Saturday, 21 May, the three of us slept in a bit, I had a swig of grapefruit juice, and we popped on the tube over to Leicester Square. There are quite a few old book shops along Charing Cross Road, so of course we had to work our way through those. A lovely find: an 18th century copy of a book on Newton’s writings (signed by the publisher). Alas, I was not too keen on paying the 135 GBP price tag, so off we went, searching for more book shops and anything else that piqued our interests. Around the corner, we stumbled upon another Pret, and as Clara had never been, we dined there for lunch. They have this really quite incredible three-tiered chocolate mousse cup… thing (considering the low-key nature of the dining establishment). The first layer is this tiny rim of creme fraiche, followed by milk and dark chocolate mousses. Delicious. After lunch, Clara spied a comic book store across the street, so we of course had to go in for a visit. As comic books are clearly not my thing, I was not too entertained by the place, but it turns out that they do a lot of really intriguing movie nights (Dr. Strangelove or Back to the Future, anyone?).
I got a bit of an itch to go to Harrods, thus we got back on the tube and took it over to Knightsbridge. I do believe Clara and Kristin were in for quite the visual surprise, as those of you who have been to Harrods know of the glamour and sheer variety of wares they sell. I, having forgotten of its existence, found the Laduree at Harrods, and insisted that we go in. As some of you might expect, I purchased a coffee eclair and a box of macarons (2 orange blossom, 2 dark chocolate, 2 salted butter caramel, 1 rose, and 1 cherry almond). The macarons are as good as those in Paris, and are still as fresh as a daisy today (22 May), delightfully chewy, just sweet enough, crisp, and all around lovely. Below is a photo of the beautiful Laduree box, and three macarons (caramel, chocolate, and orange blossom), as the remaining macarons have long since been consumed.
Laduree macarons.
We munched on our Laduree purchases just outside the back door of Harrods, where we could watch the Audi R8’s, Astons, and MINIs (yes, MINIs!) motor on by. After Laduree, the three of us eventually made our way to the 1st Floor (our 2nd floor), which housed all of the completely fabulous, devastatingly gorgeous and obscenely expensive women’s clothing- anywhere from Herve Leger and Marchesa, to Burberry London and oh it was just wonderful. While ogling a few evening gowns, Clara asked one of the sales girls if this one dress came in any other colours. It did not, however, the girl summoned another one of her co-workers over and they both launched into this explanation about how they can make Clara this particular gown in any colour she desired, however it would have to be full price, as opposed to the sale price for the original colour. Oh, well if it must be full price… that will not do! Service at Harrod’s really is impeccable. Moving along the floor, we spied even more fanciful, beautiful gowns and found the fantastically entertaining section for those crazy hats and fascinators posh Brits wear to weddings and such. Fascinators like this, so if you really want to look quite daft and embarrass the royal family, all you have to do is take a cue from Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. Cheers, girls!
Finally finding the 4th floor (home to the hipper, more young adult-friendly clothing), we split up and had a bit of a free-for-all. Well, when I say free-for-all, I mean I looked around feverishly for a few things to purchase, while Kristin and Clara schmoozed and bought these fabulous hair curlers after befriending this English sales girl named Stephanie, for whom they wrote out praiseful evaluation cards (calling themselves Duchess Kristin and Lady Clara, naturally). My purchases for the day were this white, sheer, chiffon blouse with blue polka-dots, gold buttons, and this fantastic, cut-out, sort of rewoven back and a silk and sort of matted, suede-like silk dress that is a burnt orange colour. I am very pleased. Following the Harrods adventure, we popped on over to Topshop, looked around, Kristin bought a pair of creamy lace brogues and a handbag, then we headed back on over to Earl’s Court and to our flat. After relaxing a wee bit, Kristin and I had dinner at this little Italian restaurant called Strada, which was quite delicious, however had completely horrendous service (here is the menu). Kristin ordered a seafood risotto and a bellini, while I had a ‘Spritz al Prosecco’ (Mum’s Aperol cocktail) and the ‘Pizza Fiorentina,’ which had spinach (cooked and fresh), nutmeg, shaved parmesan, black pepper, mozzarella, a slick of tomato sauce, and a fried egg. In hindsight, I really should have taken a picture of the pizza, as it was quite lovely. We had pudding at the Pembroke, indulging in some of the best sticky toffee pudding I have had in quite a while (but not quite as fantastic as Chrysa’s), and the requisite Eton mess, which is this delicious conglomeration of whipped cream, bits of meringue and proper, English strawberries.
Apologies for the lack of pictures, I shall redeem myself with the next post (hopefully). Cheers!
P.S. Points to anyone who guesses what I am referencing (with a twist) in the title of this post.
traversingtheisles 