London: Where the People Drink on the Street

The Thames Foyer at The Savoy

 We had a VIP in London last week and it wasn't the Queen... although she was here for the Queen's Speech to open Parliament.  Which is actually a very cool thing.  She gets all dressed up and wears the Crown Jewels, or as I like to call it, "Her fancy hat."

How is this not a hat?

Anyways, I digress.  J and I were very excited to welcome my mother to our new home town.  The guest room has been broken in and deemed acceptable (we even bought pillows) so we are ready for anyone else who would like to drop by!  I was thinking about having my mom do a guest post on her experience here, but then I thought that it would probably feel like having to write a report for homework after a school trip, which is 'no bueno'.  Did anyone ever like writing those?  I didn't, and I LIKED school.  So, since I have decided not to give my mother homework, I will be the one to fill you in.

Preparing for my mom's arrival started with a field trip for J and I.  We took a bus across the River Thames to Clapham Junction.  Why would one do that?  To go to the Asda.  Now, the problem with London is the same thing as the problem with New York.  They have very few, if any, discount big box stores.  However, by the time I left NYC, there were 2 KMarts and a Target in Manhattan.  And there were several other Target Stores easily reachable by public transportation in Queens and Brooklyn.  In London... not so much.  If I could single-handedly lead a campaign to get Target to open a store here, I would.  And maybe, really, I should.  I have the time.  The closest thing London has to a discount store like KMart is Asda.  Asda was actually bought by Walmart several years ago.  When I knew my mom was coming to visit, I figured it might be nice to get a couple of basics.  You know, like, pillows.  A mattress pad.  That sort of thing.  Being the money savvy chick that I am (hahaha), I told J that a trip to Asda was in order.  So we went.  And... it was less than overwhelming.  But!  We got what we were looking for and J bought a whole bunch of candy bars for super cheap, so I guess one could call that a successful trip.

The Clapham Junction Asda looked NOTHING like this.

My mom arrived on a Wednesday evening and quickly became master of her Oyster card!  The subway line that serves Heathrow has a stop quite near our apartment, so we jumped into public transportation right away.  Even though it probably only seemed like 5:00 in the afternoon to Mom, we promptly took her out for a very British dinner of pizza!  Then it was off to bed as we had a very busy day ahead of us.

The main reason my mom came to visit was to help me make my final decision in choosing a wedding dress!  I had done the initial search alone, but now that I had things pretty well narrowed down, it was time for the expert opinion of Mom.  So Thursday saw us walking up Bond St. bright and early on our way to Pronovias, where I tried on 2 dresses.  From there we went to a boutique in Islington called Angelica Bridal.  It is on a very cute alley called Camden Passage with a cozy coffee shop next to it.  We got there a little early so I took my mom on a tour of a grocery store!  Now that might not be your usual tourist destination, but my mom appreciated it.  Things are different here!  It's interesting.  I swear.  After our second appointment it was off to The Savoy where we were scheduled to have tea.

Word to the wise, or anyone planning on visiting London.  There are a TON of places to have tea.  And they all have their own special way of doing things.  Everyone wants to go to tea at The Ritz.  This is where J and I went my first week here.  BUT.  After having been to The Savoy... I like it better.  It's a much more personal experience.  Seatings are done differently, they have a couple of slots every 15 minutes as opposed to one mass seating every couple of hours.  This makes for a more intimate feeling and greater individualized attention from your server.  The food is better as well.  The feeling is quality over quantity at The Savoy.  It's still a large hotel tea, but if that's what you are looking for, I highly recommend it.  Also, all of the servers are beautiful.  The men, the women.  Their hiring practices might be illegal, but the staff is nice to look at- that's all I'm saying.

So.Yum.

The rest of the day was spent strolling up to Covent Garden where there were some wonderful street performers working, walking over to Piccadilly Circus, and perusing the wares at Fortnum & Mason.  It was all-in-all a productive (and fun) day!  And there was still more adventures to be had.

On Friday we had one more dress shop to look at.  Morgan Davies in Islington is a lovely store and their salesgirls are great.  They really make you feel comfortable.  I thought this was where I was going to get my dress.  I had remembered a dress from this store as being my favorite.  But, when I tried it on again, I didn't love it as much.  I was surprised!  I had started to picture this dress as "the one" and here I was thinking that it maybe wasn't!  This called for a pint.  After we were finished at Morgan Davies my mom and I headed for a pub near by.  And it was here that I decided to go with a dress that I had tried on the day before.  I was so happy to have my mom there when I made my decision.  I never wanted to have a whole gaggle of girls around me when I went to find my wedding dress, but I always wanted my mother to be involved... and she was!  The rest of the day was spent exploring the shops along Regents Street, Oxford Street, and Marylebone High Street.  Since my dad wasn't there, we decided to check out all of the department stores and the places that we thought he probably wouldn't be that interested in.  I was so excited to show my mom my absolute favorite store in London.  Liberty.  This store is FABULOUS and if you are ever here and visiting me, I am taking you as well.  We ended the day with drinks in Marylebone and dinner in Soho.  Mom got to experience Londoners in good weather, all standing on the street drinking so as to be able to soak up every last second of the temperate day.  It's really kind of bizarre.  They aren't smoking.  They're just standing outside and drinking.  Go figure.

Normal British Behavior

Saturday was the Whirlwind Landmarks of London tour.  J & I took mom down to Kings Rd. in Chelsea where we bought some deliciousness at the Saturday market outside of Partridges for lunch.  From there we headed over to Buckingham Palace, where Mom practiced her royal wave, and then walked through St. James's Park.  It is a really beautiful park that used to serve as the hunting grounds for King Henry VIII.  It is this sort of fact that just delights me.  I can now go to the former hunting grounds of King Henry VIII and buy a bag of potato chips to feed the squirrels.  I think if he knew that people were doing that, he would have us all beheaded.  From St. James's Park we went on to Parliament, Westminster Cathedral and Big Ben.  From Big Ben it was past Churchill's War Rooms and up to Trafalgar Square where we caught the Tube to Tower Bridge.  Mom was a trooper.  We really packed a TON of sightseeing into a very short period of time.  Granted it was of the, point and look variety, but without my dad being there, we didn't really want to explore too much!

It was a very nice weekend.  I was happy to see my mom and show her all of the things that I have grown to enjoy in my adopted home.  I loved that she really seemed to get a kick out of the people drinking on the street because that is something that still amuses me as well.  When you come from New York City, the beauty of London really strikes you.  Even though the weather might not be great, the architecture is and sometimes that's enough.

I can't wait for my dad to come or for my brother and his wife.  I really enjoy playing the tour guide.  It makes you re-appreciate the things that, even after only a couple of months, you may start to take for granted.  And many times someone with fresh eyes will make an observation or have a perspective that you don't, so it's a fun learning experience.  All this by way of saying-I hope we get more visitors!  So book your tickets now!