London: South Ken and Shopping.

Posted by Anna Hennings in Featured Articles, Life. on 05 19th, 2009 | 3 responses

Having spent the bulk of the day in South Kensington and experiencing overwhelming nostalgia, I feel like I’m falling in love with this city all over again.

Liz and I got to the V&A not long after it opened. She went upstairs to textiles, and I made a b-line for the fashion collection. I think my neck is still sore from looking down at all the placards explaining the significant of each piece. *sigh*

V&A - The Bra Dress

1988 Moschino Bra Dress

1959 Jacques Heim Gown

1959 Jacques Heim Gown

Not knowing exactly what to explore after 45 minutes of making a slow circle around cases of enclosed dressing and evening gowns, vintage wedding dresses, and shoes dating back to the early 1800s, I sat down for a cup of tea in the courtyard to peruse the map.

All in all, I probably spent more time in the gift shop than I did in any of the other collection rooms.

After lunch and more tea at a sidewalk cafe in Knightsbridge …

…Liz and I split up again — she, heading back to the V&A; I, poking around my old neighborhood:

A few things have obviously changed — closed corner shops replaced by cute, modern bakeries and upscale nail salons — but all-in-all, South Ken still felt familiar and comfortable — the bookstore where I bought both The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons is still standing, the Irish bar around the corner is as unassuming as ever, the Lamborghini dealership’s still flashy, the smell of coffee wafting through Caffe Nero’s doors nearly made me turn around and go in just to take a deep breath of coffee aroma, and Ben’s Cookies is just as delicious as I remember it.

Ill take them all please.

I'll take them all please.

What’s missing? The smoke. London gets major bonus points for going significantly non-smoking over the last three years. (And oh the difference it’s made for evenings out.)

I topped off the afternoon with the shopping spree I didn’t even know I’d been saving up for: TOPSHOP. Three hours, nearly three hundred pounds — including a splurge on a pair of round toe, blue ombre patent leather (wearable) pumps that nearly jumped off the shelf and into my arms, screaming buy me! buy me! (More on these later.)

The evening later concluded with some delicious chicken tikka masala and korma on Brick Lane — on the walk home from which, I stumbled upon this:

Ironic?

Off to bed. Tomorrow: a day of solo adventuring while Liz explores the Tower of London followed by evening drinks with Cate — the founder of BitchBuzz.

3 Responses to “London: South Ken and Shopping.”

  1. Mom says:
    May 19, 2009 at 8:40 pm

    Hi, Nuzz,
    Loved the update, the pictures, the comments, the cute new hat (!), and especially the thought of you SO happy enjoying London!
    Look forward to seeing your TopShop purchases. How ’bout SOME hints. :-)
    Thinking of you….
    Enjoy your day of solo adventures.
    XOXO, Mom <3

  2. sister says:
    May 19, 2009 at 11:48 pm

    BEN’S COOKIES!!! BRING ME SOME!!!
    I love you, Sister!!

  3. Lizzie says:
    May 20, 2009 at 9:00 am

    South Kensington! I LOVE IT! Thanks for sharing the pictures. I feel like I’m there!

    The Irish bar on the corner – Kavanaughs?!?! Yippee :)

    XO!

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