My business trip to London | Archive Travel

In June 2023 I made my very first business trip to London! A dream come true, even after a year I still think about this trip often.

Arrival day, Thursday
When I was 15, I visited London for the first time. I immediately fell in love with the city and I always had the dream of living in the city or going there on a business trip. Living there is no longer a dream of mine, but going on a business trip? Yes, please! In the Netherlands I boarded the Eurostar and a good few hours later I arrived in London. There was a restaurant near the International train station where I had arranged to meet the Editor of my volunteer work and a friend of hers. I was in London for the Team Day of FirstGens, an organisation in the UK for which I volunteer as a Community Manager. It was great to have a nice meal at Granary Square Brasserie after a long train ride. The summer sun was already shining and the square with various fountains was a great success with all the children who ran and danced through the water streams. I could not have been better received in London. I stayed with the Editor and her boyfriend in their flat in Bethnal Green for the weekend.

Friday
After a good night’s sleep, I got up in peace. This was the day I had all to myself as most of our team were working 9-5 that day. This also applied to the Editor and her boyfriend. No problem as there were plenty of things to see and do. And to be completely honest I still have no idea how I managed to squeeze so much into one day and still get back before rush hour, because if there’s one thing I don’t want to deal with it’s the Tube on a summer’s day in the middle of rush hour.

I took the Tube to Baker Street which was a really cool experience to get off there. Anyone else a Sherlock Holmes fan? I walked through some beautiful streets to Daunt Books, recommended by both my colleague and someone I chatted to in the Eurostar lounge. I am honestly surprised that I have not been here before, but then again I have never had the time to explore this side of the city at all, and it is actually nice to keep exploring a city even though I have been there quite often. Although the last time was almost 5 years ago. For those who do not know this famous bookstore, it is a store full of books about travel, from and about different countries, etc. Of course I bought a book and one of the luxury tote bags they sell.

For an early lunch and coffee I went to 31 below, which is located opposite Daunt Books and has several vegetarian and vegan options. After a hearty lunch I continued shopping. For this trip I deliberately chose not to go to a museum or anything. I wanted to walk a lot through the city and go to different things that we do not have in the Netherlands or are not exactly close to where I live in the Netherlands.
From the café I walked to the Disney store and dove into other shops here and there that I came across. One of the shops I really wanted to visit was SOKOLLAB, a K-pop specialty store. I had a great time there and also in the café where I chatted with several people about music. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the album I wanted to buy in stock, so after a while I left the store and went to the juice bar, JOE & THE JUICE, right opposite. Of course I visited a Waterstones and many nerd shops in Covent Garden. From Forbidden Planet to The Noble Collection. Finally I visited the London Review Bookshop, and I would have liked to hang out there longer, but I was getting tired and really wanted to beat the rush hour.

Once back in Bethnal Green I took it easy until the Editor came back from work and her boyfriend was also done with work. We went shopping together and ended the day with a walk in Victoria Park.

Saturday
Woohoo, Team Day!! I had been looking forward to this for months. Apart from the Editor, because I was staying with her, I had never met anyone else from the team in person. We started the day with bowling at QUEENS skate dine bowl. It was really great fun and even though I hadn’t bowled for a while, I still threw a few spares. Afterwards, we bought food and drinks at the supermarket and Pret Manager and sat down in Hyde Park. There we all talked for hours about the future of FirstGens, our work and also caught up on other things. We ended the Team Day at a pub. Once back again at the Editor’s house, we ordered pizza from Domino’s and did you know that you get sauce for the crust in England? Very cool! I had the vegan version and it even had a vegan sauce. In the evening, the three of us went to watch a film that takes place in Bethnal Green, that was such a cool experience. Because without saying anything in advance, the Editor had deliberately made us walk a certain route the night before that is shown in the film, so that I would recognise it right away.

Sunday
On the evening of our arrival, the Editor’s boyfriend had suggested that the three of us should do something that day. The Editor and I wanted to go to Westfield anyway for a few shops, so we decided to start our day there. At Space NK I finally found Rare Beauty make-up. Most of it was sold out, but I still found some nice things. For lunch we ate at the mall’s food court, which I can highly recommend! I ate Japanese, because there were enough vegetarian options for me and it was delicious. At the last minute we visited Uniqlo where all three of us found some nice things. I bought three Spy x Family T-shirts, so I was a happy egg (Dutch expression).

Afterwards we went to Notting Hill, where neither of my fellow travellers had ever been because they haven’t been living in London for very long themselves. We walked through the Sunday market and stopped at a shop that made me want to go to this part of London: Eden Perfumes. My favourite perfume is from this brand and they are only in London and Brighton. I bought another bottle of my favourite perfume before we continued our stroll through the city. We took the Tube to the biggest Waterstones in the city where we spent quite some time. In the meantime the sky had started to turn grey and we left for Bethnal Green again. We got food at the supermarket and coincidentally everyone had completely different plans for dinner, so everyone ate something different. But it was a lovely, typical rainy Sunday late afternoon and in the meantime we enjoyed the Formula 1 race.

Monday
Time to go back to the Netherlands! On the way to Londen I stayed at a friend’s house in Utrecht, so that I didn’t have to travel such a distance in one go. Unfortunately for me I had to travel the entire journey in one go on the way back. From London to the countryside of Groningen. It was tough, especially because I had to get up early for work the next day.

My first business trip
This was clearly not a typical business trip. Two whole days I could do whatever, and one day I was working and having fun with colleagues. I am so grateful to the Editor and her boyfriend for letting me stay with them for so long, so I could not only go to the work event but also enjoy myself. I had a fantastic time in the city and can’t wait to come back in the future!

Love,