London! Part One

Tea at Browns Hotel

Arriving in London in the late afternoon makes for an easy transition. After unpacking, you can fortify yourself with a cup of tea. And then the best thing to do is take a walk, which feels really good after 11 hours on a plane!

Any walk around London includes a tour of some gorgeous doors. Don't you love the colors? And the elegant hardware?

I love a red front door

Everywhere you look are the blue plaques that indicate the homes of famous residents of London. They are a constant reminder that you are walking in the footsteps of some of the greatest figures in British history. For me they are symbols of the history that is everywhere in London.

After an invigorating walk, the only thing left to do was have dinner before retiring for the night. Fortunately our first dinner in London included Sticky Toffee Pudding, a very sweet ending to our first day!

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The next day was our first full one and we began at the Charles Dickens Museum at 48 Doughty Street.  I was looking forward to seeing what they had done to this house since I was there last. The museum, which has been in operation since 1925, has had a face lift -- a three-year, $5 million restoration and refurbishment of the house. It reopened last year. The goal was to make it look more like a house than a museum. It is Dickens' only surviving London home. He resided there from 1837-1839 and it is the home where he wrote Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby. He moved in when he was a young man with his new wife Catherine and their first child. It is the house he lived in when he became famous under his own name, after dropping the pseudonym "Boz." 

The rooms had been previously unfurnished and now are filled with the furniture and accessories of the time. They evoke the Victorian age and the spirit of Dickens.

The dining room, where he entertained his friends. It features the original sideboard and a portrait of the 25-year old author.

A set of bars from Marshalsea Prison

But for me the most poignant detail in this house are these bars from Marshalsea Prison where Dickens' father was imprisoned for debt. The whole family lived there for a period of time. Dickens was sent out to work as a child in a boot-blacking factory. This experience clouded the rest of his life and affected everything he wrote. The bars are located on the top floor of the house.

Piccadilly Street

Then it was off to St. James and Piccadilly, one of my favorite neighborhoods in London. The Royal Academy of Arts and the Burlington Arcade are located there, as well as two of my favorite stores.

Hatchards, the oldest bookstore in London

I could spend hours at Hatchards! I bought so many good books this time (which I will tell you about on another blog post!) and could barely tear myself away.

They do an amazing job curating these books. Look at this table. You had me at "An indulgence..."

A closer look...

And then there is the Agatha Christie table...

And the Churchill section...I could go on and on

This store is a veritable feast of everything I love

However, once I pulled myself away, there was another treasure trove next door.

Fortnum and Mason, the world-famous food purveyor

Talk about eye-candy, this store has everything for the cook and homebody

They are famous for their hampers

Their selection of teas

Flowers

Holiday displays, here is the Halloween table

And china. I was searching for something very specific --  Burleigh pottery. This company has been making ceramic ware with traditional English designs since 1851 in Staffordshire. I wanted to buy a tea pot with matching cups and saucers. I chose the blue and white Celeste pattern and I cannot wait to use it at home!

St. Paul's Cathedral

Next we toured St. Paul's Cathedral where I hadn't been for a a very long time. It was thrilling to hear the story of its design by Christopher Wren, its significance to London throughout the years, and all the famous events that have happened there, including the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

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 The Hurlingham Club

The following day I had a very exciting date to have tea with a new friend. Sarah Berry is an interior designer working in London. She and I have been friends through our blogs and when she heard I was coming to London, she invited me to have tea with her at the Hurlingham Club. When I pulled up in my taxi, I could hardly believe how beautiful it was!

She gave me a tour of the grounds

And then we had tea. We had the most delightful time. Check out Sarah's website to see her work. She is a talented interior designer and has written many design articles for The Lady magazine. She also adores London and gave me some great tips on what to do and where to eat.  (Thank you, Sarah, for Colbert restaurant. And also for encouraging me to go to Kensington Palace) I am so happy to have a new friend in London! She has promised to visit me when she comes to Los Angeles. We talked for hours and could have gone on for longer, but I had a date with my husband to attend a 4:00 pm performance of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap...