At the beginning of March this year, I took a break from my routine as a wife and mother in Cascais and went to London to recharge my batteries and reconnect with myself. The initial idea was to spend the four days alone in the city (from Saturday to Tuesday), but a dear friend wanted to join me on the second day of the trip and we enjoyed the city for two whole days. It was a wonderful trip!

If you keep reading, you'll realize that I didn't focus on seeing as many attractions as possible, which is what I usually do when I travel, and that's because it wasn't my first time there. In the four years we lived in Dublin, we visited the city a few times because Celo's cousin lived in Weybridge, and whenever we went, we saw a little bit of London, but we never actually stayed overnight. This time I stayed three nights and went to places I hadn't yet visited, such as... Covent Garden, British Museum and Notting Hill, And I made a point of seeing the musical. Phantom of the Opera. It was different traveling without doing so much sightseeing, but honestly, it was what I needed. 🙂

Hosting

I bought the tickets during a Ryanair promotion, and when I went to look for hotels, I was discouraged by the prices. I don't usually spend much on accommodation because I spend so little time in the room that I don't think it's worth it, so I started looking for hostels. Celo immediately said that didn't make sense and that he wanted me to have privacy, but something told me I needed to insist on not staying in a hotel with a £100 nightly rate. I ended up finding one on Hostelworld. capsule hotel Super well located, offering privacy for guests as each person has their own box where they sleep and store their belongings, but the box is in a room with other boxes and the bathroom is shared. I found the concept very interesting and when I saw that the daily rate was 40 pounds on a floor exclusively for women and that the location was in Piccadilly Circus, exactly where I wanted to stay, I felt it was a sign. What excitement it gave me!

The hotel is the Zedwell Capsule And now look at the photos:

More details:

• I forgot to take pictures of the bathroom, but imagine a bathroom with many toilet stalls and several showers with doors and space to put things inside, like in a hostel. The only annoying thing is that the shower only works if you press the button every 15 seconds, but luckily I found a shower on the second day that had a problem with the button and I only had to press it once and it stayed on throughout my shower. Of course, I made sure to use it on the other days… haha. Oh, thankfully I found the water temperature delightful, but if I wanted it hotter or colder, I couldn't change it.
• One thing I thought was cool is that to enter the women's floor, you need to use your key card. This provides security, in addition to the cameras scattered throughout the floor, and you also need to use the card to enter the bathroom or your room. I thought the system was very good for women who are traveling alone, want to save money, and want to be in a good location. I don't know if the mixed floors are the same, but I imagine so. Oh, I paid 3 pounds extra to stay on the women-only floor.
• The hotel is for sleeping only. There are no meals or common areas.
• The elevators are quite slow, but luckily my room was on the first floor and I could go up and down quickly using the stairs.
• I found the women in my room and bathroom to be very polite and quiet. I have nothing strange to report.
• At check-in, the hotel sends you a WhatsApp message with your capsule number, and you can exchange messages there if you need anything. I used the chat when I couldn't lock my capsule door.
• Bring your padlock to lock the capsule door when you leave the hotel. That way your belongings can stay safe inside. I think there are lockers in the room or on the floor as well, but I didn't see any. Since I only had a backpack, I left mine inside the capsule the whole time and had no problems.
• When you go to sleep, there's no way to lock the capsule from the inside. I think it's for safety reasons in case of fire or any emergency, I'm not sure. But every night I slept with the door closed and it was fine.
• The capsule is small but very comfortable. I could sit on the mattress and my head didn't touch the ceiling. It had power outlets, a light, and a small fan inside, so I found it very cozy. For anyone who has slept in a camping tent, the experience is similar, but more comfortable.

One-way flight with a surprise

I left home on Saturday morning with my backpack on my back and a feeling of freedom I hadn't felt in a long time. The children were asleep, my husband woke up quickly to say goodbye, and I excitedly set off in my Uber to the airport. I went through security, bought a breakfast snack, and when it was my boarding time, there I was in line, not worrying about anyone but myself. When I boarded the plane and sat in seat 2B, I realized that Ygritte from Game of Thrones was sitting in front of me, and she was simply gorgeous! For those who don't know, I'm a huge GOT fan and have always rooted for her and Jon Snow, so obviously I spent the 2-hour flight jumping for joy at being so close to a Hollywood star. I considered asking for a photo with her, but since no one did, I thought it would be too insensitive. At least I took a picture of her when she came out of the bathroom and chatted with the flight attendant, who was clearly a fan and complimented her until she turned bright red with embarrassment, poor thing. When the plane landed, we got up to leave and she kindly asked me to get her suitcase, which was in the overhead compartment right in front of me. I almost died when she spoke to me!!! I'll never forget that! How lucky I am! 🙂

Another sign from up above.

