Dogs are ubiquitous, cats are rare as hens teeth. Dogs walk in the middle of the city without leashes and follow their masters. It’s amazing.
Another day, another 22,000 steps. I’m beginning to feel my age.
This is what we start the day seeing. I love this church and its beautiful courtyard. It represents this little area of Marleybone to me.
We started the day at the hip cafe all the Toney “ Marleybites” are always eating at – day and night, the place is jammed with the best pocketbooks and hip outfits. It’s called Granger. It was fine, but it was not Ottolenghi. I’ve learned my lesson.
We met Paul at Kensington Palace for a lovely tour of three different Royal periods: Tudor, Georgian, and young Queen Victoria.
Very different styles, and very different histories. One thing for sure – adultery and scandal have always been with us.
We travelled to St. Pancras station to visit the Harry Potter store for Michael. It was a madhouse, but a beautiful one.
Tea and a snack and we went off to do a little shopping in town.
No Goutal candles, no where, no how. Liberty, Selfridge, Harrods, Harvey Nichs. None.
We trotted back to the flat through the sea of humanity that is Oxford Street on Saturday, and rested our wearily bones before heading out to Trafalgar for dinner. We ate at Portrait, at the National Portrait Gallery, and took in views of the city.
Richard Corrigan was there himself, and the food and service were divine. We had our first drinks and a lovely meal of Dover Sole, Hake , and Beef Filet – each of us had our favorites.
The National Portrait Gallery was open late, and wasn’t crowded, so we spent some time getting to know some famous Britons. Of course, my favorite, Isambard Kingdom Brunel was at the top of the list!
The biographies attached to each painting were unexpected and terrific! Here are some wonderful heroes:
There we sooo many John Singer Sargents (thank you, Isabella Stewart Gardner for believing in him) and so many interesting depictions of many, many people. You could spend days there.
Paul headed home and Kirsten and I decided to walk to Buckingham Palace. We got out of the crowds, walked along St. James Park and approached the Palace devoid of people.
A cab brought us home. We are tired and a bit achey after 12 hours on our feet traversing this fine city. It is a lovely place and we’ve covered a lot of ground. Tomorrow we get to see Paul and Abi’s place and tuck into a Sunday Roast.
I just hope I get to see a cat.
Civilized Cross Many Countries 