Why is it that the last day of our trip in any city, we always find the best things? When I came to London going on a decade ago (wow I’m ancient!!!), I found High Street Kensington shopping on my last day! In Paris, we found 2 for 2 euro almond croissants (and arguably one of the best we’ve had) right next to our hotel on the last day. Today, we found not only lots of great shopping, but also a Marks & Spencer right next to our hotel… on our last day!
We saw a Whole Foods on the street and went in to see if they sell different things from the US. They have a whole separate cheese shop within the supermarket! They also have a restaurant upstairs. We bought an almond croissant because I had been craving one since at least Salzburg. Who knew Whole Foods could churn something out so delicious? It tasted very much like the almond croissants of France.
We also bought a Temptations Bar, which looked pretty damn good and tasted it too. We’re not quite sure what it is. It’s custardy and crumbly at the same time, if that’s possible. There is a layer of very crumbly and buttery shortbread on the bottom, with a layer of chocolate, then on top, a layer of very rummy custard crumble with walnuts.
We set out for Portobello Road in Notting Hill this morning because we heard Portobello is really happening on weekends. People who like antiquing will love Saturdays, because that’s when all the antique stalls are out. Other days, it is an organic foods market. On the map, you just see Portobello Road… and it is a loooong road. We were a little bit worried that we wouldn’t find it, because there’s really no address, until you hit the junction of where Portobello Road begins. That’s when you see the massive throng of people, almost like an exodus, streaming towards the market. We just followed along, and before long, you see stalls after stalls of goodies to gaggle at. Although there were lots of ‘antiques’ and many are really pretty, we couldn’t really afford anything so it was kinda pointless to look. It was a hot muggy day, especially with no shade and people packed in like sardines, so we were just about ready to leave. Until… we past the food stalls and somehow, all of a sudden, the crowd thinned. This is probably the locals’ area of Portobello Road. There was a stall selling scarves that caught Angel’s eye. We asked, and they were only 1 pound each! So we bought some, one being a brand new pink Louis Vuitton scarf! The whole road actually sells many second-hand, or “vintage,” I should say, items. We saw LV luggage that looked really old (boxy):
and Gucci luggage, a uniquely shaped navy Dior purse, purses from the ‘50s that look like the Hermes ‘Kelly’ bag, as well dainty embroidered purses that look very much like the one Grace Kelly had the night she accepted her Academy Award.
Vintage cameras:
I snagged some really pretty dresses for 5 pounds each.
We saw soooo many ethnic food stalls that looked really yummy. One stall had giant paella pans… look at all those chicken drumsticks! Another stall had Churros and Valor hot chocolate for 3.5 pounds. Damn I was soooo tempted but it was too hot a day for hot chocolate. ;(
There are several stores posting pictures of celebrities that shop at their stores, such as Madonna, Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller and Kylie Minogue. We were looking at some really pretty, dainty jewelry at one of the stalls, and I don’t know which one of us looked up and saw:
Taylor Swift!!! My favorite! ^.^ I’m glad she has good taste ~__^ The lady’s jewelry really is pretty (Angel thought so too).
We stopped by Marks & Spencer to grab lunch. We’d been eyeing their duck pate with perigord black truffles since we first stepped into their store. We paired it with croissants we bought earlier in the day at Tesco. We thought Sainsbury’s was already pretty damn cheap, until we stumbled on Tesco this morning at Portobello Road. We had been to the Tesco in Manchester and really liked their selection and prices, but we had no luck finding it in London until today. Their croissants are yummy (flavor like Costco, texture like Sweet Sue’s) and 4 large ones are 1 pound total!
We walked from Portobello Road to Oxford Street in search of trim shops (‘haberdasheries’, as the English call ‘em). Haha you thought we shopped a lot at Portobello Road? Oxford Street, we found, condenses all your shopping in one go… most all chain stores have at least two stores on the street.
We passed by Primark across from Marble Arch tube station the other day and saw many people carrying the bag but didn’t go in. Today, a lot more people were carrying the bag so we needed to see for ourselves what the fuss was about. Dude, we went in, and the first thing that catches my eye is a lacy black and white tank for 6 pounds! You’d never find that in the States, let alone for 9 dollars! Everything was so cheap, but very well-made. But it did take us quite a while to shop through the two stories, as the store was as packed as Portobello market, if not more. I have never seen so many people jammed into a store before in my life! Angel thinks it looks like Best Buy on Black Friday :) . You have to literally inch your way forward! Belts were 1-2.5 pounds, purses for 3-9 pounds, shoes were 2-12 pounds (the lovely gold sandals that I really wanted was only 2 pounds! Too bad the only size left was a UK 7… when I’m UK 4½ >__<). Tanks were 1.5-2.5 pounds. I don’t think I saw anything in the store over 20 pounds, except luggage for 35 pounds. We spent close to two hours here in shopping joy ~__^.
The trim shops we went to are all very expensive, but they have a large variety of trims, including many different types of feathers. My favorite!
Our original plan was to go to British Museum today, as they showcase the Rosetta Stone. Admission is free, so that’s always a plus. That plan was shot out the window as the museum closes at 5:30pm on Saturday and we had just gotten out of Primark at 4:30pm.
On our walk back to our hotel, we passed by Carnaby Street, a pedestrian-only street lined with many restaurants, pubs and boutique stores. We also passed by Bond Street, with all the luxury brands lining the streets.
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