London 2024 Bonus: Digs

The place we are staying is so good that it deserves a post of its own. The apartment at 2 Clanricarde Gardens is just around the corner from the BYU Centre and right in the heart of the area we love. The owner and his family who lived here now live in the next street over. They originally built the second-story addition on what was an unusual ground-floor-only apartment. He recently remodeled the place with incredible care, attention to detail, and wonderful taste. If I had done it, I wouldn't want the unwashed of the world staying here, but here we are.

2 Clanricarde Gardens

The entry with its original Victorian mantlepiece, 

carefullly stripped back to slate

The original Victorian structural tile jack arches

in the ceiling were exposed

Beautiful Slate -- looks like dark soapstone

Our bedroom: custom cornice box for the draperies

Antique rococo mirror is a fabulous contrast with the modern interior

Mirror detail

The throw on the bed is soft Scottish mohair

Heated tile floors in the spirit of Victorian

encaustic tiles

Speaking of Victorian encaustic tiles: les voilá:

entry hall of the building

A wonderful sparklingly clean shower

The living area is in the upstairs addition

Sitting area with huge sliding doors open to a small deck

The view is the windows on the landing in the front 

entry of the building

Stairwell and kitchen beyond -- custom bent steel handrail

The precision of this small pony wall drywall craftsmanship is beautiful

Dining area with massive windowed skylight

There were no reviews when we booked, so we may be some of his first guests.

OXO

D. 

London 2024 Day Two

We started our day with a ride on the 77 bus to Portobello Road. I know. It's not that far, but septuagenarians needs must. There are loads of sellers but none of the antiques vendors seen on Saturdays. A guy sold me a hat. WTF? I never wear hats, but this one is handsome. We bumped into Annie who took us to a killer Israeli restraunt, just one street off Portobello: Miznon, where the food was served right on the table. We headed east on a Central-Line train to the heart of the City, which was very calm compared to the West End. We felt compelled to visit St. Dunstan's in the East, our favorite little island of calm. The Circle Line was our friend and brought us back to Notting Hill Gate for a few supper purchases, and now we are cooling our heels.

"Place where the riches of ages are sold," but not

today -- just stuff, no antiques

The veg is always colorful and attractive

Dickie on the Central Line (photo: Annie)

Cracking place for lunch

"May I put salt and pepper on the table?" "Of course."

"Oh! you meant ON the table"

Pita sandwiches, roasted cauliflower, and a bag of beans

with a tahini dipping sauce

New buildings popping up like mushrooms in the City

Leadenhall Market 

Dickie still loves him some Lloyds of London (photo Annie)

I love the exposed guts of the building

Two popular influencers at St. Dunstan's (photo: Annie)

The influencers are really just old people far from home

Lovat Lane, not to be confused with Lovers' Lane

Wren's monument to the Great Fire of 1666

In a very unscientific taste test, Marks and Spencer's Madagascan

Vanilla custard (left) beat Waiterose's: much more delicious -- 

so now we know

Who knows what tomorrow may bring, but no matter, there will be more.

OXO

D.

London 2024 Day One

 Our train to London was canceled, so we quickly picked up another and were on our way from Paris. Turns out that London was slammed on a Sunday afternoon. We checked into to our FANTASTIC Airbnb -- it is so good it deserves it's own post. After getting settled, we caught a 94 bus to Charles II street and walked to Saint Martin-in-the-Fields for a candlelight performance of Handel's Messiah. The streets were so crowed, the busses could not get through and the journey took over an hour. We had a quick supper in the Crypt restaurant before taking our pew. The Georgian church was the perfect setting for the concert. Kris and I realized we had never seen the entire performance from beginning to end. It was otherworldly! I had the feels (frisson) over and over throughout the Hallelujah Chorus. The performers were a double quintet of St Martin's Voices and the small St Martin's Chamber Orchestra of no more than 10 instruments. They were perfect! 

Because the crowds had been so ferocious and busses so slow, we decided to take the Circle line home from the Embankment station. We waited half an hour for a circle line train while scads of Richmond and Wimbledon trains came one after the other. The Circle line is still the "misery line." A bit of grocery shopping on the way home to bed. 

Touchdown at St. Pancras International

An impromptu VW Minibus parade on Regents Street: there were

probably two dozen or so, all lit up w/ Christmas lights

 

Throngs on Trafalgar Square

Dinner in the Crypt

Dickie is the only man in London who is too warm

for a jacket (photo: Annie)

The photo Dickie was taking of two very

popular influencers

St. Martin's Lane all lit up

Trafalgar Square

St Matin's Voices and Chamber Orchestra

St. Martin's fabulous leaded pane design

View of the City from the Embankment Station -- All the big building

along the river are lit with red lights (double click twice to enlarge)

There will be more.

OXO

D.

Paris 2024 Day Six

We had a sunny morning for a walk through my favorite Paris park: Parc des Buttes Chaumont, a former quarry and dead horse dump in the days of horse drawn transportation. Lucy, who lives nearby joined us for lunch at an excellent Moroccan restaurant in that upper corner of Paris. We bussed down into town and spent some time with the swarms of Parisians who flocked for some Christmas shopping. A stop at Bachir for some delicious Lebanese ice cream rolled in pistachios did not go amiss. We eventually made it home for some baguette, cheese, and cold cuts. Now we pack for our journey to London.

A view of NE Paris (photo: Annie)

The Mairie of the 19th Arrondissement

The Cascade

Buttes Chaumont

Must be Christmas time

The dump and quarry made a wonderful park

Voilá Lucy Jane

Park Guard House: (the French had their cute

"Victorian" stuff, too.

L'Atlantide

Islamic mashrabiya

Moroccan meatballs with harissa sauce

The diners

Lucy introduced us to bus travel

All of Paris, including the Marais, was slammed

with not a tourist in site

Centre Pompidou has been unwrapped

A cold treat on a cold day

Fontaine des Innocents, 1500s Renaissance monument

Tomorrow we are off to London, so there will certainly be more.

OXO

D.