London- A Feast of Food and Architecture
London is a feast of excellent food and historical architecture. We stayed in an adorable mews house off Portobello Road in Notting Hill. While the weather was cool and rainy, our focus was to get in as many gardens, museums and dinners as possible irregardless of the iffy weather. We managed to squeeze in an amazing day trip to Brighton to see the Royal Pavilion (so worth it).
The standard tourist stops in London are definitely worth your time, after all, we caught a glimpse of both King Charles leaving Buckingham Palace and Prince William arriving at Kensington Palace while we were out sightseeing.
We loved Westminster Abbey, Spencer House, Liberty London, Fortnum and Mason, the Sky Pod Bar (be sure to go at sunset) and, if you’re a book lover- Daunt Books is wonderful. We explored as many gardens as we could- covering Regents Park, Primrose Hill, Hampstead Heath, Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. Beautiful, even in the rain.
When I was in design school, I took an amazing course on Architectural History. There were hundreds of buildings to memorize and I’ve since made an effort to see as many in person as humanly possible.
One of these buildings is the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. Brighton is an easy train from London and the Palace was unbelievably beautiful. Updated in 1815 by John Nash, a modest villa was transformed into a magnificent oriental pavilion. Every surface is a wonder of art and decoration. This is a small section of my favorite room- the Music Room- which is under renovation after hurricane damage.
Awesome Restaurants to Try –
London, as you know, is a ridiculously international city with food to match.
Out of all of the restaurants that we ate at, these 2 stand out as my all time favorites. If you’re a fan of Indian food, Veeraswamy is incredible; it’s also the oldest Indian restaurant in London. Located on Regent St, Veeraswamy has gorgeous decor to match impeccable service. Note that this restaurant is formal, so you need to dress up. It adds to the specialness of this place.
Honey and Co has the opposite feeling. A casual neighborhood restaurant on Lambs Conduit St in Bloomsbury, they serve the most amazing Middle Eastern food. The combination of flavors is unbelievable. It’s a bit off the beaten path, but so worth the journey.
We tried these 3 restaurants for the first time and loved them all-
1. Sessions Art, in Clerkenwell, has a super creative vibe, decor and food.
2. Zephyr, with Greek food is in Notting Hill. It is delicious and fun, with a late night cocktail bar downstairs.
3. The Ivy on West St (Covent Garden) as a stop for lunch. It offers excellent food and service with a calm, understated British vibe.