last day

today is friday and my last day in london, tomorrow morning i'll be in a taxi to heathrow at 7:30 am. wednesday morning we decided to go back to the east side because i really wanted to eat at the albion cafe, and leigh said their fish and chips were really good. since our first attempt for some didn't look so hot, we made the trek and it was definitely worth it.


we ordered a side of mushy peas with mint and lettuce hearts, and tried to stuff it all in. we were disappointed that we didn't have room for pudding after we saw the sweets in the next room.


we had lois so the morning was pretty full getting over to albion on a few trains and after strolling the streets for a little bit we decided it was time to come home. we grabbed some groceries for me and lois because leigh and andrew had a date and a babysitter for the first time in months. lois went to bed, i watched a little tv and hit the sack. i've been so pooped every day, leigh is doing a good job at wearing me out like she said she would.


thursday lois had another full day of school and leigh and i headed over to islington. i wanted to visit toast and we wanted to walk along regent's canal.

we found some great shops and both loved smug. there were a lot of things in this shop that we both wanted but my suitcase is already too full and i'll need a 2nd piece of luggage or a box to ship home.


leigh and i really loved these woolen blankets at smug, and thought they would be really expensive. lizzie, the shop owner told us they were only £18 (we thought she said £80 which still sounded like a deal to me), and were made by the afonwen woollen mills north wales from recycled wool. i snapped one up even though the thought of this wool blanket anywhere near me in the current weather sounds awful. it will look great on my bed at home.



our last stop was at the elk in the woods for lunch. this place is very cute inside with lots of interesting wall decor -- from skulls to beautiful wallpaper.




since we were without lois we decided we needed a cocktail. i ordered an elderflower martini and leigh had a grapefruit mojito, and they both sort of went with our lunch of beetroot and walnut spread, peas and leeks, and calamari with sugar cane dipping sauce.


after lunch it was time to hit the road back home, we both needed another nap. we've had many early mornings with lois, this morning she was up around 5:30 so it won't be hard to wake up tomorrow to head out for san francisco. leigh, andrew and lois, thanks for a wonderful trip. i've had more fun that i imagined i could and i'll miss you all!

back in london

my london days are coming to an end soon so leigh and i are trying to figure out our final destinations. we went back to liberty today so i could get some gifts. i needed one more stroll through the store, it's so gorgeous. next we were off to selfridges for some more gifts and window shopping.


i got a lot of beautiful chocolates but couldn't keep these english rose and violet creams in the box, we had to split one walking down the sidewalk.


our plan was to get some fish and chips for lunch, i haven't had any yet while i've been here, but we stumbled onto foxcroft and ginger in soho and we were so happy we ate there.


i had a chorizo and butternut squash sandwich (with rocket of course) and leigh chose a salted beef with cucumber mayo. they were both huge and delish. we loved how they were served on wooden boards lined with butcher paper, with a little pile of pepper and maldron salt on the side.



after lunch we each needed a coffee to wake up. they use monmouth coffee, which i hadn't heard of until today, and it was very good. mine was served in one of those porcelain cups that looks like a crushed plastic disposable cup. they remind me of lauren and derek, but maybe because leigh told me she sent them some.


it's really warm so we came home on the tube, grabbed lois from school, and sat in the garden for a bit. andrew went to milan for work and is one his way home so we're making him a nice dinner to thank him for keeping lois all weekend while we went to paris. time to get crackin!

goodbye paris, i'll miss you!

our three day weekend in paris has come to and end. sunday is a sleepy day to spend in the city as most things are closed. we ended up with some rather cool and wet weather so our plans of sitting outside in the gardens were dashed. giovanni, whom we rented the apartment from, met us early to get the key and called us a taxi. we dropped our luggage off at a locker at the train station and headed back out to walk around ille saint louis. it was too cold and early for glaces at berthillon, which was sad, but next time.


after walking around a bit with only stohrer pastry in our bellies we ducked into a restaurant for some eggs, bacon, croissant and coffee. because most stores were closed, we snapped a few photos then walked over to notre dame for a peek.


it was very windy as we headed over to the louvre. we hadn't planned on going in, but instead wanted to walk around the outside and down the jardin des tuileries. the skies were gray and cloudy and we got some great shots of the louvre looking very ominous.



next we wove our way through the streets up to the arc de triomphe, trying to stay off the touristy champs-élysées as much as possible.


the rest of the day was spent walking through the streets trying to find something yummy for lunch. we ended up at a cute little cafe near the L'église de la Madeleine where we downed some onion soup with a peitit Mâche salad and delicious potatoes. We were so warm and cozy we decided we needed one more cafe creme and a gateau au chocolat before heading back out for the train station. i didn't take many photos yesterday, i think i was so tired and...well... cold.

paris, tired but a good tired

our apartment, the richelieu

it is our second day in paris and we've continued to walk non-stop as we have done in london. katie met us friday and we all walked up to rose bakery. katie thought it was funny that our first meal in paris was at a british establishment, but she had never been and we all loved it.

