Holland Park

Laurie and I returned to the scene of the Great Peacock Stalking of 2009 on Thursday. I absolutely adore Holland Park so any chance to return is fine with me. I was a little disappointed when we found the first peacock sulking on top of a brick wall. He was clearly in no mood for posing and made this know by turning his back to us regardless of which side of the wall we were on. Laurie even got adventurous and jumped into the brush... it was like a scene from Survivor Man... but Mr. Peacock snubbed her still.

Imagine out delight when we came around the corner to find another peacock strutting about on the stairs to the Kyoto Garden.

This guy was more than willing to pose for us. He walked up and down the steps and turned in complete circles. It was like he was putting on a show for us! We watched him and took pictures for several minutes but it was starting to become monotonous.

At this point, I said to Laurie; "I just wish he would open his feathers."

And...

He did!!! Laurie is always saying I have a knack for willing things to happen... but I don't think it has ever happened in such a literal or immediate way!

With his feathers on display he continued to walk up and down the stairs and to turn and pose. At first, I thought he was trying to scare the two crazy ladies with the cameras (that would be me and Laurie) away. However, then I noticed his main concerns were the other birds (peacocks and pigeons.) Whenever another bird would come near the stairs he would become tense and shake his feathers. It was amazing! The feathers sounded like the rattle on a snake and clearly were taken as a warning as none of the birds would stick around for very long.

The peacock was so mesmerizing that it was hard to pull ourselves away. However, after about a million pictures we decided to move on! We finished our walk through the park...

I love the natural feel of Holland Park. Manicured gardens are nice, as are paved paths and sidewalks but I prefer the dirt paths and wooden fences.

Laurie was really enjoying the park, too!

We finished our walk through the park and found a cute little French cafe near the Holland Park tube station. It was nice to get inside and warm up before we finished our day off with a trip to Spitalfields.

My two favorite stores at Spitalfields. I have never been in the coffee store but I love the store front. This is what I want my cupcake store to look like eventually... Kuhn take note ;-) The market was full of English character. Thursdays is the antique market and the stalls were filled with interesting "found objects" including fish in jars filled with formaldehyde, silverware galore, costume jewelry, a stuffed rabbit and lots of peculiar but strangely appropriate items! The stall minders were even more entertaining... the men wore mostly tweed and all had on gloves with no fingers and hats. They reminded me Bert from Mary Poppins... All in all it was an entertaining experience.

After spending most of the day outside (except for the short lunch and tibe ride) and in the chilling wind it was nice to come back to the flat for afternoon tea. We enjoyed yet another scrummy (British for yummy) scone from Whole Foods and then rested until dinner at Daylesford Organic. As far as I am concerned, Daylesford serves the best lamb chops I have EVER eaten! I can't wait for our next visitors so we can taken them there...I am getting hungry just thinking about it!!!

Come back soon for a post on our trip to The Cotswolds and more pictures!

Until then, XOXO