To prove that this trip was truly special, God put one more thing in my path: my brother had a layover in London before going to Singapore for work, and I had time to meet him for half an hour at the restaurant where he was having lunch with his bosses. We caught up a little, and since the restaurant was next to my hotel, I walked there when my brother left for the airport. Life is too good, folks!

Road map

Day 1 – Saturday (March 7, 2026)

I landed at Stansted around noon and after walking around a bit, I went through security. I had to present my ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) – which I had obtained a few days earlier on the official website. https://www.gov.uk/eta – and I told the officer about my travel plans, and when I was cleared, I followed the signs to catch the train to central London (Stansted Express). I bought the ticket from the machine for about 23 pounds and in a few minutes the train arrived at the platform. I found an empty seat and after 50 minutes, I arrived at Liverpool Street station, which is beautiful, look:

Once inside, I followed the signs to the subway and after a few minutes, I realized I didn't need to buy a ticket from a machine, but only tap my credit card on the turnstile to go through. I remember that the other times I went to London with Celo, we had the Oyster card, but thankfully they eliminated that and now it's much more convenient.

I followed the signs for the Central Line (red) which would take me to Oxford Circus, and then I changed to the Bakerloo line to get off at Piccadilly Circus. If you have trouble taking the London Underground, there are some apps that can help, but my friend recommended CityMapper. I used Google Maps and Chatgpt to guide me and it worked really well.

I walked to the restaurant where my brother was, chatted for about 30 minutes, and then went to my hotel, which was super well-located on the main street. I checked in without any problems, and when I went up to my floor with its many dark, capsule-shaped rooms, I felt a little nervous about trying something new. Have you ever felt that? I have many times, for example when I camped in the desert, when I backpacked alone in 2011, when I flew in a hot air balloon, when I did an exchange program in the USA at 17… anyway. I find it so interesting how we react to new experiences, and I think I needed to feel that! I went to find my capsule and LOVED what I saw. What a cozy room and what a spacious capsule! I think I went in with low expectations, and that's why I was so charmed. The problem is that when it came time to lock the capsule with my things inside so I could go for a walk in the city, I couldn't close the door and had to go down to reception to ask for help. After some time, a maintenance man came to my capsule with me and showed me that I was doing it wrong and that there was nothing wrong with the door.

After getting ready and locking my things, I went out for a walk around London without much of a plan. The only thing I had booked for this trip was the musical. Phantom of the Opera, ...which would be that day at 7 pm, and dinner with a friend I hadn't seen in a long time on Monday night. The rest was up in the air! It's good to not plan anything sometimes and just follow your gut feeling, right? That's what I needed.

I walked towards the Covent Garden area because I wanted to visit the market of the same name, and I loved what I saw. Streets full of lovely buildings, beautifully decorated shops, trendy restaurants, lots of street artists, and best of all, polite people everywhere. I felt like I was back in Dublin. I missed it so much!

I strolled through the market and then decided to go into the Royal Ballet and Opera to confirm that there really wasn't anything for me to see these days. I had already seen on the TodayTix app that Gisele was sold out, but maybe they had tickets to sell on site, you know… I always have hope. They didn't, but they suggested I go up to the bar to see the view of the market from above, and I thought it was really nice.

I then strolled through Chinatown and went to eat at Five Guys near my hotel. Nothing like a good burger before getting ready for a musical. I'm really very eclectic! lol

From there I went to the hotel, where I showered and got ready to see The Phantom of the Opera, for which I had bought tickets through the TixToday app while still in Portugal. The theater His Majesty's Theatre It was a 5-minute walk from my hotel, so I left around the time indicated on the ticket and after climbing some stairs, there I was, sitting and waiting for the musical to begin. It was simply wonderful! Everything I expected and a little more. The music is beautiful and it's impossible not to be moved by the orchestra.

I left there feeling on cloud nine and went to sleep in my capsule for the first time. I loved it!