my lunch

cakes at rose bakery

after lunch we walked around the marais and got ourselves a bit more oriented.

the bibliotheque historic

bon bons

katie left to meet a friend for dinner and leigh and i came back to the apartment to rest for a few minutes before my birthday dinner at le fumoir. our dinner was delicious and we had secured a reservation in the "library," which turned out to be a dark and cozy room filled with books. we didn't want to leave but two hours later we were stuffed and so tired that we were happy to have a very short walk home.


i slept badly that night so it was 8am before we woke up, and we got off to a late start. on the advice of the apartment owners, we stopped in for pastries at stohrer's.

leigh got this shot of me looking at postcards before we went inside

next we walked a few short blocks to the bilbiotheque nationale. i was a bit overwhelmed and unfortunately hadn't really made a plan so we looked into some of the reading rooms and headed off to the centre pompidou. a few hours looking at braque's, picasso's, matise's, and léger's and we needed to eat again.



after eating, our next stop was pierre herme, which entailed a walk across the siene and down to st. germain. after snagging some confiture de framboises a la violette, which i had been dreaming about since katie brought me some two years ago, and some sablés citron, we were off to the have a glass of wine then stroll through jardin du luxembourg.

the wind kicked up and the rains came in so we hopped into a taxi to come home, warm up and plan our dinner outing. we're both very tired, but in a good way. the city is beautiful and inviting and it does feel like you are walking through a movie.

chelsea

another great day today, i keep thinking that each day is better than the last. we walked through battersea park over chelsea bridge to chelsea. the neighborhood is gorgeous. we go on lots of amazing strolls every day, but the destination today was the chelsea physic garden which was on my list of things to do and on leigh's as well. we were lucky to get another sunny morning and soon stripped off our jackets and sweaters and we were still really warm.



the homes surrounding the garden are so beautiful, you can tell this neighborhood is ritzy.

lots of lavender in this section, lots of bees, too!




the dark brown building behind the greenhouse above is so stunning, i want to go inside.


old greenhouses, filled with botanicals from different parts of the world.


so many lovely poppies and aliums all over.



after a long stroll around the paths and lots of photos we were ready for lunch. we stopped at daylesford organic and had a two wine lunch - lois was a handful and we needed the juice.

east side

leigh and i had a great day today on the east side. andrew was feeling generous (when is he not) and offered to stay with lois all day which made our day nice and long. we started at the columbia road flower market which was jam packed with people so i didn't take a single photo. after that we went into some of leigh's favorite stores and i had to force myself not to buy something in each one.


we started at jessie & buddug, so many cute embroidered things. after that it was tea at vintage heaven, where we had cream tea in the back tea room. there were so many things in this store that i wanted, but just got the two of these blue and pink cups.




next we were off to labour and wait, which i was so excited to see. i bought a few items to take home as gifts: this pale green lasagne dish, two of these little tumblers, a few bone egg spoons, a nail brush, and this folding pocket knife. i'd been wanting to go to this store since reading about it in gourmet or dwell so i didn't hold back.


we popped into caravan and i really wanted one of these lamps, but too large to carry home since i need to bring a lamp post home for cristal. aesop is a new addition to the neighborhood and i was sucked in my the simple packaging and beautiful ingredients. our last stop was the spitalfields covered market in shortage where we had a really nice, light lunch of wine and cheese. we've had that a lot because we are eating so much.

we got on the bus to come home and it was a very long ride, over an hour (i picked the bus...). i didn't mind though. we were upstairs in the very front seats and i just spent the hour enjoying chatting with leigh, sitting, and seeing london.

long days

i've been in london since early wednesday morning and seem to have avoided jet lag pretty well. leigh was sleepy the day i arrived from being up sick the entire night before, so after we strolled around her neighborhood a bit (and i bought a dress from emily and fin just hours after landing), we came back home to take a short nap. it's light here from around 5 am until close to 10 pm, so the days are really long.

thursday leigh took me out for a long day of shopping after she dropped lois at school for her first full day. we found a seat upstairs on a double decker bus and enjoyed the drive across town. our first stop was liberty and i managed to only purchase some post cards and an umbrella, which i really did need. then we hopped on the tube to lamb's conduit for lunch at cigala, then stopped in a few stores and persephone books.


after a stop at the espresso room, we popped into the top shop so i could get another pair of jeans (it's colder and rainier here than i expected) and then into office for some shoe shopping where i got some lace ups and these little flat converse.


last night we made a nice dinner and then had a few too many drinks. lois was in bed early after her long day at school, so this morning she was up bright and early at 5:30 am! we've all just finished a nap and we're getting ready to head out for a coffee and sweet. leigh is reading a list of things to do in paris from the the people who we're renting our apartment from. next week this time we'll be there!