London's always going to be my favourite city in the world. End of. Living quite far away now means I don't get to visit that often, maybe once a year max. I always try to time that at year end to experience the Christmas vibe, and to share with everyone on Hive.
Ready? Let's go!!
It doesn't matter what time of the year it is, Regent Street always attract a lot of people. At one end it leads to Soho, the very buzzing center of London, and at the other end Oxford Street, the famous street for shopping. Angels fly overhead at Christmas, lighting up the cold winter nights, bringing festive joy to everyone. The traffic is always bustling on Regent Street. You either see vehicles jam-packed because they're stuck in front of traffic lights, or there are no vehicles because it takes forever for the traffic lights to change colours for the vehicles to move. This is the perfect opportunity for people to step into the middle of the road to take the perfect shot to share on their IG or FB account
Or on Hive.... This is my favourite photo. The angels lining up one after another in mid air, coupled with the famous black cab and red bus. Nothing shouts London more than this. And don't worry, I was perfectly safe standing in the middle of the road when I took this photo. The cab wasn't going to run into me.
Nearby to Soho is Seven Dials, a junction linking up seven streets. There's a sundial column in the centre and six sundial on the side of the column, hence the name Seven Dials. During daytime, this is another very hectic area as the traffic tries to crisis cross around the seven streets. That plus all the pedestrians weaving in and out of the vehicles sometimes makes this look like a mini car park. At night time, when the traffic dies down, people just hang around by the center dial on the streets. And with the Christmas lights up, it makes it even more mesmerising.
Nothing shouts bling bling, luxury and extravagant louder than New Bond Street. All the global luxury stores, you name it, can be found here. I have a feeling this year the lights must be sponsored by Chanel. There was a massive Chanel chandelier at all the junctions on New Bond Street. Absolutely breathtaking.
The Christmas decorations at the Chanel store were just as captivating. The massive bow in the iconic Chanel blue tweed is instantly recognisable by anyone who loves fashion. Pure class.
Next door, another French couture house Dior went with a marine theme. The two big seahorses dominated the display, and there were corals and starfish making up a marine wonderland spectacular.
Opposite the street is Louis Vuitton, the epitome of high end luxury leather goods. In contrast to their French counterparts, LV's Christmas lights outside the building is a little low key, but it's main focus is the magical display of festive animals riding a merry go around in the shop windows.
Not to be outdone, another French luxury house put on an equally stunning show. Cartier's astronomical display included dazzling planets and sparkling stars inside Cartier's iconic red ring boxes that orbit around the planets.
Have you noticed one important thing missing so far? The Christmas tree!! You may have caught a glimpse of it in the Carrier photo above. This is the 5 meter tall Ralph Lauren Giving Tree. Visitors can make a donation and Ralph Lauren will hang a gold shiny star on the tree dedicated to a person of your choice. The donation will go to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. I think this is a great way to spread the festive spirit around to support cancer patients and those you love.
The other place we can remember our loved ones at Christmas is the Ever After Garden in Grosvenor Square. This beautiful garden has 30,000 white roses lit up every year at Christmas. It's a very enchanting yet poignant place, I'm sure everyone visiting will have their own memories of someone dear to them who is no longer here.
Let the white rose whisper and beam,
Poem written by AI
