Good day, sunshine

Lucky us, another gorgeous day! Now that you've seen our flat, maybe it's time we take a stroll around the neighborhood. We'll start on our street, just off Bayswater on Linden Gardens, and head to Portobello, a five minute walk.








If you please, you may skip. Portobello tends to have that effect on people.




Look familiar? Delicious, cheap pizza here. It's right on the way.


As is this lovely little house.


Lots of colorful homes along the way, in fact.


This is the top - a few cute shops here but the best part is just down the road.


Here we are! Portobello, one of London's most famous streets. On Saturdays it's packed with tourists and locals alike scouring the stalls for a good deal on antiques. Many songs have been written about this charming avenue, which is chocked full of colorful houses, colorful people, and vintage treasures. Maybe you recall this one from Bedknobs and Broomsticks?


"Portobello road, Portobello road"

"Street where the riches of ages are stowed,"


"Anything and everything a chap can unload,"


"Is sold off the barrow in Portobello road."


"You’ll find what you want in the Portobello road!"

Obviously, there's also that movie with Hugh Grant & Julia Roberts, which features lots of scenes on Portobello and around Notting Hill. The Gold, a favorite pub of ours, is where they shot the rooftop scenes. Notting Hill and Portobello also played a significant role in the 60's counterculture and the underground rock movement. We've been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a bit of that as well, so stay tuned.


Sun's setting - time to head home. Hope you enjoyed the walk around our neighborhood!

Nicholas is taking me to Dublin tomorrow for my birthday, so be on the lookout for posts from the Emerald Isle!

Our flat

Come on in! Take off your coat.





Here is our flat! Quite "cosy" isn't it? But just what we were looking for.




This is called how to decorate your tiny, boring white flat on a shoestring budget. Requirements: must be cheap, colorful, British, and easy to carry home (or part with). You might recognize those pictures on the wall. The Beatles poster reflected in the mirror was just 4 quid, and it won't likely be making the journey. The postcards strung along the far wall are vintage from Portobello, and we've been clipping theatre tickets, etc. to them as we go. We wanted the whole place to be a reminder of our time abroad.


Except this. This gem was at the vinyl store around the corner. It's 80s-tastic and we agree that Willie, Kris, Brenda and Dolly are indeed the winning hand.


You may have noticed the "Bath" sign in the previous picture. Wouldn't want you to get lost. It's just to the right of the trashcan - you can't miss it!


Here's the kitchen. Note its proximity to the bed. Hopefully never again in my life will I be able to say I bumped my head on the kitchen counter while adjusting my pillow.


Our "dining room." Just dandy for a spot of tea by the window. And a pot of violets, which I have managed to keep alive since we moved in; perhaps the English are bringing out my green thumb.

Thanks for stopping by!

Visitors!

Fell off a bit on the posting - we had lots of visitors in town this past week, which leaves little time for much else – including taking pictures it seems. But it was so fun to be true tourists and get wined and dined by our wonderful families (my grandparents and Nicholas' parents). A few of the highlights, all recommended for your next trip to London:

The Wallace Collection, a fantastic, often overlooked museum inside of a grand old home. The sumptuous, carefully planned decor, paintings, porcelain and armour are really fabulous.

Jersey Boys, so so good!

Breakfast at Tiffany's, slightly different than the original but really fun, and Anna Friel was marvelous. A bit of nudity which was a surprise, but which my grandparents handled very gamely.

Liberty of London - historically known for its lovely fabrics, it's also the best department store I've ever been to. Just beautiful top to bottom, I could have stayed for days (but I didn't buy a thing)!

Nicholas went to various gun shops with his parents - Purdey, Holland & Holland, William Evans - and reports that he has a few items to add to his 2045 Christmas list.

The Churchill War Museum - I saw this when my mom was here, and had been once before so I knew N. would enjoy it. He went with my grandfather, a Churchill buff, and they had a great time. My grandmother Annie and I headed to Kensington Palace instead and saw a wonderful exhibition called "The Last of the Debutantes" about the debs in the summer of 1958. Really interesting and fun.

We also ate some delicious dinners at Bumpkin (upscale English comfort food), Zafferano's (Italian fine dining and truly heavenly), Patara (yummy Thai, better than Titaya's!) and did brunch at Le Caprice one day too. Such a special treat, and it was so great to see everyone!

