It was quite close to Ealing Broadway, where we could get to central London by tube. The area was just great, quiet, a short walk to shops and an easy frequent bus to the tube station. We lucked out again with the perfect accommodation.
This is the building where our flat was, the window top left in the front was our kitchen window. The building has many art deco features and the rear of the building had extensive lawns. We were also impressed that there were several parks near by.
Sunset from the kitchen window!
This pub was just a short walk away and served enormous portions of fish and chips.
We had been told of this "book arts" store in East London, in the borough of Islington and set out to find it. We eventually found the store only to discover that it was closed for the month of August (it was August 1st!), which was a shame as it looked interesting when we peeked through the windows.
This area of London is awash with street art and unusual art galleries.
The above are just a few of the many murals we saw. (I think I need to remove the pole that is distracting in the large B&W mural.)
I don't know if this is a protest statement, a Company, or a description of an office building. Whatever the facts, it was an amusing statement on a large high rise being built in the area.
This building was a lot more fun.
Next stop was to get back to the central part of London and go window shopping. These ornate arcades are always intriguing.
It would make shopping a lot more welcoming if today's malls took some lessons in design from these places.
A busy trip on the underground and the ride to the surface. We learned of the "Oyster Card" from our friends, so decided to give them a try. They are cards that you can add money to and are used to enter and exit the tube stations where the trip cost is extracted from the card. The good news is that there is a maximum amount that can be taken each day, so all rides after that are effectively free. This max charge varies based on the zone where you began. In our case the max was just over $10, representing significant savings. The cards are also used on the London buses, which now do not take money.
Bond Street is full of the top brand shops that have guarded doors, so window shopping is the way to go!
Dior's "window", while the store behind was being completed.
Walking in Piccadilly Circus.
A visit to Fortnum & Mason was a must. We like to check out the food halls.
Got to have some statuary to guard the entrances!
Wandered down to Soho to look for a quiet place to eat. Came across Tostado on a very narrow backstreet. Looked interesting, and since we have friends who live in Ecuador, we decided to give it a try. The food was excellent and the staff very friendly.
One of the wait-staff took our photo through the window. It was the perfect place to watch the world go by while enjoying our meal.
For dessert we shared a dish of tree tomato and ice cream. I had never heard about or tasted a tree tomato, it is delicious. Now I have to find seeds and grow some!
Back in Ealing we learned that a four-day jazz festival had been underway in a park within walking distance of our flat. We managed to spend some time there on the last day of the festival. It is quite a big event with two stages and a significant number of food and drink stalls, but a bit dusty since the park was very dry. There has not been much rain here either.
The main stage under a lovely marquee.
We liked this band and Wednesday Gray has a powerful Edith Piaf kind of voice. The band plays Balkan Gypsy jazz as well as Argentinian tango music. It was a nice way to wrap up our time in Europe. Now we had to pack up, ready to fly to San Francisco, discarding a few items that had accumulated along the way, and hoping everything else would fit back into our suitcases!
Next stop USA.
No comments:
Post a Comment