan in Brighton at
Mildreds! Both Manna and Mildreds offered Great Britain's signature Bangers & Mash. There's no shortage of Vegan eats in London, but my favorite of the favorites was...
Amico Bio! I don't know if it's because I never get good Italian food (minus
Portobella and
Isa, of course) but I tore both locations UP! We ate there three times and I loved it. My favorite was the John Lennon Pizza and the onion rings. And putting the onion rings on the John Lennon Pizza. I can't recommend it enough.
One of the most exciting parts of the trip was Isa's book signing at
Ms. Cupcake. If you're seen my
Laziest Vegans Top Ten blog post with Mellissa or seen Quarrygirl's
YouTube video, you can probably tell Mellissa is a kind, genuine person and a riot to hang out with. The Ms. Cupcake staff was super cool and the shop was so cute, plus it's a good reason to visit Brixton. A MUST SEE.
Really close to our hotel in
Camden Lock was this little shop,
Cookies and Scream. They had some outstanding baked goods including donuts! But their claim to fame is the Wookiee, which is a bar with double choc-chip and thick chocolate. There's even a chalk board to keep track who can eat it the fastest!
So that's the trip in a nut shell! Bottom line is if you're Vegan you have to visit England in your lifetime, especially London. Lots or history, art, culture, music and of course food!
