Summer in the City

I don't know if I ever told you that, despite living in the beautiful Ribble Valley in the NW of England, I am originally a Londoner, through and through.  I was born and raised there, worked and lived there, until I emigrated to Canada when I was 25.  From there we went to France and then the USA, until we returned to England 16 years ago.  I have definitely made my home here, but there is something about my home town that draws me there every few weeks or in the most recent case, months (far too long!)

POH says I walk differently in London and he's probably right!  As soon as the train draws in to Euston, I get that little prickle of excitement and feeling of being 'home' (yes, I know that's odd, having said the Ribble Valley is home!)  I'm off down that platform, and queuing for my place on the escalator (Tip: NEVER try to stand on the left on a London escalator!)

We travelled down on Saturday morning, chiefly for my dear friends' wedding anniversary party, but we also met up with my daughter and her partner in London on Saturday afternoon. That was so lovely and I always find it hard to tear myself away from my darling daughter.  It never gets any easier.

The party was fun! Lovely to spend the evening with my friend and her family.  

We had Sunday 'at leisure', as the tour guides say, so went to one of our favourite places, the Wallace Collection.  This is a fabulous 'gentleman's residence', a short hop from the hustle and bustle of Bond Street station.  The house and collection were originally owned by Sir Richard Wallace, and when his widow died in 1897 she gifted the entire collection, including the house, to the nation.  

We love it because you can clearly see how it would have been as a private house, and the rooms are cool, spacious and so beautifully decorated.  Each  room is full of works of art, from paintings to sculptures, armour  to furniture.  It is never as busy as the more famous London galleries and collections and so very easy to see items up close.  It is free to enter as well, and donations are welcome.

The Wallace Collection is home to the 'Laughing Cavalier'.  His eyes really do follow you around the room!

There is a also a beautiful dining area in what was originally the quadrangle garden, and it is a lovely place to sit and 'take tea', or something more substantial.

I then deposited POH in a nice pub to watch the England game, and I took myself to John Lewis on Oxford Street.  I had a lovely browse, bought a length of Rose and Hubble fabric for a dress, and then armed with a pot of tea and a slice of cake, made myself comfortable in the restaurant.  I even did some sock knittiing!  Another customer came up to me and told me how clever that looked, so I had to tell her about self-patterning yarn (and Winwick Mum's excellent Sockalong!)

After that we walked around Kensington Gardens, which was beautiful, as ever, but very hot!  We saw the famous escapee parakeets, which have made themselves very much at home.  We watched, fascinated, as one took his time happily devouring an apple!

The Serpentine

Peter Pan's statue

Dinner followed, in an Italian restaurant, then it was back to the blissfully air conditioned hotel for a restful evening and a gin and tonic in the comfort of our room.

We returned home yesterday, and seem to brought the heat with us, as it is currently 32 degrees, which is outrageous for the North of England!

Off to make dinner now, which will be home grown salad, as it's far to hot to put the oven on!

Bye for now,

Donna x