Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Part 2: Love Love Love...

As if the first two days weren’t exciting enough, I still had two days of fun ahead of me. London certainly was measuring up, although not without its distinct differences to my New York. For starters it just has a different feeling in the air. New York gives off a sense of urgency and alertness. I got the feeling London is a bit more laid back, yet slightly standoffish. I enjoyed the fact that London is quieter. I was sleeping in the heart of the city, but had no need for earplugs. Cars don’t honk incessantly and people, in general, keep their voices down (unless present at late afternoon debauchery session). It has more green space, is cleaner and is deviod of dogs dressed up like primadonnas. In short...lots of subtle, yet noticeable differences.

Over the final two days of my stay, my gal pals and I proceeded to do it up:

Sunday:

  • Awoke early to a beautiful sunny morning, a perfect Americano and brioche.
  • Took a stroll over to Westminster and the Houses of Parliament…waiting for the “ah-ha” moment that never came. Big Ben is the Empire State Building of London. Special, yes. Groundbreaking, no.
  • Walked to the South Bank once again to stroll down the Thames. Meeting a crowd of tourists at the London Eye, we quickly breezed through the area…not a fan of crowds.
  • Had a desire to get down to the Tower of London, but my feet quit being ambitious around the Millennium Bridge and Top Shop was calling our names.
  • Headed to Oxford Street (the equivalent of New York’s 34th Street) for a 2-3 hour stint within a 3-block radius. Top Shop was glorious, the crowds were not.
  • Post retail therapy, we strolled off of the main drag into the heart of Soho. We were starving and had our hearts set on some fried food and beer, which we found without much trouble.
  • After some quality people watching (including a flasher and some very bad fashion choices) we dropped our shopping bags back at the flat and got ready for a BBQ over in Mayfair. Post veggie skewers and a Pimms taste-test we rallied for a night out in South Ken.
  • More fabulous drinks and a 2am closing time allowed for lots of boy gazing. Tip: the bartender at Eclipse is HOT and makes the best Pear Mojitos in the universe.
  • Grabbed a taxi home in the wee hours of the evening and crashed.

Monday:

  • Alas, the last day arrived…of course, with an Americano, croissant and ample amounts of sun.
  • We decided to stroll west and hit up more shopping potential in Knightsbridge. One Harvey Nichols visit and one Harrod’s Food Hall visit later we stumbled upon Laduree – a French patisserie that had just opened a branch at Harrod’s. O.M.G. those macaroons are to die for…especially the rose ones. We decided the scene was too fabulous and quaint not to enjoy it so we sat for a Kir Royale and nibbled on our macaroons. Following our mini-break we proceeded to purchase a few more macaroons for the road…few = many. They are unspeakably good.
  • We strolled out of Harrod’s and realized we had about 45 minutes before our reservations for afternoon tea at The Wolseley. We hopped a bus to Green Park and were there in a jiff.
  • At the Wolseley, we enjoyed a fabulous two-hour session of noshing and relaxing in the sunny room over scones, clotted cream, finger sandwiches and a fabulous array of tea. It was so lovely that we are planning to instate a tea party in our own circles here. We left stuffed to the gills.
  • For the remainder of the afternoon we decided to check out the northwest side of the park, heading over to Paddington and Notting Hill. More walking. More shopping.
  • We finally hit a wall and decided to catch a bus back…seeing the sights from the upper deck of course. I'm a big fan of the bus. Always have been in New York too, however the traffic flows better in London and allows for a pleasant, and relatively speedy ride.
  • We arrived back at the Covent Garden flat exhausted and elated from our jam-packed trip. We decided to order Indian for take away, and enjoy the evening in the comfort of a cushiony couch.
Tuesday morning we awoke early to catch a flight back to New York. Overall, I thought London was fabulous and I hope to return someday soon. It certainly has it’s own charm and old-world feel, something many parts of New York could never claim. The downfalls: the weather and the distance from home, but every adventurous gal can get past those things in the name of a fabulous town…and many cute boys in pinstripes doesn't hurt either ;-)

posted by Lisa @ 6:34 PM

2 Comments:

At 12:51 PM, Blogger miss goLondon said...

i am glad you made it to eclipse. it is a fav haunt of mine. And, pat pat pat herself of the back, i went out with one of the bartenders there. but he went home to columbia to start a bar there. as you do.

hope to see you back soon, when i am around! but as you can see, you don't need that much guidance to have fun here.

 
At 1:57 PM, Blogger A Novelist said...

Sounds like you had a fabulous time! London sounds like a little slice of heaven... :)

 

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