Primrose Hill and St John's Wood

We recently bought a new set of cards which are called "City Walks London: 50 Adventures on Foot".  They are keeping us very very busy and a few weekends ago we decided to go to Primrose Hill and St John's Wood.  Doesn't the name Primrose Hill sound delightful.  Let me tell you - it lived up to it's name. 

Primrose Hill and St John's Wood have some of the most exclusive and expensive real estate in London.  It is also home to stars such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Moss, Jude Law and Jamie Oliver.  It was once the old hunting ground for Henry VIII.
Deli's and boutiques (especially those of the homewares kind) line the High Street and of course we had to stop for E's obligatory weekend cream tea (tea, scones, jam and cream).  We didn't spot any of the celebrities above but we were sitting next to one very self indulged author.  We couldn't quite figure out who she was to begin with but we knew that she was either famous or wealthy.  Remarks such as -"Don't worry Sarah - tell your woman (i.e. maid) not to worry about buying food, we simply want to have a wine with you" or "oh yes...my son is now studying at Trinity College [in New York]" or "my agent booked me a hotel in Mayfair" must have given it away.  She finally dropped the "you simply must read my new book" bomb and it was settled.  Our guessing game was over.

We climbed Primrose Hill for amazing views of central London and sat in the sun watching all the pompous fluffy pooches play.  We then made our way to St John's Wood - ooooing and ahhing at the massive houses. Behind any of those doors could have been Kate or Gwyneth or the Olivers.

We made our way to Abbey Road and walked across the same crossing that the Beatles did in 1969 for their album cover.  The old recording studio seems to still be there and the fence outside is covered in graffiti and public signs of admiration for The Beatles (some of our favourite are below).  It was amusing watching the locals get irritated at tourists posing in the middle of the road for their happy snap just like The Beatles.

Twas a lovely relaxing Saturday.

xoxo

E&S

Obligatory Cream Tea

Regent High Street & Le Tea Cosy Cafe

Primrose Hill

The one and only Abbey Road crossing.

Kew Gardens

A few weeks back, we ventured down to Richmond to visit Kew Gardens.  We went with our good friends M & B and had a lovely relaxing day strolling through the pretty flowers and impressive glass houses.

The Kew Gardens were originally the royal family's private gardens. Various different royals have lived on the estates that make up Kew Gardens at various different points in time.  Queen Victoria opened the gardens to the public in 1898.  Prior to that, various different royals used Kew Gardens to grow and experiment with medicinal plants.  The gardens actually contain plant varieties which were collected by Captain Cook on his travels!

The Glass Houses are what intrigued us the most.  It was amazing to see how plants from all over the world, each requiring a different climate, could be kept in one location.  We also really enjoyed the Lilly Pilly House and the Rhododendrum Garden.

We also enjoyed a yummy lunch in the garden's Orangery which used fresh produce grown on-site!

xoxo
E&S

If I were a punk you'd find me in....

CAMDEN.

Camden is just north of Angel and sports three large markets - Camden Market, Stable Markets and Camden Lock Village.  Our favourite was the Stable Markets which back in the day housed a horse hospital.

Camden is seriously a punks paradise.  There are some interesting characters walking around in that part of the world that's for sure.  It is ultra ultra grungy but has a very cool vibe.

S and I loved it.  There was such an eclectic mix of things to buy - vintage clothes, trendy clothes, home wares, vintage furniture and flea market finds.  We spent hours strolling through the little lane ways of the markets looking at bits and bobs and getting lost.  There were so many things that E could have bought but she fought the temptation.  We suspect there may be many more trips to Camden.

Within the markets there was also a large array of food stalls selling everything you could imagine and so fresh!  For lunch we sat by the Camden Lock (Regent's Canal) and ate Chinese.  Surprisingly we also found some good coffee at a cafe called Cafe Cremma (we say surprisingly because good coffee is hard to come by over here).

We also found a bar we had been told about called Proud which is in converted horse stables! We will definitely be checking that out soon.

E&S
xoxo

The Enchanted Palace

Last month we visited Kensington Palace which has been transformed into the Enchanted Palace!

While Kensignton Palace is being renovated, there is a series of exhibitions and interactive pieces in the State Rooms of the castle.  The exhibition centres around 7 princesses who once lived in the Palace and their secrets (hidden in the palace for years).  The exhibition had an enchanted forest and mystical feel.

The Palace has a simply amazing history.  For example, it was the place where Queen Charlotte died during childbirth, Queen Victoria awoke to hear that she had become the youngest queen in history and even Princess Diana lived there for some while.  We were fascinated by the stories we discovered in some of the rooms.

E's favourite room was The King's Staircase which was a entrance hall and stairway that was entirely painted by William Kent to depict the court.  Interestingly, there is not one royal painted in the whole picture.  The painting contains each of the Royal Servants at the time (including the royal bottom wiper which was apparently a very prestigious position) and the painter himself.  The staircase was the entrance used for when subjects wanted to see the King in Court.  The paintings are unusual as it was the norm in that era for high society, royalty and nobility to be painted but not servants and normal subjects.  E's other favourite room was Queen Victoria's childhood bedroom (E has a fascination with her!).

The exhibition included poems, installations that portrayed a story and costumes designed by Vivienne Westwood.

Whilst there we also visited the Sunken Garden and had a delicious Sunday Roast Lunch at a nearby pub.  It was a lovely Sunday date day.

E&S
xoxo