After months of planning, paperwork, rehearsals, packing, and countless conversations about flights, visas, instruments, and luggage weight limits, Orange & Lemons finally arrived in London.
Our flight landed at Heathrow Airport around 6:00 in the morning. Outside the terminal, the air immediately felt different. Cold, damp, and unmistakably London. The sky was grey, the pavements still wet from early rain, and despite the exhaustion from traveling, there was this quiet excitement among all of us. We had finally made it.
A shuttle was waiting to bring us to ibis London Heathrow Airport. Since check-in wasn’t until later in the afternoon, we left our luggage in storage instead of resting. Sleeping suddenly felt like a waste of a first day in London.
So we headed straight for Soho.
For a band raised on British music and culture, Soho feels less like a tourist district and more like a living archive. These are the same streets that shaped generations of musicians, artists, mods, punks, writers, and dreamers. Walking through it for the first time felt strangely familiar, like stepping inside a city we had already visited for years through records, films, and photographs.
Our first stop was Sherry’s London. We had been looking forward to this since arriving. The shop felt like a surviving fragment from another era, filled with knitted polos, Harrington jackets, loafers, tailored pieces, and all the visual language tied to classic British mod culture.
We met Bubbles, the store owner, who welcomed us warmly and made the entire experience feel personal instead of transactional. The shop itself felt less like a boutique and more like a clubhouse for people obsessed with music, style, and subculture. Naturally, we spent a good amount of time browsing and trying things on while outside, the London drizzle quietly continued.
From there we walked deeper into Soho and stopped for brunch and coffee at Kasa and Kin. After hours of traveling, Filipino food in the middle of London felt unexpectedly comforting. Hearing familiar accents and sharing stories with fellow Filipinos while thousands of miles away from Manila created a strange feeling of home.
We invited the manager and staff to our upcoming show at Dingwalls, and in true Filipino hospitality, they surprised us with complimentary halo-halo for dessert. Small gestures become unforgettable when you’re far from home.
After brunch, we spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon simply roaming around Soho on foot.
We wandered through Kingly Court, Carnaby Street, and Ganton Street while light rain drifted across the city. The wet pavements reflected storefront lights and Underground signs like scenes from an old British film. Everywhere we looked, there were traces of music history, fashion culture, and modern London all layered together.
Carnaby Street especially felt surreal. So much of the style and attitude that influenced generations of musicians radiated from these streets decades ago. Standing there with the band, dressed in jackets slowly collecting rainwater, somehow felt right.
We also visited Third Man Records, whose bright yellow exterior practically glowed against the grey weather. Record stores always carry a different kind of energy. People become quieter inside them, almost reverent. You stop browsing casually and start searching with intent, like you’re digging through cultural history one shelf at a time.
From there, we made our way toward Piccadilly Circus and took photos beside the iconic Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain. The rain had intensified slightly by then, leaving the streets reflective and cinematic. Umbrellas moved through crowds while red Underground signs glowed against the overcast sky.
We also stopped by the Piccadilly Circus Underground sign because some places simply demand a photograph. Growing up seeing these landmarks in magazines, documentaries, films, and album artwork, it felt surreal to finally stand there ourselves, jet-lagged and soaked in London drizzle.
By around 3 PM, exhaustion finally started catching up with us.
After nearly an entire day walking through Soho and central London with barely any sleep, we took the Underground back toward Heathrow and returned to the hotel. The train ride felt calm and quiet after the sensory overload of the city. Nobody talked much anymore. We simply watched stations pass by while slowly realizing that our European tour had officially begun.
Day one in London wasn’t really about sightseeing.
It was about atmosphere.
About finally walking through streets that shaped so much of the music, fashion, and culture we grew up loving from thousands of miles away.
And somehow, through the rain, record shops, halo-halo, Underground trains, Carnaby Street, and long walks through Soho, London already felt oddly familiar.
—
For details about our tour dates and venues, visit: https://orangeandlemons.co/2026/04/19/orange-lemons-europe-tour-2026/
