20230318_154144Chinatown London (March 2023)

I woke up unbearably jetlagged after my first full day in London– it was almost impossible to shake off sleep, as my body was fighting to adjust to the eight-hour time difference. My friend, “E,” was very kind in letting me sleep in and even whipped up a delicious breakfast of shakshuka and chai to start off the day. It was rough, but I eventually mustered up the energy to head out with E after breakfast to start my second day sightseeing.

We began by taking the Tube to Marylebone, a posh and ritzy neighborhood in the heart of London, where the famous streets like Oxford, Baker, and Bond Street are located. Tourist attractions in this area include Madame Tussauds and the Sherlock Holmes Museum (221B Baker Street). However, we did not visit museums during our time there, and instead opted to stroll the high streets to window shop and otherwise take in the bustling atmosphere of this part of London.

20230318_131254Marylebone High Street

E and I strolled Marylebone High Street, a notable main road for shopping and eating at many of its boutique and swanky shops and restaurants. It was still early in the day when we went, but the *rare* sun was out and the street was full of pedestrians, enjoying a nice day out. We popped into Daunt Books, a famous UK bookstore chain that specializes in selling and publishing travel books. The interior of the Marylebone branch is a beautiful two-story affair, narrow but packed with all sorts of guidebooks and travel memoirs from Egypt to South Korea to Antarctica. This bookstore is also known for its beautiful canvas bags, and I purchased the most-famous (and prettiest) one– the green bag– for my partner as a souvenir. It wasn’t cheap at £25, but the bags are sturdy and a useful gift– with style!

20230318_124606Inside Daunt Books

Next, we got off Marylebone High Street and ducked into the Mercato Mayfair. A massive food hall, this is actually located inside of the former St. Mark’s Church from the 1820s, and it’s home to dozens of food stalls selling everything from Italian to Japanese to seafood. There are also wine bars and even a beer stand right at the altar, where E and I ordered some German beers and sat on the altar steps to drink them while taking in the crowded, but animated scene at the food hall. E’s husband also joined us for a pint before we headed out. To have a beer inside of a former church– could we call that sacrilegious?

20230318_132636Inside Mercato Mayfair

The three of us zigzagged through some of the well-known streets of London: Oxford, Bond, Carnaby. All were packed full of people, cars, and traffic at just about every turn. Walking these streets reminded me of the bustle in NYC, and it was quite overwhelming. All the same, we headed inside Liberty, a luxury department store housed inside of a Tudor-inspired building with six stories of high-end fashion brands to browse and purchase. We didn’t buy anything, but rather took a peek inside to admire the wooden architecture of the building, constructed in 1875.

20230318_151156Inside Liberty

Our final stop was in Chinatown, where we had our good eats for the day. Considering that the Lunar New Year had occurred the month prior, the streets were lined with hundreds of red lanterns, making for a lively atmosphere. Chinatown was absolutely crowded, as it’s as much of a tourist draw as it is for locals. We tried a few eats in town, including fluffy steamed buns (including that delicious lamb bun), cheung fun (steamed rice noodle rolls), and even Filipino ube cream buns. Everything was also reasonably-priced compared to other restaurants in London, and we left Chinatown full and satisfied.

20230318_161322Lamb, pork, and custard buns

20230318_172555Ube cream buns

Overall, my second day in London was struggling with jetlag, walking a lot, and eating a ton. We didn’t take the Tube or public transport as much compared to the first day, so it was definitely the workout for me! I didn’t mind, since we stopped for a lot of good food! More of London to come soon, so stay tuned!

— Rebecca

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Published by Rebecca

Blogger, world traveler, poet, foodie, part-time penguin. Welcome!

57 thoughts on “Destination: London, England (Fighting Jetlag, Marylebone High Street, and Chinatown Eats– DAY 2)”

  2. I would definitely like to check out Daunt Books, and that is really neat that they have a focus on travel literature. Also, I have never seen a food hall in a church before, but it looks gorgeous, and a nice place to take a rest at.