Day 2 – Sunday (March 8, 2026)

I woke up without rushing, got ready, and went out for breakfast at... Kozzee, which came highly recommended. I ordered a delicious English Breakfast and obviously didn't even need lunch afterwards 🙂

I walked to the British Museum, passing through Soho Square Gardens and then by Neal's Yard, And I really enjoyed that neighborhood.

When I arrived at the museum, I bought the app to do the tour on my own. I spent 3 hours there visiting the most important things indicated in the app and left completely exhausted. I loved the Chinese ceramics, the Egyptian mummies, and the famous Rosetta Stone. It was fundamental to understanding Ancient Egypt, as it allowed for the deciphering of hieroglyphs. Discovered in 1799, it contains the same text in three different scripts, which helped Jean-François Champollion interpret this language.

I went back to the hotel to get ready and rest a bit, and in the late afternoon I met my friend Laura at her hotel nearby. We went to the Irish pub O'Neills and while we were talking, we decided to buy tickets to see a stand-up comedy show nearby at a place called The Comedy Store. It was a good decision, because the comedians were very good! I don't remember the name of the show, much less the comedians, but it was an improv show with the audience and we laughed a lot. Of course, I didn't understand all the jokes, but it was still very worthwhile! We left there happy and went looking for a lively place to dance. To our surprise, London on Sundays is practically silent! We found a place with a DJ, the Soho Bar, And we had fun until they almost closed the doors.

We walked back to our hotels and on the way we stopped at a Marks & Spencer store to buy snacks for the room. What an intense day!

Day 3 – Monday (March 9, 2026)

I woke up calmly, took a shower, read my book a lot, and rested a bit before meeting Lau for breakfast. We tried to go to the Breakfast Club, but the line was huge, so we ended up going to... Toi & Moi Café, with cute decor, great service and delicious food.

Then we walked to the Escape Hunt We went to Oxford Street and did the Pirate Escape Room challenge, which was really cool. I'd never done it before, but Lau had, so she explained it to me and guided me, and together we managed to solve the mystery before time ran out. I thought it was awesome and I want to do it again in Lisbon.

We took the subway to Notting Hill Because I wanted to visit the neighborhood from the movie of the same name and Hugh Grant's famous bookstore. We walked through the beautiful streets admiring those million-pound houses and apartments, and when we arrived at the bookstore's address, we saw a souvenir shop. What a disappointment! I could have researched better, anyway… We strolled through Portobello Road Market, saw the colorful little houses, and stopped at the pub. The Castle to have a drink and then we ate some delicious savory snacks at Greggs, which Lau recommended. It was a lovely surprise!

On the way back to the hotel, we passed by... Cocomelt Because I really wanted to try their cookie and it was delicious! We rested a bit and got ready to go out again later for dinner with my friend Carine.

We went to the Kanada-Ya And it was a wonderful dinner catching up. We worked together for a year in Rio de Janeiro at an energy company and hadn't seen each other since 2014. It was so good to catch up! Ca went back home and Lau and I went to O'Neills again because we knew there would be live music there. We had a very lively night with lots of well-known songs and then walked back to our hotels. Nothing like staying in a good place at times like these!

Day 4 – Tuesday (March 10, 2026)

I woke up without rushing, took a shower, got my things ready for check-out, and went down to reception to hand in my key card. Zero stress. I left my backpack in Lau's hotel room because she had asked for a late check-out and we went for a walk!

We grabbed a quick bite at a diner near the hotel and took the subway to the traditional store. Harrods, Because Lau said I needed to see it. What a beautiful store (and chic and expensive! lol). I loved the stairs and the food section, but we didn't stay there very long.

We took advantage of the nice weather and walked to the... Hyde Park, where we stopped to eat a delicious pizza at the restaurant overlooking the lake, the Serpentine Bar & Kitchen.

We went back to the area where her hotel was and decided to gamble 20 pounds at a nearby casino with a huge Paddy sign. I thought it was a sign… It turned out I wasn't very lucky at roulette, but luckily she was, and we left happy with the result to catch the train to Stansted Airport.

At the airport, we had dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant and ended the trip perfectly. It was the first time I traveled with just a friend, and I simply loved it! I had time to be alone and reflect on life, but it was wonderful to have her with me for the adventures in London. Thank you, darling!