London Part V: Brunch at Tom's and Kew Botanical Gardens

Our last day in London graced us with beautiful sunny weather, which I always think calls for brunch. (To be fair, I think every single day under any weather circumstances calls for brunch). We headed to Tom's Cafe in Notting Hill, which I've heard about from a few different London bloggers. And we weren't disappointed!

The atmosphere was absolutely adorable and I would go back in a heartbeat, except that we learned that Tom's is sadly due to close within the next week! Definitely a shame, as the food was also pretty delicious.

I ordered a latte and wholemeal pancakes with a lemon crème frâiche sauce, maple syrup and chunks of rhubarb. Drool.

Sometimes I just want to live in a flower shop. I always want to buy flowers but neither hostel rooms nor dorm rooms seem a worthy enough setting for a vase of flowers.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the Kew Botanical Gardens, which was big enough to spend a full day in. The air started to get a little chilly once the sun started going down, but it was so pleasant to see some flowers growing and it gave me hope for the arrival of spring in the near future.

 

Another peacock! Two sightings in two days, how lucky am I?

All in all, it was a great last day in the London area. I always held London for that special city that I needed to go to, and it didn't disappoint. I think it's safe to say I'll be back soon. Cheers!

London Part IV: The London Eye, Holland Park and Non-Waterfowl

 

As the true tourist that I am, I made sure to make time for a trip on the London Eye. There's not too much about the experience that needs too much explaining, so I'll just let the photos speak for themselves!

After the London Eye I had planned to head back to Notting Hill to explore some more of the side streets, but there was some sort of problem with the Underground so I ended up just walking in the direction of Notting Hill and happening upon Holland Park in the Kensington area. The park was so beautiful and well kept that I honestly felt that maybe I wasn't supposed to be there, or was supposed to have paid for entry. It's known for being a very affluent area, but wow! This park was gorgeous.

And then I happened upon a peacock!! Not a waterfowl, but still a fowl nonetheless. I was completely flabbergasted to see this guy just walking around, as was the kid in the background who ran up screaming "Mr. Peacock, Mr. Peacock!!" I had no idea that peacocks just wandered around in residential areas like that.

London Part III: Notting Hill, Haircuts, and More Waterfowl

Notting Hill, the movie, was always a staple post-dinner movie in my household. We watched it, well, a lot. So of course I was pretty excited to check it out for myself. Elizabeth and I actually made appointments to get our hair done at Taylor Taylor salon on Portobello Road (the main drag in Notting Hill), so that was a good excuse to explore the rest of the neighborhood a little bit. Unfortunately, without a map or cell service, I did not successfully locate the famous The Blue Door from the movie....oh well. Next time!!

Before our appointments we stopped in at Gail's bakery and cafe, where I had this delicious open-face egg sandwich and a chai latte. Mmmm. Unfortunately I ended up running out of time and having to ungracefully scarf it down before running off to the hair appointment.

This is Lawrence. He was just hanging out in the salon and just begging for a photo, don't you think?

Before...

And after! I got some ombre done, along with every other girl in the world and her mother. But I really like how it turned out.

After our appointment we found our way to Hyde Park just in time for the sunset.

Swans!! They're as scary to be around as they are beautiful. We kept our distance once they started quacking at us and flapping their wings.

London Part II: The Tate Modern

We stopped into the Tate Modern museum our first full day in London. It seems a little silly or perhaps even slightly plagiarist to make a whole post about the art we saw there, but I just thought I'd share some of the things I enjoyed most. Anything I took pictures of where things that I simply enjoyed looking at!

We of course had to peek into one of the (several) bookstores inside the Tate. I've found that shops in modern art museums are always the most fun to walk around in. I was pretty tempted by some punny tote bags and gorgeous books (picture books for adults, as I like to think of them), but managed to escape without buying anything.

We made it up to the sixth floor in hopes of getting a coffee and snack at the cafe with this amazing view, but it was absolutely packed. I settled for taking a creepy picture of these lovely people enjoying their lovely meals before slipping back into the elevator.

We all know that feeling. And I think this word will now start showing up in my day to day vocabulary.

And of course, there's always a man on the street playing a flaming tuba....wait, what?