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    1. Yes, Daunt Books was a pleasure to visit; all the more wonderful it sold travel literature! The Mercato was one of the most-unique food halls I’ve visited, and it was overall a fun time 😊

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  3. Ah, some places l haven’t been, the church and Daunt’s! The red lanterns seem to be there the whole year….part of the decor and colour. Looking forward to your next posts. Of course, for me next month the most important London “sight” will be Sofía, my latest grandchild.

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    1. Absolutely! Walking along Oxford and Bond Street, as well as Piccadilly Circus, were extra crowded, to the point that it wasn’t too enjoyable (so many people)! Getting food made up for it, though!

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    1. The Daunt Book bag was a hefty £25, but worth it for my partner! It’s a sturdy canvas bag that’s perfect for just about everything, and it’s sure to last a long time 😊 I wonder if there are sales/discounts for those bags for you to buy? Might be worth a look!

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  7. The only thing to do with jetlag is to push through it, imho. If you succumb and sleep in you simply push the problem back to the next day! So you did well to get out and about like this 🙂 I love Daunt Books and Chinatown is always a good source of reasonably priced food, though I find it a bit too touristy these days. Glad you enjoyed yourself in my home city 😀

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    1. It wasn’t easy, but I’m glad I pushed through the jetlag and did some sightseeing that day! I also had a rough third day of jetlag, but after that, it got better! A pleasure to have visited your vibrant and beautiful home town 😊

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  8. I always find that fresh air and walking combats my jet lag. I don’t think we visited any of these spots on our trip so I enjoyed reading about them. I’d especially love the bookshop. The food looks delicious!

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    1. I agree! The jetlag made it so tempting just to sleep, but I know I’d get into trouble (i.e. not being able to wake up/time lost on sightseeing)! Daunt Books was such a pretty bookstore, and I had some great eats in Chinatown. Thanks for reading!

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  10. I am glad to see that you still made the most of your second day in London despite the unbearable jetlag. I love the sight of Daunt Books ( I can easily understand why the gorgeous aesthetics of their shop have captured the romantic interest of many book lovers around the world) and could easily see myself shamelessly filling up my bag with books and canvas totes. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx

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    1. I did my best! Jetlag is no fun, but what wouldn’t have been fun is if I’d continued to sleep and miss out on my second day in London. So glad I got out and explored! Thanks for reading, Aiva 😊

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    1. The acoustics were fantastic…to the point that everything echoed and reverberated off the walls, i.e. it was loud, haha. Daunt Books was a very pretty bookstore, and it sold the perfect genre: travel literature!

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    1. I did my best! Jetlag was awful for the first three days, but by the fourth day, it was a lot better. Oxford Street is an iconic street in London, but very crowded; I was a bit overwhelmed, to be honest!

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  14. I loved reading your blog, and it made me realise that even after living for three years in London, I didn’t know about Mercato Mayfair. Looking forward to read more of your London posts!

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  15. Glad to see you familiarise yourself with more essential London experiences Rebecca. Daunt is such a lovely place to visit, one of my favourite bookshops anywhere in the world. And Mercato Mayfair is an absolute gem of a food market. We also grabbed a German beer by the altar and could have stayed there eating all night if not for the crippling costs associated with doing so. As a foodie destination Chinatown gets such mixed reviews, I’m glad you weren’t disappointed. I also recall the few occasions I’ve eaten there as being decent.

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    1. I’m happy to read you’ve visited some of these places during your time in London! I really enjoyed my visit to Daunt, and I’m glad you also enjoyed a beer by the altar at Mercato. I only had small bites in Chinatown, which were tasty, so I didn’t check out the sit-down, dine-in restaurants– overall, I had a good second day in town! Thanks for reading, Leighton. 🙂

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  16. A lovely day exploring, I love Mercato Mayfair, one of my fave spots in all of London! Your jetlag sounds awful, I never get jetlag so am very lucky – hope you were recovered ready for the next day! 🙂

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  25. the Tudor style department store looks awesome! I love this architectural style! unfortunately jetlag is much worse when traveling against the spin of the planet 😦 when I came home in April last year I didn’t know what had hit me!

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    1. Shakshuka is a popular Maghreb dish common in places like Israel and Morocco. Super hearty and delicious! Daunt Books was a real treat, especially with all of the travel books perfect for a wanderluster’s heart!

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