A 3 hour tour....

Nick and Kirk (aka Nirk) arrived in London just in time to enjoy an extended visit. Thanks to an Icelandic volcano, of all things, their one week holiday turned into a 2 week get away! 

We went on a walking tour just a few hours after their plane touched down...Tower Bridge, Borough Market, Southwark, South Bank, Westminster Bridge, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey. We finished off the evening with a walk along Regent's Canal to Camden and dinner at Camden Brasserie. Not too shabby for day 1!

On day 3, we hired a car and drove to Canterbury. Had big plans to continue on to Dover but decided to enjoy Canterbury and leave Dover to the next visit. Canterbury Cathedral was very impressive. I will post more on it later.

We head due north to the coast and for a quick and very cold glimpse of the English Channel before heading back to London Town. Our drive home took us past the 2012 Olympic site.

One day 8 (thanks Eyjafjallajokull) we took a blanket down to Regents Park and enjoyed spring time in London. This is by far the best time of year in London... although my allergies might disagree. Nirk got a chance to experience a bit of day to day life in London. 

And what is more day to day than a Sunday Roast and a pint at the Volunteer?

Chris and I are so glad that the boys finally made it over to visit. Hopefully, they will make a habit of it now that they realize how easy it is to get to London! Take note other non-visitors!!! Come to London!

When the Farmers Came to Londontown

A few weeks ago Michelle and Matt came for an extended weekend trip to London. They arrived on Friday and Michelle headed home on Tuesday. Matt stayed in town until the following Saturday but had to work... boo work! However, in the few days we had together we walked to Camden via Primrose Hill, spent way too much time at Cyberdog (a futuristic space clothing store... the store's description, not mine!), had a delicious dinner at Cinnamon Club followed by a walk past Westminster Abbey, Parliament, County Hall, and the Eye, spent a night in the country, waved to the queen, stared at some royal guards, ate in a cave, went shopping on Marylebone High Street and enjoyed tea at the Wolseley! Not too shabby for 4 days!

Matt and Michelle in Camden.

Cold Farmers in front of Big Ben.

Michelle and Matt in front of the old mill in Lower Slaughter.

Yes, it was as cold as it looks.

Michelle and Chris at the Puesdown Inn.

Nothing better than a comfy sofa, a warm fire and great company to put smiles on our faces!

 Michelle and Matt at Gordon's Wine Bar.

I will try to post some more pictures from the weekend soon.

Until then...

~Hugs and Kisses~

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

Where to start...

This has been a very busy week. Laurie (aka Nana Deuce, Momma K or Mom) came to visit. She arrived on Tuesday morning and we hit the ground running! I don't think we really stopped until last night when we sat down to watch Young Victoria... It was great to have company during the day and I think we left no store unshopped and no picture untaken!

We started the visit by strolling down Westbourne Grove and dodging the brewing storm in many of the great little boutiques along the way. It is a real shame that the beautiful and "warm" weather from the week before could not hold out a little longer. Tuesday started sunny but windy... However, by 3 o'clock the sky was dark and it was clearly getting ready to chuck it down! We made it all the way to Portobello Road and picked up a few travel books at The Travel Bookshop. Then we made a bee line for the flat to freshen up for tea at The Wolseley. This started a week long tradition of afternoon tea! It was so funny to see business men in their suits and ties chatting up their colleagues over silver tea pots and three tier plates of scones, tea sandwiches and pastries! English men are truly a unique breed! I would love to post some pics... However, when I snatched Laurie's camera and started snapping away I was promptly told by the staff that The Wolseley has a strict no photography police! Leave it to me to get scolded during tea!!! After tea we headed over to Fortnum and Mason for more browsing.

The short ride home on the tube but Laurie to sleep. It was cute watching her fight to stay awake but I was very impressed with her stamina. She did not sleep on the flight, took no nap upon arrival and shopped the day away like a pro! Chris was presenting at a conference all day and then had a work dinner so he did not come home until after 10 o'clock. Laurie stayed strong and waited to see the boy! However, I think she feel asleep the moment her head hit the pillow and was not bothered by the sound of Chris re-filling the slowly deflating air mattress through out the night! Poor Chris! I did not close the valve tightly so the air slowly but surely leaked out all night long until Chris was lying flat on the floor! I have been officially taken off valve duty!

Wednesday morning we made a trip through Kensington Gardens the Whole Foods for some more shopping! I knew Laurie would love to see this store and her reaction did not disappoint! We picked up all the fixin's for yummy olive chicken in a white wine sauce and risotto. And then we headed east to meet Chris at The Don for lunch in the bistro. A very cute and good restaurant hidden away in a courtyard with the bistro tucked away in an old wine cellar. After lunch we sent Chris back to work and we headed out on a walking tour of London. First to St. Paul's Cathedral, you may remember that this is were we spent Christmas Eve. We were amazed to learn that they charge 11 GBP per person to tour the inside of the cathedral so we went to the gift shop instead! From St Paul's we walked to Covent Gardens and then through Trafalgar Square to The Mall. We considered taking the bus but at the sight of St. James Park and the flowers we decided to continue the walk all the way home... almost ;-) We hopped on the tube at St. James Park and headed home for our afternoon tea!