Incidentally, a few others I would recommend from my sweet Mom's trip here earlier this month were Billy Elliot, which I'm still raving about, Murano, a fantastic Gordon Ramsay restaurant (the maitre d' from Hell's Kitchen was our actual maitre d'!), and Tamarind, arguably the best Indian food in London. Oh, and if you are ever in London and Buckingham Palace is open to visitors - GO. It was really unbelievable. Thank you to both of our families for making our time here so much more memorable! We've loved sharing it with you guys!

Street scenes

Lost balloon

"Noooo! It's going to pop in SPACE!"


As the sun went down, their parents were calling the boys to come back so they could head for home, but they were still searching for the balloon. This one is weighing his options...


...but a few stern threats from his mum got him going.


(taken in Kensington Gardens)

Tea with jam and bread

Tea, black currant "conserve" and toast. A delicious go-to brekky and perfect snack at tea time after a long day walking the streets.

All the queen's men

We spent our first Friday in London at Windsor Castle.



We arrived just in time to see the morning change of the guard, and walked around the castle's perimeter on yet another gorgeous and cool morning (we fully realize we are on borrowed time with this weather).







Next we took a tour of the castle, which came highly recommended by my grandmother Annie. Unfortunately, there are no pictures allowed, but here are a few of the highlights:

Queen Mary's Dollhouse: Besides being enormous, it is outfitted in excruciating detail (furniture makers, artists, and craftsmen of the period all contributed miniatures to the project) and has real working plumbing and electricity. View a gorgeous photo of the doll house taken by a sneaky tourist here and its accompanying wikipedia page here.

The porcelain room: Amazing. Love. A selection of the gorgeous collections of China given to and collected by HRHs over the years. One pretty piece from the Chelsea pattern made it back with Nicholas to our good friends, Callie and Will, who were getting married in Amarillo.

The drawings gallery: Fantastic - a special exhibition was going on that focused on Henry VIII and his many wives. Lots of art from his reign in the gallery, and gorgeous art throughout the castle by Rembrandt, Rubens, and Gainsborough among others.

Naturally, the vast collection of armor, guns and swords, arranged in grand designs throughout, were Nicholas' favorite part. Very cool indeed. And Henry VIII's armor gave one a good sense of just how fat he was (very). Something for everyone at this castle!

A sneak peek

Hello!

Wanted to post a rare nearly photo-free one as daily city living is not quite as conducive to constant picture taking, and believe it or not I've actually been quite busy getting us settled! We know there are a few of you out there still reading, so thought we'd post an update.

Most importantly, we found a flat! The search was challenging, but we landed in a studio in Notting Hill, coincidentally just across the street from our good friend Megha. Though it's very small, it's exactly what we were looking for and its fantastic location has enabled us to truly immerse ourselves into city living. Pictures to come!

Nicholas has started his classes at University of London and is finding them really interesting. His courses range from Environmental EU Law to International Human Rights law, and his only complaint is the commute between campuses (from Fleet Street to Mile End, with only 30 min. in between). His roughest day was making his 12 PM class yesterday, after arriving at 10:30 AM from Amarillo.

I've started one of my courses at the V&A. It's a salon-style drawing course in collaboration with the Prince's Drawing School, and I am absolutely loving it. I wouldn't say I possess any great talent, but I've learned so much and have enjoyed watching my work evolve each week. The biggest bonus is getting to take in the V&A at my own pace, which to me is truly heaven. I start another course at the Chelsea College of Art & Design next week. Stay tuned for some posts on these!

A few things we've learned:
-Don't leave home without your Oyster card and keys (Nicholas might stamp this to my forehead)
-Environmentally efficient laundry machines are neither cost nor time efficient. Outsource whenever possible (have wasted entire days on one load of laundry).
-Celebrities turn up when you least expect them
-Oxford street: hell any time of day. Avoid.
-Take off your coat before getting on the tube at rush hour
-No pumpkin spice lattes (or gingerbread, etc.) at UK Starbucks. V. sad.
-You can get by with one pan, two plates, four glasses, no freezer and a hotplate
-How to decorate your flat on £20 or less
-The upside of studio flat living: cleaning it top to bottom in under 10 minutes!
-Without Thanksgiving as a buffer, the Christmas season kicks off in October (mince pies already on shop shelves and a tree up on Portobello!) much to my delight

We are having the absolute time of our lives and are both learning, seeing, and doing so much to make the most of every minute. Thank you to whoever is out there reading for coming on this journey with us!

I'm preparing to take a number of pictures this week, so stay tuned-

Lisa & Nicholas